Editor’s note: This article was updated on October 18 to include a statement from the Diocese of Green Bay.
CV NEWS FEED // Spokespeople for several individual bishops and for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have issued responses to a recent report that found hundreds of children were subjected to “transgender” surgeries or puberty blockers at U.S.-based Catholic hospitals between 2019 and 2023.
As CatholicVote previously reported, the secular advocacy organization Do No Harm found that between 2019 and 2023, 170 children were subjected to “transgender” surgeries and 508 children were prescribed cross-sex hormone or puberty blocker drugs at various Catholic hospitals in the nation.
In an email comment to CatholicVote about the report’s findings, USCCB spokesperson Chieko Noguchi emphasized Church teaching regarding gender and surgical intervention:
The Catholic Church is clear in its teaching about the inherent dignity of each person as created in the image and likeness of God. We are always called to accompany those who are struggling, and this certainly includes people who struggle with his or her God-given identity as male or female; however, the bishops of the United States and the Holy See have been clear as to what is morally acceptable when it comes to procedures or interventions related to “gender transition.”
In the comment, Noguchi linked the U.S. bishops’ March 2023 statement, which provides Catholic health care institutions with what moral criteria must be taken into account when determining whether a medical intervention is morally permissible.
Noguchi also linked the Vatican-issued April 2024 declaration Dignitatis Infinita, which states that “any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception.”
Noguchi concluded, “Let us pray that we may all find the compassion and wisdom to better help our brothers and sisters accept who God created them to be.”
On October 16, the National Catholic Register reported that it received a statement from a spokesman for Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, a Minnesota diocese that did not have any reported violations at its Catholic hospitals. The Reporter did not disclose the names of any of the spokesmen in the article.
“The surgical mutilation and chemical castration of young kids under the rubric of ‘gender-affirming care’ is a moral outrage,” the spokesman stated via email on behalf of Bishop Barron. “That any of it takes place within the confines of a Catholic hospital is appalling.”
Writing on behalf of the state’s bishops, the Catholic Conference of Ohio told the Register that persons “experiencing gender incongruence must receive compassionate treatment and personal accompaniment without resorting to medical interventions that harm the created body.” For the full statement from the Conference to the Register, click here.
In an email to the Register, a spokesman for Bishop Austin Vetter of the Diocese of Helena, Montana, emphasized Church teaching and the bishop’s intention to take action in light of two Catholic hospitals in the Diocese reportedly being involved in childrens’ “gender transitions.”
“The Catholic Church and Bishop Vetter have been clear in communicating that such treatments are contrary to the infinite dignity of each person as created in the image and likeness of God,” the spokesman stated.
According to the spokesman, there are also discrepancies in the report’s findings and what information the hospitals have given the bishop.
“This allegation also contradicts what Catholic healthcare providers have communicated to Bishop Vetter,” the spokesman stated. “Bishop Vetter will address these concerning claims directly with Catholic providers in the diocese amidst his ongoing support of their 150-year legacy of healing and service to the people of Montana.”
In Appleton, Wisconsin, Ascension NE Wisconsin St. Elizabeth Campus, which refers to itself as a “Catholic health ministry,” reportedly performed “sex-change” surgeries on six children between 2019 and 2023. Appleton is within the Diocese of Green Bay.
Sarah Gietman, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Green Bay, told CatholicVote in an email statement that the Diocese is reviewing the content of the Do No Harm Report. Gietman also stated that area Catholic hospitals are not operated by the Diocese, and that those hospitals have their own boards of directors that oversee them.
“It is the expectation that these Catholic healthcare systems follow the ministry and teachings of the Church by continuing Jesus’ mission of love and healing so as not to threaten the unique dignity a person receives from the moment of conception,” Gietman added, referencing paragraph 60 of Dignitas Infinita.
Both the diocese and Bishop David Ricken are transparent in their support and promotion of the Church’s teachings, Gietman stated, highlighting Church teaching that every person is a unity of body and soul, and is made in the image of God.
Gietman also quoted a 2023 Doctrinal Note from the USCCB that states that “Catholic health care services must not perform interventions, whether chemical or surgical,” with the intention of attempting to “transition” a person.
“Each Catholic hospital ought to align with the Catholic Church in their mission, values statements, and practices as an organization,” Gietman wrote.
According to CatholicVote’s previous report, the states where the highest number of children were subjected to “transgender” surgeries in Catholic hospitals were Oregon, California, Washington, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
After the Do No Harm report was released, Director of CatholicVote’s Catholic Accountability Project Tommy Valentine said, “I know a lot of people in and around Catholic healthcare, and it’s clear that most of our Catholic hospitals provide care that respects human dignity. But a minority of them have lost the plot.”
He added, “Catholics must channel their anger and shock over this constructively. We’re all on the same team here, including the bishops, and we need to work together to prevent this madness from ever happening again within our hospitals.”