NY bishop condemns amendment proposal on gender ideology

CV NEWS FEED // Bishop John Barres of Rockville Centre has condemned a proposed amendment to the New York State Constitution that would institutionalize gender ideology, with wide-reaching ramifications. 

In a letter published September 23, Bishop Barres outlined concerns about the amendment’s potential effects on children, families, schools, churches, and businesses.

“The amendment would add new language to the State’s version of the ‘Bill of Rights’ that, if approved, could insert gender ideology into child and adult sports, schools, hospitals, and even our churches,” the Bishop wrote.

In an email statement to CatholicVote, Bishop Barres urged New Yorkers to vote “No” on the measure, explaining: “The amendment does nothing to guarantee equality before the law, but instead seeks to eviscerate parental rights and undermine the religious liberty of Catholic parishes, schools, and hospitals.”

The text of the amendment adds to New York’s Constitution a prohibition of “discrimination” based on “age… sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”

The bishops of New York have also collectively condemned the proposed amendment in a recent statement. They warned that because of its broadly worded text, the amendment would “effectively, permanently legalize abortion without restriction and up until the moment of birth in New York.” 

“Aside from being redundant in a state that already has stripped away all abortion limitations, the amendment would render impossible any change to the law if the hearts and minds of New Yorkers were ever to shift toward protecting the child in the womb,” the bishops wrote.

In Bishop Barres’ September 23 letter, he raised the alarm that, given the amendment’s wide ranging scope, it would impose opening women’s sports, bathrooms, and locker rooms to males who identify as transgender, as well as the adoption of “preferred pronouns” in businesses and schools. The measure would also require Catholic hospitals to offer surgeries, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones that mutilate or chemically sterilize minors, and would limit the ability of Catholic institutions to only employ persons who uphold Catholic teaching on sexual morality.

>> HOW TO NAVIGATE GENDER IDEOLOGY? CATHOLIC EXPERTS RESPOND IN NEW BOOK <<

In his letter, Bishop Barres called for active engagement from the faithful regarding the amendment. He echoed the position of U.S. Catholic bishops, who have condemned practices such as genetic engineering, transgender surgeries, and hormonal treatments as contrary to the principles of respecting human life and the integrity of the body.

“New Yorkers who do not wish to see the State Constitution used to implement a harmful gender ideology that would reach into nearly every facet of ever[y]day life, from sports to schools, from bathrooms to gyms to hospitals–even into churches, synagogues and mosques-must vote ‘NO’ on Proposal One,” Bishop Barres concluded. 

Bishop Barres’ letter comes on the heels of Indiana Bishop Kevin Roades’ recent guidelines that address sexual identity. Additionally, a group of Catholic experts has published materials offering guidance to Church leadership on navigating the complexities of gender ideology in line with Catholic teaching.

Recent national discussions have also highlighted concerns about serious harms of gender ideology, particularly regarding puberty blockers and medical interventions for minors. Twenty attorneys general have demanded retractions from the American Academy of Pediatrics for claiming that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones are “reversible,” despite clear evidence and studies to the contrary.

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