Bishop Robert Barron. Photo: CNS. Madalaine Elhabbal / CNA
Bishop Robert Barron has released a statement commending President Donald Trump’s recent executive order banning federal funding for “transgender” medical interventions for minors.
“I welcome the president’s executive order,” Bishop Barron said in a statement in his capacity as chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth.
“So many young people who have been victims of this ideological crusade have profound regrets over its life-altering consequences, such as infertility and lifelong dependence on costly hormone therapies that have significant side effects,” Bishop Barron said.
In his statement, the Minnesota bishop who is also the founder of the Catholic media apostolate Word on Fire condemned the widespread promotion of “transgender” medical interventions for minors that came into vogue under the Biden administration, calling them “unacceptable”.
Referencing Pope Francis’ 2024 papal declaration Dignitas Infinita, Barron emphasised that “we are all called to accept the gift of our bodies created in God’s image as male and female” and to recognise the inherent beauty of sexual difference as the foundation of marriage.
“I also applaud the executive order’s aim to identify and develop research-based therapies to aid young people struggling with gender dysphoria,” he continued. “These individuals are loved by God and possess the same inherent dignity that all persons do. They deserve care that heals rather than harms.”
At the USCCB fall meeting in Baltimore last year, Bishop Barron spoke about his committee’s “Love Means More” initiative based on Dignitas Infinita. The effort is intended to share the foundational principles of Church teaching about love in such a way that Catholics and non-Catholics alike can understand.
“Helping young people accept their bodies and their vocation as women and men is the true path of freedom and happiness,” he concluded.
Less than 1% of the population over the age of 13 in the US are transgender, according to a study by the UCLA Williams Institute, and the number seeking medical care is smaller.
The gender order states that it will “defend women’s rights and protect freedom of conscience by using clear and accurate language and policies that recognise women are biologically female, and men are biologically male”.
It requires that the federal government use the term ‘sex’ instead of ‘gender’, and directs the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to “require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex”.