Liberal churches ‘proclaim the holiness’ of transgenderism

Several liberal Protestant and Jewish denominations declared transgenderism “holy” this week in direct rebuke of a vote by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to bar transgender procedures in Catholic healthcare facilities.

“During a time when our country is placing their lives under increasingly serious threat, there is a disgraceful misconception that all people of faith do not affirm the full spectrum of gender — a great many of us do,” read the Wednesday statement, which included signatures of leaders from The Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ (UCC), the Unitarian Universalist Association, the Union for Reform Judaism, an association of Quakers and others.

“Let it be known instead that our beloveds are created in the image of God — Holy and whole,” the statement said of transgender-identifying individuals.

“Our scriptures vary, but they share a common conviction,” the statement continued. “As we make justice our aim we must give voice to those who are silenced. Our shared values, held across many faiths, teach us that we are all children of God and that we must cultivate a discipline of hope, especially in difficult times.”

The statement went on to suggest that opposing transgenderism is sinful, reiterating the belief that transgender, nonbinary and intersex individuals are intrinsically holy, which is the only attribute of God magnified to the third degree of repetition in the Bible.

“As such, we raise our voices in solidarity to unequivocally proclaim the holiness of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people, as well as the recognition of the entire spectrum of gender identity and expression,” the statement said.

“When people of faith and conscience stay silent in the face of oppression, we are all made less whole. When people of faith and conscience speak out against that which violates the sacred in its own name, we have the power to stay the hand of sin.”

“Transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people are vulnerable today. Our faiths, our theologies, and our practices of prophetic witness call on us to say with one voice to transgender people among us: ‘You are holy. You are sacred. We love you. We support you, and we will protect you.'”

According to a press release, the statement was primarily penned by the Rev. Sofía Betancourt, who represents the Unitarian Universalist Association, a belief system that emerged in the 19th century from a denial of the Trinity, original sin and damnation.

Betancourt identifies “as a queer, multiracial, AfroLatine [sic] first-generation daughter of immigrants from Chile and Panamá,” and has taught at Yale Divinity School, according to her biography. Her courses focus on “ministerial leadership, theologies, womanism and Earth justice, and combatting [sic] oppression.”

The statement from the liberal religious leaders came in response to U.S. Catholic bishops effectively banning transgender procedures at Catholic hospitals by overwhelmingly approving revisions to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, which govern the extensive network of Catholic healthcare facilities nationwide.

The vote came after years of deliberation and builds on prior Vatican guidance, as well as a 2023 USCCB doctrinal note titled “Moral Limits to the Technological Manipulation of the Human Body.” The note outlined moral limits on body-altering technologies, drawing on Pope Francis’ Amoris Laetitia and the Vatican’s Dignitas Infinita, which affirmed human dignity.

“Catholic health care services must not perform interventions, whether surgical or chemical, that aim to transform the sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex, or take part in the development of such procedures,” the bishops said in the 2023 doctrinal note.

More than one in seven patients in the U.S. is treated at a Catholic hospital, especially in rural areas, according to the Catholic Health Association.

During public discussion over the directives, Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, who chairs the USCCB’s Committee on Laity, Family, Youth, and Young Adults, emphasized the moral gravity of the decision before the prelates.

“With regard to the gender ideology, I think it’s very important the church makes a strong statement here,” he said, according to The Associated Press.