It is wrong to have healthy organs removed or to take medications with serious side effects for an insufficiently serious season. Some people with deep-seated gender dysphoria, however, become depressed to the point of being suicidal, and have a delusion that is so entrenched that they cannot be reasonably expected to let go of it. If delusion is being accommodated in order to relieve a life-threatening degree of depression over the internal conflict, medical treatment that would otherwise be unethical can (as I understand it) be tolerated. The alternative, after all, is to either lock the person up or else wait for the day when they’re going to succeed in killing or maiming themselves. That is a reason serious enough to justify such a drastic treatment.
The following is the best answer I have ever read on this forum to your question. If was written by the CAF member Po18guy. This was his response:
The church does not have theology describing transgenderism, as this is mostly within the domain of medicine and biology. Through natural law, we understand that there are two genders, and that gender is integral to an individual’s identity. Thus there can be no “change” of gender. However, determining the true gender can be complicated or impossible for some individuals.
The theology isn’t strong enough? That is an odd way of putting it. Are you saying that there are theologians at the Vatican who foresee a scientific discovery that is going to change the Church’s position on whether gender can be changed?
While gender cannot be changed, there is room to better discern someone true gender. As I stated, there are well documented ambiguous cases, where individuals contain have both male and female DNA. As transsexualism is still poorly understood, there could be unforeseen scientific discoveries that offer a clearer theological solution.The theology isn’t strong enough? That is an odd way of putting it. Are you saying that there are theologians at the Vatican who foresee a scientific discovery that is going to change the Church’s position on whether gender can be changed?
Please back up your claim with a quote from an authoritative source.
As I see it, the person afflicted with gender dysphoria finds his body in conflict with his sense of self (or his ‘brain’, if you like). To the best of my knowledge, there is no treatment for the brain (or widely effective therapy) to relieve the conflict. There are treatments which change the body, and thus hold out the hope (and in some proportion of cases, the reality) of an easing of the conflict. So it is not too surprising that some will opt for the operation. I think it is fairer to describe this act as an attempt to ease a severe conflict, rather than an attempt at “pretending” (though in some sense it is that). The word ‘pretending’ seems to make light of the circumstances of the individual involved.
I don’t think I agree with that part, being me a child who insisted I was a boy (I used to dress in boy’s clothes, cut my hair by myself short so I would look like a boy and asked to be called by a male name) and who certainly would have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. I am convinced most people don’t know how to.deal with this. The first problem here is that in the adult’s mind the child’s confusion is of a sexual nature when I can assure that is not the root of the issue. First you need to ask the child why the insistinance (actually we were discussing that in another thread with someone else who also had gender dysphoria and who outgrow it thanks to good handling by the mother) . Most likely the reason is due to preferences, the child sees activities that kids from the opposite sex do and thinks those are fun and that is what I want to do, and I am this sex I won’t be able to do it so then I am becoming the other sex to be able to do the fun stuff (specially when kids are small 3 or 5). I think the child needs to be insisted what their real sex is but at the same time told that still he can ne his real sex and do the stuff that he wants to do.
I know that church teaching varies from one circumstance to the next as each person is unique. For example, there are many children born with a penis and a fully functioning uterus and ovaries. In the past, when these children were born the doctor and parents just picked a gender, performed surgery and raised the child as a boy or girl. Today, they do not do this as the child will eventually make the choice. I know a Bishop who gave permission for a sex change to a person with both sexual organs which seems appropriate.
This is not Wikipedia. Please offer an opinion on the content.
Thanks, but it’s not for me. My friend is considering it, and she’s an atheist. I’ve been just trying to collect information from the Church on this so I can know how to react.
Do yourself a big favor. Ask a good priest. All you will get here are opinions for the most part.
I am looking, because I remember it surprised me when I read it, too. The Church teaching is
This is the kind of case where an exception might be considered: that is, when the surgeon and psychiatrist conclude that such an extreme surgery is the only treatment likely to be life-saving. Since it is the most extreme treatment with the most dire side-effects, it does have to be reserved for those few cases where it is the only viable option available to preserve the patient’s life. When you’re talking about the amputation of an otherwise healthy body part, that’s the kind of trade-off that has to drive it.