New Jersey Teacher Has Sex Change Surgery

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fix:
The Church should not be embarrased by the Galileo affair as properly understood, nor will She be embarrased by upholding the moral law even in the face of political movements that wrap themselves in science.
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The so called ‘moral law’ you seem to refer to did not exist back in the 70’s. Am I to assume it is flexable and changes with the blowing of the wind?
I think the Church did learn a lesson from its condemnation of Galileo and even Nostradamus although I do not give much credence to all of that which the later ‘predicted’. Never the less I am certain the Church does not look back with favor on any of the deeds committed during the time of the inquisition nor should She.
Please understand that transsexualism was not in the beginning a ‘political movement’. It is not that today, not for the true transsexuals at least who for the most part live a life of stealth. Like most people you confuse the transgender element which has become quite political with its attachment to the glbt groups in an effort to gain strength through numbered association. If people are trampled upon they tend to look for protective allies. My ally all my life was the Catholic Church. I wonder now if that is enough when all about me I see the faith I was born into and followed all my days being used now by some to project misunderstanding rather than bring us all closer to a loving God.
Lynn-D
 
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geocajun:
From a Catholic perspective, Mr. X is still Mr. X, but has undergone a superficial change by mutilating his body to look like a women which is something he is not.
By mutilating himself, what he did is offensive to God, and he should repent of it.
Lets remember **him **in our prayers.
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What about bishops who are consecrating mutilated men as Catholic nuns?
Check out the second link at:
saveststans.org/burkeWi.html
 
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stanley123:
What about bishops who are consecrating mutilated men as Catholic nuns?
Check out the second link at:
saveststans.org/burkeWi.html
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Transsexual or transgendered??? The article has even me wondering. I still have to wonder how one changes the gender since that would involve a brain adjustment. Urrrmmmm!
What part of a transsexual do you consider mutilated, the brain or the body? One has to become a contradiction to the other if one is mutilated as you claim since in the womb they were in uterus made different.
At what moment does a fetus become mutilated since all sex parts start off exactly the same at the beginning stages in the embryonic cycle.
Mutilation is an exaggeration since the tissue for both male and female are the same before they take on sexual characteristics. The penis is male, the clitoris is female; the testes male, the ovaries female; the prostate male, the uterus female; the scrotum male, the labia female. Only at a certain stage of fetal development do they take on their complex sexual status and that is triggered by what is called a ‘hormonal wash’. So, if the hormone wash is not in accordance with natural cycle then we may see a mistake of nature; a female brain and a male body or the reverse and/or many other anomolies. That my dear sir is what happens with intersexed and transsexuals.
Hope this simple lesson is acceptable to you and we need not read of the travails involving parish politics.
Lynn-D
 
I have a question for those who are talking about “female brains” and “male brains”. How exactly is this determined? Where is the line drawn? From what I know, the differences between the average man’s brain and the average woman’s brain are differences in the amount of connective tissue and the parts of the brain most frequently used - differences in degree, if you will. These are averages, too - many women have brains that are closer to masculine than average, and vice versa, but this why would this make it a “man’s brain”, instead of a more masculine than average woman’s brain?
I have, as far as I can tell, basically the same mind as an average man, except that I am attracted to men. I’m good at math, competitive, goal-oriented, and independant; I don’t think and act like my female friends. Sometimes I forget I’m a woman - however, I don’t feel the need to have a penis grafted on! In fact, I actully enjoy being myself, in body and mind. It would seem like this is more healthy than feeling a compulsion to alter one’s body, but whatever…
 
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Lynn-D:
a female brain and a male body or the reverse and/or many other anomolies. That my dear sir is what happens with intersexed and transsexuals.
Hope this simple lesson is acceptable to you
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Unfortunately, it is not acceptable, since it didn’t answer my question, and it raises a further one.
1.According to geocajun:
*"From a Catholic perspective, Mr. X is still Mr. X, but has undergone a superficial change by mutilating his body to look like a women which is something he is not. *
By mutilating himself, what he did is offensive to God,"
My question was is it OK according to Catholic teaching for a bishop to consecrate such a man as a nun? Which has already been done?
2. How do you know if a man has a female brain?
 
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David_Paul:
CBS New York
8-2-2005

Teacher Herb McCaffrey left Mountain View Middle School in Mendham as a man and will return as Kerri McCaffrey, a woman.

The 41-year-old has undergone gender reassignment surgery.

The language arts teacher tells The Star-Ledger of Newark he’s dedicated his life to being a good influence on children.

Some parents and teachers have accepted McCaffrey’s decision. But others are concerned about whether middle school-age children should have to deal with such issues.

Parent Caren Cusano tells the newspaper she contacted McCaffrey through e-mail to applaud her choice and asked for Web sites to help explain it to her children.

Mother Anna Seavey says she has not yet told her kids.

Eighth-grader Rebecca Tishman tells the newspaper she thinks it’s fine and is sorry the teacher was confused for so long.

wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_214082036.html
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Dave, do you think we all should be women. But that does not solve the problem. We only think it could.
 
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BlindSheep:
I have a question for those who are talking about “female brains” and “male brains”. How exactly is this determined? Where is the line drawn? From what I know, the differences between the average man’s brain and the average woman’s brain are differences in the amount of connective tissue and the parts of the brain most frequently used
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Lynn-D posted some links to research on the difference. Here is part of the abstract of one of them:
A crucial question resulting from a previous brain study in male-to-female transsexuals was whether the reported difference according to gender identity in the central part of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTc) was based on a neuronal difference in the BSTc itself or just a reflection of a difference in vasoactive intestinal polypeptide innervation from the amygdala, which was used as a marker. Therefore, we determined in 42 subjects the number of somatostatin-expressing neurons in the BSTc in relation to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and past or present hormonal status. Regardless of sexual orientation, men had almost twice as many somatostatin neurons as women (P < 0.006). The number of neurons in the BSTc of male-to-female transsexuals was similar to that of the females (P = 0.83). In contrast, the neuron number of a female-to-male transsexual was found to be in the male range. Hormone treatment or sex hormone level variations in adulthood did not seem to have influenced BSTc neuron numbers. The present findings of somatostatin neuronal sex differences in the BSTc and its sex reversal in the transsexual brain clearly support the paradigm that in transsexuals sexual differentiation of the brain and genitals may go into opposite directions and point to a neurobiological basis of gender identity disorder.
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jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/85/5/2034
 
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stanley123:
My question was is it OK according to Catholic teaching for a bishop to consecrate such a man as a nun? Which has already been done?
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Not currently. Sometime between the year 2000 and 2003 the Vatican issued a secret document which forbade transsexuals from recieving holy orders. Those who had entered into religious life were to be released back into lay life. cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=19829

Whether Bishop Burke was aware of this policy when he received Julie Green’s final vows is unknown. But really, its something that should probably be discussed in a new thread.
 
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stanley123:
Unfortunately, it is not acceptable, since it didn’t answer my question, and it raises a further one.
1.According to geocajun:
*"From a Catholic perspective, Mr. X is still Mr. X, but has undergone a superficial change by mutilating his body to look like a women which is something he is not. *
By mutilating himself, what he did is offensive to God,"
My question was is it OK according to Catholic teaching for a bishop to consecrate such a man as a nun? Which has already been done?
2. How do you know if a man has a female brain?
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I am unfamiliar with geocajun but his analysis is in itself superficial. Let me understand this right, it was ok to mutilate boys so they would be better in the choir but for someone who absolutely relates to having a female brain it somehow becomes an offense to God to bring the mind and the body into harmony. I do not offend God and to imply that I did is judgmental and in opposition to Matthew 5:10.
I am not privy to the facts of the matter of the nun so can not expand on what the issues might have been if at all. For all I know it might have been an article in a supermarket tabloid.
Superficial change??? What is done in fact is that all of the same tissues in the genital area are refocused. I have a functioning vagina, a responsive clitoris, inner and outer labia and for that matter difficult for even a doctor to distinguish. How might that be superficial I wonder.
My brain is female and that was clearly determined by a staff of psychiatrists at a major medical hospital when I was required to present myself for evaluation before my legal documentation was changed. Perhaps people should read some research before picking facts out of the air.

Lynn-D
 
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BlindSheep:
I have a question for those who are talking about “female brains” and “male brains”. How exactly is this determined? Where is the line drawn? From what I know, the differences between the average man’s brain and the average woman’s brain are differences in the amount of connective tissue and the parts of the brain most frequently used - differences in degree, if you will. These are averages, too - many women have brains that are closer to masculine than average, and vice versa, but this why would this make it a “man’s brain”, instead of a more masculine than average woman’s brain?
I have, as far as I can tell, basically the same mind as an average man, except that I am attracted to men. I’m good at math, competitive, goal-oriented, and independant; I don’t think and act like my female friends. Sometimes I forget I’m a woman - however, I don’t feel the need to have a penis grafted on! In fact, I actully enjoy being myself, in body and mind. It would seem like this is more healthy than feeling a compulsion to alter one’s body, but whatever…
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I will at the end of this again provide the research links in answer to your question. OK?
Yes there are brains that correlate closely with the opposite sex especially in behavior. That is not in itself an anomaly. But to have a brain that is in total opposition to the body is a different subject.
For me I had always thought of myself as female in mind. It was a natural magnet for me to think that way although forced to hide my emotions for fear of being abused and even beat up. And that happened quite often even by my younger brother.
I was diagnosed at an early age and even applied to Johns Hopkins at age 17 for help. Their program was phasing out so I later appealed to Dr Harry Benjamin who accepted me as a patient. I have now been a physical female longer than ever a physical male having had my srs in 1972.
To be honest I would have been uncomfortable in the Johns Hopkins program since it seemed to me that many of their patients were more akin to transgender/transvestites and not transsexuals. I was attending college at the time and many of those whom I came across seemed to me to be more in the realm of crossdressing fetishists. I still think that is the difficulty today with so many of the transgenders thinking that they could grow into transsexualism as if cousins under the GID label. TS’ism is a birth condition and not a learned or choice behavior. That is why I suppose there are so many autogynephilics today and probably the same ones that were seen and evaluated by McHugh.
I can not ever remember not thinking I should have been born female and a mistake was made. In my nightly prayers I begged God to let me wake up a girl. I was not very much into crossdressing, I just wanted to be whole. I even confided to a lay music teacher while in Catholic grammar school. How would or could a 7yr old think this way I look back and wonder? Surely had nothing to do with sex since puberty was still far off.
I have opened up more than I intended so please forgive me if it was more than you wanted to hear.
I wish more research were done but lack of funding seems to be the obstacle. Here are the links:
[f6.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/wM-zQy22jrGNJ6Jhx8L0yTx-MBoIadwqclP8eHYWGcQ0laWOesTK_Qk-L9rmPLyvgzFk_YoYusXdqXrY8RwaOQ/Human%20Brain%20and%20Transsexualism](http://f6.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/wM-zQy...OesTK_Qk-L9rmPLyvgzFk_YoYusXdqXrY8RwaOQ/Human Brain and Transsexualism)

[f6.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/wM-zQ-Lab4-NJ6Jh_Et-xYXqdojrGgRuN5YMYPFRTn6svGHR-w9pyrOK3cCDbU9N7hisu86P6IXzNsnq1hOBSQ/TRANSSEXUAL%20BRAIN%20STUDIES/Original%20Studies%2C%20BSTc.doc](http://f6.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/wM-zQ-...rOK3cCDbU9N7hisu86P6IXzNsnq1hOBSQ/TRANSSEXUAL BRAIN STUDIES/Original Studies, BSTc.doc)
 
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vegpotter:
Wasn’t this a South Park episode? I don’t have kids but I definitely would not want to have to explain to them why their teacher is now a Ms.!
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There is so much of this nonsense going on that we have a standard reply to my children:

“They are confused, pray for them”. If necessary I will say “they are really confused”. Also, you can add in “they are not doing things that lift anybody up, including themselves, are they?” If kids are learning the right things regularly, they understand. It works pretty well.

A key here is teaching very early about the body being a temple and being made in the image and likeness of God.
 
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David_Paul:
Ah ha!..the old slippery slope. First they change “English” into “Language Arts”, then they surgically change male teachers into females. What’s next?
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Body arts. Oh, already have that.
 
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fix:
Are you saying this research proves the etiology of the disordrer? Even if the research continues to reveal some correlation that in no way could justify such mutiliation surgery as a form of correction.
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I recently had open heart surgery. Obviously this too is mutilation since an animal valve was implanted into my heart to replace a faulty one I had since birth. Oh my dear!
I was always sterile so if the doctors were able to undo that would it too be considered mutilation? Where does medicine end and mutilation begin? Hrrrmmm
Let us stop all of this mutilating surgery without further ado. It might be seen as sinful by a few who seem to have all the answers. Oh well!
Lynn-D
 
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YinYangMom:
Basically, you sit the kid down and tell him/her:

There’s been a somewhat big change at your school this summer which may or may not impact you…but in case it does I want you to be prepared for some gossip you may be subjected to. I’m sharing this with you so that you will know how to respond - because you’re Catholic and this is precisely the type of situation you’ll encounter throughout your life which others will judge Catholicism on based on your behavior.

Did you know, or do you remember, Mr. X from language arts? Well apparently he had been struggling with sexual identification for a real long time and decided to do something permanent about it this summer. He underwent some serious surgery and is now Ms. Y. As far as we’re concerned, particularly because we’re Catholic, this is a sad situation for Ms. Y, that she was so confused she felt permanent change was the only way to bring her peace. We certainly hope it does, for her sake, but what she did is not condoned by the Church, so we will be praying for her soul regularly.

However, as Catholics it is not our place to cast judgement on her and it certainly is not our place to treat her badly. We are a people of forgiveness and compassion. It’s not easy to be compassionate and not come across as approving the behavior, but it can be done. When the kids around you ridicule Ms. Y, you need courage to walk away from the conversation or if you can, tell them not to joke about such a serious thing. When you have any interaction with Ms. Y, you treat her respectfully as you do any other elder and teacher. If anyone asks you directly what you think about Ms. Y, you answer honestly: I’m sorry she was confused for so long, sorrier that she had the surgery, and am keeping her in my prayers.

Then you answer any questions the child has, honestly and from a Catholic perspective.
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Bad advice for kids. I don’t recommend saying this to children.

What he did is not only not condoned, it is a sin.

Because it is a sin, it will not bring him peace.

He did not struggle with sexual identificaiton. He struggled with disordered desires caused by sin of himself or others.

It is not our place to cast judgement on HIM but it is our place to judge the action as sinful and damaging. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and God made you just the way you are in His image and likeness.

Kids should learn from day one that is it wrong to talk ill about other people no matter what their situation. There is no reason to give children extra burden of defending what a wrong action taken by an adult. If the child comes home and states that people are saying bad things then ask them how they feel about it. If they say it is good, correct them. If they say it is bad, edify them. There is no reason for a preemptive defense. Kids have enough to be concerned about with their own development and education.

I DO like your last sentence:

“If anyone asks you directly what you think about Ms. Y, you answer honestly: I’m sorry she was confused for so long, sorrier that she had the surgery, and am keeping her in my prayers.”

and I also DO like that you are willing to address the situation with the children.
 
Your links only repeat that the brains of some men fall “in the female range” in certain respects, and the brains of some women fall “in the male range”. They do not explain why this must be seen as a problem, or must be “corrected” through surgery. If a woman’s height falls “in the male range”, we don’t chop off her feet to “correct” it; we encourage her to consider the positive side of being a tall woman. Is it not possible that there is a positive side to being a psychologically feminine male, or a psychologically masculine female? That perhaps it is within God’s plan that such a person use their combination of attributes for some useful purpose? Sure, it is not easy being different, but isn’t it healthier to make the most of our uniqueness then to mutilate our bodies in order to be “normal”? (And how is it normal to have external female genitalia, but lack a womb and ovaries? How is turning a normal male body into an incomplete “female” one not mutilation?)
 
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YinYangMom:
Well, technically, she is now a she even though she was born a he…it really is neither here or there for us because it is between that person and God in the end…
but in your child’s reality, Mr. X now goes as Ms. Y and that is how your child will be expected to address her. It’s a matter of respect for elders/teachers. Even though the person themselves may not deserve your child’s personal respect, your child, being a minor, is obliged to show respect at all times. That is a crucial life lesson.
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I’d actually want my children to avoid people that are this confused and not be in a position to have to contemplate how to address them. They have done something to specifically lessen respect earned and it may be too dangerous for children to be influenced by him. And it is still a him. That is the way God made him. There are some situations where a child is not obliged to show respect - these situations involve when an adult is doing something wrong. It is sad that we have to use discernment today with adults as much as we have to but we must take the hand dealt to us.
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YinYangMom:
Bottom line, as Catholics, we are not allowed to be uncharitable towards lost souls, but we are called to reach out to them, their souls, in an effort to save them. Can’t very well do that if I’m cursing them under my breath every five minutes or can’t bring myself to look them in the eye because I’m so repulsed by their actions.
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Adults are supposed to do this. Children, we must balance. Their protection is primary. Their evanglization ability is secondary. They cannot do the latter without the former.
 
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YinYangMom:
Well that’s a harsh approach which, imo, would make it difficult for a 12 year old to respond compassionately to the person. The term ‘mutilate’ is not one I would use for anyone under 18, especially self-mutilation.
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I agree with not using the term mutilate until appropriate. However, the approach itself is not out of order. It is much more important to protect the proper development of your child than it is for the child to evanglize the adult that is way off track.
 
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fix:
The Church should not be embarrased by the Galileo affair as properly understood, nor will She be embarrased by upholding the moral law even in the face of political movements that wrap themselves in science.
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Excellent point.
 
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Lynn-D:
Never the less I am certain the Church does not look back with favor on any of the deeds committed during the time of the inquisition nor should She.
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In the instances where the Church saved lives from probable death imposed by the government of Spain, she should look back with favor.
 
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