Posted on 10/24/2005 5:27:53 AM PDT by COBOL2Java
I know a man who had a "sex change" operation and is now a "woman." What moral teaching does the Church give on this subject?
— A reader in Roseville, California
Given this foundation, we can address the issue of sexual reassignment, which is a type of reconstructive surgery whereby a male is altered anatomically to resemble a female, or vice versa. Transsexual surgery coupled with hormonal treatment and psychotherapy are used to treat the disorder transsexualism or gender dysphoria syndrome, "a condition in which there is apparent psychological and social identification with attributes of the opposite sex" (Meyer, "Psychiatric Consideration in the Sexual Reassignment of Non-Intersex Individuals" in Clinics in Plastic Surgery, 1974). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published under the auspices of the American Psychiatric Association, lists five symptoms of transsexualism: (1) a sense of discomfort and inappropriateness about one’s anatomical sex; (2) a wish to be rid of one’s own genitals and to live as a member of the other sex; (3) the disturbance had been continuous (not limited to periods of stress) for at least two years; (4) the absence of physical intersex or genetic abnormality; (5) and the lack of cause due to another mental disorder, such as schizophrenia. Without question, the causes of these symptoms and their diagnosis is extremely complex.
Nevertheless, once a person has made the decision to pursue a sexual reassignment, eventually radical surgery is performed which involves for a male, castration and the construction of a pseudo-vagina, and for a female, mastectomy and hysterectomy, and the construction of a non-functional pseudo-penis and testes (confer Colin Markland, "Transsexual Surgery" in Obstetrics & Gynecology Annual, 1975). Obviously, such procedures involve a radical and grotesque mutilation of the body.
No transsexual surgery will ever be able to duplicate completely the anatomy or the functioning of the opposite sex. A male transsexual will never be able to ovulate or conceive; and a female transsexual will never be able to germinate sperm. Transsexuals will need to use synthetic hormones continuously to sustain their change, which in turn runs the risk of cancer.
Another moral consideration is whether the condition of transsexualism justifies surgery. No biological cause of transsexualism has been identified. Rather, the cause appears to stem from psychological development, and thereby transsexualism should be treated with psychotherapy. Interestingly, even after surgery, transsexuals need at least some psychotherapeutic support.
Finally, a transsexual will never be able to enter validly into the sacrament of Matrimony. A man who undergoes sexual reassignment will never really be a woman, or vice versa; rather, a man will be a man (or a woman will be a woman), except with a mutilated body and profound psychological disordering. Moreover, a transsexual will never be able to consummate the marriage in the fullest expression of love of husband and wife, and never will there be a real openness to life and the creation of children.
To destroy organs purposefully that are healthy and functioning, and to try to create imitation organs which will never have the genuineness and functioning of authentic organs is gross and lacks charity. Such surgery which purposefully destroys the bodily integrity of the person must be condemned.
Nevertheless, individuals suffering from gender dysphoria syndrome must be treated with compassion. They need spiritual counseling which will help them realize the great love of God who loves them as individuals who have been created in His image and likeness. They need proper psychotherapy which will help them to face realistically their human situation and the world, and the consequences of their actions on themselves and their relationships with family and friends. Such counseling will also direct them to spiritual, intellectual and social pursuits to realize their self-worth and divert their preoccupation with sexual identity.
Just as an aside, the question posed for this article involved the following story: The reader is a retired family practice physician, who still works part-time at the community hospital. His grandchildren had a regular pediatrician. Once his daughter (the mother of the children) asked if he would take them for their appointment. He noticed that their pediatrician seemed distant, pre-occupied and cold. Several months later, he was eating lunch at the hospital cafeteria and a female physician approached who asked if she could join him. He said, "Yes." He then asked, "Do I know you?" The female physician paused and said, "Yes. I used to be so-and-so, your grandchildren’s pediatrician." After a pause, the retired doctor replied, "I have to say, ‘You are looking well.’" What else could he say? When examining this moral issue, once must not simply focus on the gravity of the physical mutilation. Rather, one must also focus on the devastating impact this act has on loved ones — parents, spouses, children — as well as friends and the community at large. Couldn’t a child say in this story, "My father killed himself to be someone else?" Therein lies the tragedy of this heinous act.
Fr. Saunders is pastor of Our Lady of Hope Parish in Potomac Falls and a professor of catechetics and theology at Christendom’s Notre Dame Graduate School in Alexandria.
I agree that counseling by a competent professional is warranted. Quite possibly, counseling by a medical doctor is warranted. There are drugs available by prescription that can help many people with mental illness.
On the other hand, a medical doctor who mutilates a mentally ill person and grossly disfigures them, simply because the mentally ill person is willing to pay for the atrocity, should immediately lose their medical license, and spend time in jail.
Surgery is not the answer to this problem.
Agreed. Hopefully individuals suffering under this illness are able to seek professional help from therapists who are morally grounded in ways outlined by Fr. Saunders. But as you indicated, there are other professionals out there who are not.
Sex-change surgery is just cosmetic surgery carried to an extreme. If the Church is against the one, it ought logically to be against the other: in terms of this article, a harelip is as 'holy' as a penis.
Healthy (properly functioning) genitalia are not a deformity or a malfunction. So-called "sex-change" operations destroy the proper functioning of healthy organs, and replaced them with non-functioning mockeries of other organs.
The difference should be obvious.
Are you joking? I'm willing to go out on a limb and say anybody seeking to change genders is seriously whacked in the head.
The Catholic church condemns any surgery, "cosmetic" or otherwise, which destroys (or makes non-functional) a healthy organ.
A harelip is not a healthy organ, but a malformed one. One would think the difference would be obvious.
I recall once hearing the story of a man who underwent a sex change operation in order to have a lesbian relationship with his wife. You can't make these things up!
A person with a harelip is as God intended him to be and has abilities (like the ability to spit without pursing his lips) which God apparently wanted him to uniquely have. In other words, a harelip is a 'healthy' harelip, not a malformed lip. :^)
Amusing, but far from persuasive.
You're sawing off that skinny branch you're sitting on. If a person born with a harelip "is as God intended him to be," why isn't a person born witha penis "as God intended him to be"?
In other words, a harelip is a 'healthy' harelip, not a malformed lip.
Now you're just being silly.
"Sex-change surgery is just cosmetic surgery carried to an extreme. If the Church is against the one, it ought logically to be against the other: in terms of this article, a harelip is as 'holy' as a penis."
Apples and oranges.
A penis is not a defect.
Repairing a harelip fixes a defective problem - repairing a hole in the cleft palate, improving speech, and improving physical appearance.
Cutting off a penis and giving "him" an artificial vagina that really isn't a vagina at all is mutilation and isn't treating anything.
Homosexual Agenda PLUS Moral Absolutes Two-fer Ping.
It is immoral, unnatural, and crazy to (a) mutilate one's body in order to pretend to be the opposite sex, (b) perform such operations on others, and (c) to applaud or condone such acts.
This is a symptom of a society near destruction.
Freepmail me if you want on/off this pinglist.
Surgery is justified in healing a wound or injury; strengthening a weak or failing function; curing an illness; correcting a deformity. The aim is restoring what is natural and healthy. We have a pretty good idea of what that is.
This is incorrect. A harelip does not function well. (I know something about this, since my adopted son was born with a harelip and cleft palate --- and a club foot --- all of which required surgery.) It is not easy to eat well or to speak well with this deformity. When possible, it should always be surgically corrected.
BTW, God does not intend any disease, whether the cause is a bacterial infection or a congenital disorder or whatever. Disease and death entered the human experience many, many generations ago because of sin; that is, because of the Fall. It is extremely important to realize that all is not now as it was in the beginning, when God saw that everything was "good."
You'll notice that when Jesus walked this earth, He healed people. He didn't try to say that sickness and suffering were healthy.
I am fairly confident that you yourself know the difference between health and illness.
I'm not Jewish, but what I've read is that they are very concerned over mental health as well as physical health and that medical "therapy" should be given for mental/psychological and physical ailments. I bet Jews view SRS differently from Catholics.
It apparently treats a mental ailment.
Depends on which denomination you're talking about. Reform is anything goes, so they're likely for it. Conservative and Orthodox would be against it for reasons similar to the Catholic Church.
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