There's Going to Be a Price

‘There’s Going to Be a Price’: 6 Takeaways from Alarming NYTimes Report on Puberty Blockers by Joan Frawley Desmond at National Catholic Register. A Page 1 story in The New York Times [on November 14] acknowledged a number of shocking facts about the long-term impact of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones on children and teens who receive the drugs as “life-saving” treatment for gender dysphoria.... In 2021… 42,000 minors were diagnosed with gender dysphoria and “4,780 patients with that diagnosis were put on puberty blockers covered by insurance.” Now, “concerns are growing among some medical professionals about the consequences of the drugs” used by many clinics and physicians to treat children as young as 6 years old. Read 

Denver Archdiocese Defends Gender-Identity Policy for Schools by Jonah McKeown at National Catholic Register. The Archdiocese of Denver is defending its guidance on sexual identity in Catholic schools after an article on the policy was published earlier this week in a local newspaper. A Nov. 7 Denver Post story shared and criticized the policy—which has been in place since 2019—highlighting a section advising against the enrollment of students who reject their biological sex, especially if their parents are supportive of the student’s transition. “By enrolling a student who openly rejects his or her given sexual identity and seeks to be affirmed in his or her desired identity by peers and the school community, the school compromises its mission and identity in multiple ways,” the 2019 document reads. Read 

Gender Theory Confusion Shows Need for Papal Encyclical, Dutch Cardinal Says by Kevin J. Jones at Catholic News Agency. Extreme forms of gender theory have become so influential that a papal encyclical should address the topic, Dutch Cardinal Willem Eijk of Utrecht has said, noting Pope Francis’ previous teachings on the topic…. “Because we see that international organizations put a lot of pressure on nations to introduce this theory, especially in the world of education.” “People need it, because they hear about gender theory in the media, in politics, in schools, everywhere. Above all, the Church is called to give her point of view,” the cardinal told ACI Stampa. People need to understand why the Church does not accept gender theory, he added. Read 

New Catholic Med School Draws Inspiration from Padre Pio by Charlie Camosy at The Pillar. From abortion to assisted suicide to in vitro fertilization, moral challenges in the field of medicine abound in the United States. The Catholic Church proclaims the dignity of every human life. But protecting that dignity in the medical field requires doctors who are formed in a Catholic worldview and morality, says Dr. George Mychaskiw, II, DO. Mychaskiw believes the nine Catholic medical schools in existence in the U.S. fall short in offering that formation. And he is hoping to help fill what he sees as an important gap in the field of Catholic medical education. Read 

Navy Veteran Frustrated with Today's Woke Education Starts Classical Catholic School by Maureen Mackey at Fox News. [Lt. Commander Ali Ghaffari], a Navy veteran and father of three who became frustrated with the woke agendas and secular topics taught in today's schools sought something better for his three daughters—and did something about it…. Divine Mercy Academy—the school he began—is an independent private day school in the Catholic tradition for children in kindergarten through 8th grade, its website explains. It opened in 2019 and enrollment has been doubling each year, as the cohosts of “Fox & Friends Weekend” noted. It's located in Pasadena, Maryland. Read 

Franciscan University Debuts Ministry for Students Struggling with Same-Sex Attraction by Mary Frances Myler at National Catholic Register. The mission statement clarified that Integratis… “rejects the current cultural LGBTQ+ definitions and assumptions.” For instance, Integratis avoids identifying people by their sexual attractions or experience of gender. Instead, Integratis provides “a faithful community that assists men and women to live full, abundant, virtuous, integrated lives in accordance with the truth, goodness and beauty of human sexuality as understood and proclaimed joyfully by the Catholic Church.” The group’s name means “made whole” in Latin, emphasizing that “all of us are in need of Christ and are only made whole through his Resurrection.” Read 

New Ignatius Press Series Focuses on Unevangelized and Uncatechized Students by Paul Senz at Catholic World Report. Parents are the primary catechists and evangelists in their children’s lives. When parents share their responsibilities with others—catechists and religion teachers—they do not transfer all responsibility to them. They should continue to teach, pray with, and guide their children to become disciples of the Lord. Parents should also support the ministry of catechists and evangelizers. Parents should go to Mass with their children. In short, parents are responsible for the domestic church. Parents shouldn’t have the attitude, “We send our kids to church or Catholic school to be taught religion. We shouldn’t be expected to be involved. That’s what we pay others to do.” If they have such an attitude, then they indicate that they too need evangelization. Read 

Parental Rebellion Pays Off: Conservatives Win School Board Seats by Jarrett Stepman at The Daily Signal. As local schools—even in “red” districts—increasingly promoted critical race theory and radical gender ideology alongside stringent COVID-19 lockdowns, parents began organizing in earnest…. A few national organizations, such as the 1776 Project PAC and Moms for Liberty, added much-needed support and financial backing for citizens to step into the arena to save their local schools…. Over the past year, the 1776 Project says it has flipped more than 100 races nationwide. And some big wins came during the midterm elections. These groups helped flip school board elections in Florida, Maryland, Indiana, and Michigan, according to The Daily Caller. “Of the 67 candidates Moms for Liberty supported in Florida school board elections, 41 won,” the Caller reported. Read 

Throwback Thursday  

The Politically Incorrect Francis—14 Shocking Statements by Paul Kengor at Crisis Magazine on March 22, 2019. Gender theory is all the rage at our crazy universities, but it flatly enrages Pope Francis. He is an unrelenting adversary, comparing gender theory to the “educational policies of Hitler.” And of Satan. “Gender ideology is demonic!” he thundered in the summer of 2015. It militates against “the order of creation.” Francis has said this again and again, so much so that Italians fighting the incorporation of gender theory into their government schools have gratefully followed Francis’s lead. In the fall of 2017, he sat down for a series of 20 conversations with a prominent French journalist for a book titled Politics and Society. There again, Francis—in a shot at transgenderism—denounced gender ideology, especially as taught in public schools. “Behind all this we find gender ideology,” Francis complained. “In books, kids learn that it’s possible to change one’s sex. Could gender, to be a woman or to be a man, be an option and not a fact of nature? This leads to … error.” Read