Attn: Glena Temple, President of Dominican University (River Forest, IL)

 

On March 1st, 2024, Pope Francis of the Catholic Church shared his belief that “the ugliest danger (of our time) is the gender ideology” and described how he has “commissioned studies” on the issue (1, 2).

The ethical and clinical value of the Gender Affirmative Model is already well-established within the scientific community (3). This value is recognized by the overwhelming majority of professional medical and psychological organizations (3, 4). The Pope’s comments insinuate that existing research efforts in this area have been invalid, methodologically or otherwise. He has not, however, provided any scientific evidence to support his beliefs. 

The Catholic Church has a long history of framing the LGBTQ+ rights movement as a form of ideological colonization and purports itself to be a postcolonial organization (5). However, the Catholic Church was instrumental in the spread of European Colonialism and the violent establishment of the modern cis-heteronormative sex and gender system (5), prior to which examples of gender diversity existed across a myriad of Indigenous cultures worldwide (6). In reality, the Catholic Church has appropriated the term postcolonial for its own ideological purposes, and in doing so, has served to further erase the historical fact that gender diversity is, and always has been, an aspect of humanity (5).

In recent years, the transgender/gender diverse (TGD) community has been subject to an increased level of cultural and political hostility within the United States (7) and worldwide (8). In early February 2024, this hostility came to a breaking point with the death (edited, 11) of Nex Benedict (he/they), a 16-year-old non-binary student of Choctaw heritage in Owasso, Oklahoma (9). In this time of unprecedented hostility, it is heartbreaking that the Pope would choose to use his considerable influence to perpetuate antagonism towards this vulnerable community. 

Dominican University is a learning institution which represents itself as being committed to policies and practices that foster diversity, equity, and inclusion, eliminate bias, and enable students of all backgrounds to thrive (10). As a Catholic institution which prides itself on its commitment to social justice, Dominican is uniquely positioned to disrupt the Pope’s harmful message.

The co-signers of this petition call upon Dominican University to uphold its stated values by making a public-facing statement denouncing the Pope’s recent comments in order to disrupt the harm caused by the Catholic Church’s historical and ongoing anti-LGBTQ+ positionality.

 

References:

1. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pope-francis-calls-studies-into-ugly-gender-theory-2024-03-01/

2. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-03/pope-francis-gender-ideology-is-the-ugliest-danger-of-our-time.html

3. https://www.apa.org/about/policy/resolution-gender-identity-change-efforts.pdf

4. https://www.florenceashley.com/resources.html

5. https://read.dukeupress.edu/tsq/article/8/2/238/173627/Decolonizing-Trans-Gender-Studies-Teaching-Gender

6. https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/content/two-spirits_map-html/

7. https://www.hrc.org/resources/attacks-on-gender-affirming-care-by-state-map

8. https://transequality.org/issues/international

9. https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/formal-complaint-from-hrc-triggers-department-of-education-investigation-into-owasso-public-schools-following-attacks-on-nex-benedict

10. https://www.dom.edu/diversity/initiatives

11. https://www.npr.org/2024/03/15/1238780699/nex-benedict-nonbinary-oklahoma-death-bullying