Pope Francis has strongly criticised the notion of gender theory as an example of an attitude that sins against God the creator.
In an interview published in a book recently released in Italy, the Pope put gender theory in the same category as genetic manipulation and nuclear weapons.
These are all threats to creation, that disfigure the face of man and woman, the Pope warned, according to an article in the National Catholic Reporter.
Church leaders have used the term “gender theory” to refer to ideas that question the God-given nature of sex differences and the complementarity of man and women as the basis for the family.
Under some gender theories, “sex” may be what a person is biologically, but gender is what the person believes himself or herself to be.
The latter can be imposed by oppressive cultural stereotypes, some gender theorists believe.
They posit that people should be able to identify as male, female, neither or both.
In Pope Francis, This Economy Kills by Italian journalists Andrea Tornielli and Giacomo Galeazzi, the Pope is asked about the importance for Christians of safeguarding creation.
Francis referred to the duty of all people to respect and care for the environment.
But he added that every historical period has “Herods” that “destroy, that plot designs of death, that disfigure the face of man and woman, destroying creation”.
“Let’s think of the nuclear arms, of the possibility to annihilate in a few instants a very high number of human beings,” he continued.
“Let’s think also of genetic manipulation, of the manipulation of life, or of the gender theory, that does not recognise the order of creation.”
“With this attitude, man commits a new sin, that against God the Creator,” the Pope said.
“The true custody of creation does not have anything to do with the ideologies that consider man like an accident, like a problem to eliminate.”
“God has placed man and woman and the summit of creation and has entrusted them with the Earth,” Francis said.
“The design of the Creator is written in nature.”
Last month, Francis referred to gender theory as an example of “ideological colonisation that tries to destroy the family”.
Sources