Woke activists are having a Linda Blair moment after the Diocese of Des Moines enacted a new policy that prohibits students at its 17 Catholic schools and worshipers at its 80 parishes across the state of Iowa from using preferred pronouns or from using bathrooms that do not line up with their biological sex.
“Parish and school leaders asked Bishop William Joensen to provide guidance on how they should welcome and minister to those coping with gender dysphoria while following Catholic Church teaching,” the Diocese states on its website. “After two years of study, prayer, listening, and consulting, a policy was developed that provides a comprehensive explanation of how to interpret and apply Catholic principles to daily life within our faith communities and schools.”
Seven rules define the gender identity policy, which the Diocese says applies to, “all Church employees, personnel, volunteers, and those entrusted to the care of the Church.”
First, “No person may designate a ‘preferred pronoun’ in speech or in writing when related to ministry activities of any kind, nor are parishes, organizations, or institutions to permit such a designation.”
“To permit the designation of a preferred pronoun, while intended as an act of charity,” it states, “instead promotes the dissociation of biological sex and ‘gender’ and thereby confuses or denies personal integrity.”
Second, “All persons must use the bathroom or locker room that matches their biological sex,” though “Diocesan parishes, organizations, and institutions are permitted to have individual-use bathrooms that are available for all members of the respective community.”
Next up is a dress code: “All persons are to ordinarily present themselves in a manner consistent with their God-given dignity. Where a dress code or uniform exists, all persons are to follow the dress code or uniform that accords with their biological sex.”
When it comes to athletics and extra-curriculars, participation “must be consistent with the biological sex of the participant,” so there won’t be any discussion of a biological boy stealing accomplishments away from female athletes.
There also won’t be any talk of a biological boy in a dress attending an all-girls school: “Residences or other designated single-sex buildings are to be restricted to persons of the respective biological sex.”
And just forget about taking “gender-affirming” hormones:
No person is permitted to have on-site or to distribute any medications for the purpose of gender reassignment. Also, students and those entrusted to the care of the Church are not permitted to take “puberty blockers,” even if self-administered, on parish or school property, with the purpose of a potential or actual “gender reassignment.”
Finally, the Diocese vows to protect “the vulnerable”:
Those entrusted to the care of the Church who express a tension between their biological sex and their “gender” and others directly affected by this tension (parents, guardians, etc.) should be guided to appropriate ministers and counselors who will assist the person in a manner that is in accord with the directives and teachings of the Church. Parishes, schools, and other Catholic institutions or organizations should be ever mindful, in accord with the policies of this document, to practice charity and to respect the personal dignity of individuals who may express tension or concerns about their biological sex.
It’s a sweeping repudiation of woke ideology that has the faithful cheering and liberal activists “melting down.”
“Diocese of Des Moines codifies ostracism of transgender kids,” State Sen. Claire Celsi (D -Iowa) fumed on Twitter following the announcement of the new policies. “These schools want public dollars and want to treat kids in a way that might cause them to commit suicide. This is not what Jesus would do.”
On Jan. 8, she tagged the Diocese in a tweet and accused it of “trying to shun and exclude people based on their sexual orientation and gender expression.”
“This is clearly NOT behavior that should be allowed in schools that already get $100 million in public taxpayer dollars and are clamoring for more,” she stated.
Now, the @DMDiocese is trying to shun and exclude people based on their sexual orientation and gender expression. This is clearly NOT behavior that should be allowed in schools that already get $100 million in public taxpayer dollars and are clamoring for more.
— Claire Celsi (@SenClaireCelsi) January 8, 2023
A purported Catholic, Celsi recalled the bulletin board in her classroom and twisted it into a slam against the Diocese’s stance:
“I’ll never forget the bulletin board in my Catholic grade school classroom when I was a six-year-old student. It said, ‘God doesn’t make junk.’ This bulletin board was put up by a Catholic nun, Sister Francita.”
I'll never forget the bulletin board in my Catholic grade school classroom when I was a six-year-old student. It said, "God doesn't make junk." This bulletin board was put up by a Catholic nun, Sister Francita.
— Claire Celsi (@SenClaireCelsi) January 8, 2023
Of course, it is doubtful that Sister Francita ever witnessed a dude in a dress lapping a girl on the track.
Keenan Crow, who goes by the pronouns “they/them,” is the director of policy and advocacy for One Iowa. She says the new rules smack of “conversion therapy.”
“That sounds like conversion therapy to me,” she said on Monday, according to the Daily Mail. “Which we know for a fact not only cannot deliver the results that it promises, but that in fact is… a dangerous discredited practice that every major American Medical Association has come out swinging against.”
“No other members have to fight to be called the correct name, have their correct pronouns used or receive access to the appropriate restroom,” One Iowa’s executive director Courtney Reyes, said in a statement. “Calling this ‘compassion’ is equivalent to confusing ‘hate’ with ‘love,’ You cannot pretend to be compassionate while misgendering people and denying them access to any and all spaces under your control.”
But for the faithful, the policy change comes as a welcomed relief amid a slew of pro-abortion, rainbow-colored masses in the nation’s more progressive houses of worship.
“Finally,” wrote one user on Twitter, “a church that acts like a church.”
Finally a church that acts like a church. pic.twitter.com/SMFBUPoHEk
— Nicole Solas, Sued by the Teachers Union (@Nicoletta0602) January 17, 2023
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Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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