Catholic Educators Rise to Defend Women’s Sports

In December 2021, the witness of faithful Catholic educators helped persuade the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to include broad protection for the mission of religious colleges in the Association’s new constitution.

Although the NCAA also took new steps to embrace gender ideology, the accommodation to religious colleges was a surprising concession showing the great importance of Catholics standing firm against gender ideology and in defense of women’s sports.

Awareness is growing in American society about the errors of gender ideology, originally embraced out of compassion for a very few people who are born with ambiguous sexuality. Now the false ideology threatens to erase gains made in recent decades for women’s athletics and protection from sexual assault. Men declaring themselves female and choosing to compete in women’s sports or use women’s private facilities is corrupting sports at all academic and professional levels, from high school swimming to Olympic events

Faithful Catholic education respects not only the biological sex of students but also Catholic teaching which affirms God’s creation of humans as male and female. Catholic schools and colleges, then, must firmly resist demands that they admit biological men to women’s sports and should set an important example as faithful witnesses to the truth.

Catholics challenge the NCAA

In December, I went public at the National Catholic Register with concerns raised by leaders of several faithful Catholic colleges that we recommend in our Newman Guide, and which participate in Division II or III of the NCAA. The presidents of Belmont Abbey College, Catholic University of America, University of Dallas, University of Mary, University of St. Thomas (Tex.) and Walsh University had been fighting proposed changes to the NCAA constitution that seemed intended to push out religious colleges with traditional views of sexuality and gender.

By adding deliberately pointed language to its constitution—that colleges must “comply with federal and state laws and local ordinances, including respect to gender equity, diversity and inclusion”— the NCAA appeared to be stacking the deck against religious colleges. The language seemed designed to ban Catholic colleges from membership in the NCAA, if at any point they go to court to assert exemption from state and federal laws and to defend their mission.

This amendment to the NCAA constitution was the result of lobbying by activists including the anti-Catholic Human Rights Campaign. It would have set up a legal showdown between the NCAA and faithful Catholic colleges that refuse to accept biological males on women’s teams.

“The Catholic attempt to use sport toward the integral formation of the human person and to give praise and honor to the Creator is subverted by competing ideologies in the common culture, especially gender ideology,” warns The Cardinal Newman Society in our new standards for sports at Catholic schools and colleges. “The issue is bigger than just sexual politics; Catholic educators must resist gender theories that aim to annihilate the concept of nature and our understanding of who we are and how we exist in the world.”

GENDER IDEOLOGY THREATENS TO ERASE GAINS MADE FOR WOMEN’S ATHLETICS AND PROTECTION FROM SEXUAL ASSAULT.

Thankfully, the faithful Newman Guide colleges joined many other religious colleges in urging the NCAA to add another provision to its constitution, ensuring their rights to uphold their religious missions. The Cardinal Newman Society made the issue public and endorsed the new language, “Consistent with the principle of institutional control, no provision in this Constitution should be construed to restrict or limit colleges and universities, public or private, from adopting or maintaining missions and policies consistent with their legal rights or obligations as institutions of high learning.”

My column in the National Catholic Register was widely distributed on social media, and it was cited by Catholic and other Christian media. A few days later, the NCAA added new language to its constitution recognizing the mission priorities of religious colleges. Apparently, the NCAA governors decided losing Catholic and Christian colleges as members would harm the association and would be patently unfair to student-athletes.

Faithful Catholic education is worth fighting for, and it was the smaller but most faithful colleges that helped achieve this valuable protection, even while large institutions like Georgetown University instead advocated the “woke” agenda of gender ideology.

Tough road ahead

The added language to the NCAA constitution does not mean religious colleges will not face difficulties in the future. The association has signaled acceptance of gender ideology, allowing each sport’s national governing body to determine its own approach to competition by students who claim an opposite gender, subject to review by an NCAA committee. It remains to be seen whether the NCAA will honor its statement of respect for religious education.

In college sports generally, the challenge of gender ideology faces women in multiple sports. University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, a biological male who is undergoing hormone therapy, has made headlines by setting pool records in the Ivy league swimming championship.

The problems are also reaching into high school athletics. The fastest female runner in Connecticut high schools was forced to file a lawsuit in 2020, together with other student-athletes, because of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s decision to allow biological males to race against girls. The lawsuit was deemed moot by a federal court last year, since the girls had graduated, and it was dismissed—but the girls have appealed the ruling.

Often Catholic schools and colleges belong to such athletic associations, and these are likely to continue presenting challenges for Catholic educators. Whether on gender identity, prayer before games or other concerns of Catholic institutions, secular society is increasingly unwilling to respect the needs of Catholic education. But compromising on fundamental truths of human nature and a school or college’s mission is not an option.

On the other hand, witnessing to the truth is itself a valuable education for students—not only when we win, but also when we lose. Ultimately, we can trust in the Holy Spirit to protect the Church and open new doors to Catholic formation if we only stay faithful.

 

Policy Standards on Formation of the Human Person in Catholic School and College Sports

 

Everything in a Catholic educational institution must serve its mission of seeking and teaching truth, the sanctification of its students, and service to society. The primary means of advancing this mission is the academic program, which has pride of place and first claim to resources in the life of the institution. The delivery of the academic program takes place within a rich Catholic environment and is inspired by a Catholic worldview. However, co-curricular and extracurricular programs also are important to students’ formation and also must take place within this same rich Catholic environment and worldview. This is particularly true of sports which, in Catholic educational institutions, are an effective means to provide for the well-being of man and to give glory and praise to the Creator.[1]

The goals of a Catholic institution’s sports program include student-athlete growth in physical skills and strength, growth in Christian character and virtue, and becoming a selfless and supportive member of a community. Through integral and holistic Catholic education, student-athletes will come to understand who they are as unified persons of body and soul, as sons and daughters of God, and as responsible members of a community.

These essential goals are threatened if physical health or safety is compromised or ignored, if the pursuit of human physical excellence neglects concomitant growth in moral excellence, if the truth and dignity of the human person is distorted by presenting an errant understanding of the human person, or if sports are placed above the good of the person or of the community. Sports enthusiast St. John Paul II, while recognizing the power of sport for good, also notes its danger if sport is simply “reduced to mere effort and to a questionable, soulless demonstration of physical strength.”[2] He also stresses that particularly in sport, “Every care must be taken to protect the human body from any attack on its integrity, from any exploitation and from any idolatry.”[3]  

Catholic sports programs must not only focus on the positive formative power of sports, but also guard against a deformation that sports might bring about through exploitation of athletes, abuse of the body through steroids or drugs, intemperance, vanity, or lack of charity and justice toward competitors, to name but a few challenges. The recent movement to allow athletes to compete on teams based on a self-determined gender not tied to biological sex (i.e., “transgendered athletes”) is another danger that must be resisted. In teaching and affirming the truth about the human person, a Catholic school or college must communicate care and respect for others, who are at various stages of physical development, moral formation, and self-understanding. While affirming the dignity of all persons and seeking to lead all to the saving love of Christ, Catholic educational institutions must, in service to truth, charity, and justice, give witness in their athletic programs to the “total and harmonious physical, moral, and social development”[4] of student athletes.

Principles

Principle 1: “The Church is interested in sport because the person is at her heart, the whole person, and she recognizes that sports activity affects the formation, relations and spirituality of a person.”[5]

Catholic educational institutions form the whole person, mind, body and spirit: “integral formation of the human person, which is the purpose of education, includes the development of all the human faculties of the students.”[6] While classrooms lend themselves to development of the mind and spirit, sport is particularly valuable for forming the whole person:

Sport, rightly understood, is an occupation of the whole man, and while perfecting the body as an instrument of the mind, it also makes the mind itself a more refined instrument for the search and communication of truth and helps man to achieve that end to which all others must be subservient, the service and praise of his Creator.[7]

Many Catholic schools and colleges, recognizing this reality, interject spirituality throughout their sports programs by including prayers at both practices and games, celebrating team Masses, providing for team chaplains, engaging in service projects, and ensuring that sports do not interfere with Sabbath and Holy Day obligations.

Rightly understood, sport is capable of helping empower the mind to pursue truth and, in its own way, give honor and glory to God. St. John Paul II further develops this Catholic understanding:

Sport, in fact, even under the aspect of physical education, finds in the Church support for all its good and wholesome elements. For the Church cannot but encourage everything that serves the harmonious development of the human body, rightly considered the masterpiece of the whole of creation, not only because of its proportion, vigor, and beauty, but also and especially because God has made it his dwelling and the instrument of an immortal soul, breathing into it that “breath of life” (cf. Gen. 2:7) by which man is made in his image and likeness. If we then consider the supernatural aspect, St. Paul’s words are an illuminating admonition: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? So glorify God in your body” (1 Cor 6:15; 19-20).[8]

Given the power and benefits of sports in human formation, Catholic schools and colleges should ensure opportunities for all students to benefit from athletic formation, not just accomplished athletes. Physical education classes, intramural sports, “pick-up games,” and informal opportunities of physical play among students of all types should be encouraged given the benefits of such activities. The money and time put into interschool sports should not detract from the larger role and opportunity sports can play for all students, not just the formal team athletes. And even accomplished athletes should bear in mind that the desire to win must not hinder or obscure the many other benefits sports offers to them.

Principle 2: “The Catholic educator must consciously inspire his or her activity with the Christian concept of the human person.”[9]

Sport is a powerful tool for teaching basic truths about the human person. “Students should be helped to see the human person as a living creature having both a physical and a spiritual nature; each of us has an immortal soul, and we are in need of redemption.”[10] The stakes are high, because “neglecting the unity of body and soul results in an attitude that either entirely disregards the body or fosters a worldly materialism. Hence, all the dimensions have to be taken into account in order to understand what actually constitutes the human being.”[11] With the fundamental concept of the human person so grievously under attack in the common culture, Catholic educational institutions cannot remain passive or silent, but must give witness to the truth of the human person.

Among these fundamental truths are:

  • the material world (and everything that exists) is good, as it is created by God;[12]
  • the things of creation are to be received in awe, respect, and gratitude as gifts from God and not manipulated, dominated, and controlled in ways contrary to their natural ends;[13]
  • everyone, by nature of their creation by God and eternal destiny, has inherent dignity and must be treated with love and respect;[14]
  • the very existence of our bodies is one of the awesome creative gifts of God, and the body is “a temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19) which we must treat with honor and respect according to God’s original purpose;
  • the human person is a “being at once corporeal and spiritual; body and soul”;[15]
  • God made us male and female, two distinct but equally dignified and complementary ways of being human;[16]
  • the concepts of sex and gender can be distinguished but not disaggregated,[17] and a person “should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity”;[18]
  • there is a natural “language of the body” which helps us understand and express our united physical and spiritual selves;[19] and
  • God, through Jesus Christ, the perfect man, fully reveals man to himself.[20]

The transmission of this Christian understanding of man, this Christian anthropology, is an important part of the mission of Catholic education. The elemental nature of sport can assist in properly situating students in reality and experiencing the unity of body and soul. The Vatican notes that, “In the context of the modern world, sport is perhaps the most striking example of the unity of body and soul.”[21] While this unity is evident in other contexts, the context of sport seeks the harmony of body and will as an athlete negotiates complex physical realities often amid moments of high stress. 

The Catholic attempt to use sport toward the integral formation of the human person and to give praise and honor to the Creator is subverted by competing ideologies in the common culture, especially gender ideology. The issue is bigger than just about sexual politics; Catholic educators must resist gender theories that “aim to annihilate the concept of ‘nature’”[22] and our understanding of who we are and how we exist in the world. The Congregation for Catholic Education has recently warned of gender ideology:

It is becoming increasingly clear that we are now facing with [sic] what might accurately be called an educational crisis… [a] disorientation regarding anthropology which is… bringing with it a tendency to cancel out the differences between men and women, presenting them instead as merely the product of historical and cultural conditioning.[23]

Catholic educational institutions must fight for social justice by providing “the conditions that allow associations or individuals to obtain what is their due, according to their nature and their vocation.”[24] All athletes are due a fair environment in which to compete against their biological and age-related peers. A college student is typically bigger, faster, and stronger than a high school student, so we do not normally let them compete in high school events. By nature, men are typically bigger, faster, and stronger than women and so should not play against them in competitive interschool athletics.[25] No student should usurp the right of another student to fair competition with his or her physical peers.

It is therefore unjust for any student to be forced to surrender his or her right to compete against others of the same biological sex because of another student’s gender dysphoria. Requiring an athlete who may be struggling with gender dysphoria to compete against his or her physical peers does not deprive the opportunity to participate in sport but is acknowledging his or her biological and God-given nature.

In particular, allowing a male to compete on a female team is unjust for several reasons. It may mean he takes the place of a weaker female who otherwise would have made the team and is now denied the chance to develop and compete. A female on the team may see reduced playing time. It may put smaller females at greater risk of injury, especially in sports like football, basketball, or soccer in which contact is common. Injustice is also present, since males will disproportionally find success against females and hence an elevated social status. Finally, there is the injustice of “economic valuing,” as males will have greater access to scholarships at the collegiate level and contracts at the professional level if allowed to compete head-to-head against females. Permitting biological males to compete against biological females violates the notion that sports must be “an occasion to practice human and Christian virtues of solidarity, loyalty, good behavior and respect for others, who must be seen as competitors and not as mere opponents or rivals.” The solidarity, loyalty and bonding that sports provides for groups of men and women is different in gendered and mixed gendered environments.

Principle 3: “Sport has in itself an important moral and educative significance: it is a training ground of virtue, a school of inner balance and outer control, an introduction to more true and lasting conquests.”[26]

Catholic education “aims at forming in the Christian those particular virtues which will enable him to live a new life in Christ and help him to play faithfully his part in building up the Kingdom of God,”[27] and sports are particularly well-suited to develop many of these critical virtues.[28] St. John Paul II emphasized that sports require basic human qualities such as “awareness of one’s personal limits, fair competition, acceptance of precise rules, respect for one’s opponent and a sense of solidarity and unselfishness. Without these qualities, sport would be reduced to mere effort and to a questionable, soulless demonstration of physical strength.”[29]

A virtue is “an habitual and firm disposition to do the good.”[30] The virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance are all acquired by human effort. They come through practice. In this they mirror the acquisition of sports skills: opportunity for practice and repetition are critical to mastery and habitude. Sports provide rich opportunities for safe and regulated venues to work on virtue development.

If sports are not carefully managed, however, vice can also develop. St. John Paul II notes that:

Sport runs the risk of degrading man if it is not based on and supported by the human virtues of loyalty, generosity and respect for the rules of the game as well as respect for the player. These are virtues that harmonize well with the Christian spirit because they demand a capacity for self-control, self-denial, sacrifice and humility, and therefore an attitude of gratefulness to God, who is the giver of every good and therefore also the giver of the necessary physical and intellectual talents. Sport is not merely the exercise of muscles, but it is the school of mortal values and of training in courage, in perseverance, and in overcoming laziness and carelessness. Besides, it is an antidote for weakness, discouragement and dejection in defeat. There is no doubt that these values are of greatest interest for the formation of a personality which consider sports not an end in itself but as a means to total and harmonious physical, moral, and social development.[31]

Anything that might degrade a person should be prohibited in a Catholic institution’s sports program, for  “The Church understands the human person as a unit of body, soul and spirit, and seek[s] to avoid any kind of reductionism in sport that debases human dignity.”[32] Catholic sports programs should ensure there is never any type of player hazing; any type of coaching that is physically, emotionally, or spiritually abusive, harmful, or degrading; and any type of fan behavior that is derogatory or unsportsmanlike.

While physical health is naturally showcased in sports, physical modesty is also to be pursued in a Catholic program. Athletic dress (formal and informal) should assist toward this end, and facilities for dressing should help promote modesty, privacy, and chastity.

While a healthy acknowledgement of one’s gifts is appropriate, the virtue of humility is also to be extolled, and individual or team opponents are never to be cruelly humiliated through mindless, overwhelming dominance. The goal of sports is, through healthy competition, to build up both one’s self and others through growth in mind, strength, skill, and virtue. While these virtues may not be evident in an opponent’s program or well-modeled by professional athletes or programs, in a Catholic context there is a difference in the way sports and virtue are united. In fact, this public witness can be extremely powerful. For good or for ill, competition with another team’s athletes and fans may impact their view of Catholics and Catholicism in general and should be taken into consideration.

Catholic educational institutions seek to leverage the powerful virtue-building opportunities sport provides, and they must protect the integrity of sport so that this powerful tool is not subverted or co-opted by forces promoting a counter-Catholic worldview and concept of man.

Standards for Policies Related to Catholic School and College Sports

In Catholic education, policies involving Catholic school and college athletics programs should:

  • complement and extend the institution’s academic and religious mission;
  • ensure that the academic enterprise and the spiritual priorities of the institution take precedence over athletics;
  • assist in the holistic and integral formation and flourishing of the human person and thereby help the athlete to give glory and praise to the Creator;
  • provide for the spiritual development of student-athletes through prayer and, if possible, the services of a chaplain;
  • guard against exploitation or idolatry related to the body and protect the body not only from physical injury but also from any attack on its physical, spiritual, and psychological integrity;
  • ensure that school and college personnel and players are formed in a Christian and virtue-based approach to sport, highlighting virtues including justice, with its emphasis on fair play and respect, and temperance, with its emphasis on modesty and self-control in action and speech, especially in moments of pain and tension; and
  • promote the common good through self-sacrifice and seeking the good of others.

Operationalizing the Standards

To meet these core standards, policies and practices such as those below can be of assistance:

  • Describe to students and in official policy documents—such as an athletics mission statement—how sports complement and extend the institution’s mission.[33]
  • Ensure that the institution’s academics and religious programs are prioritized over athletics in resources and marketing, so that the institution’s primary public identity and pride are situated in its academic and religious identity.
  • Ensure that athletes are held to the same standards of academic performance, morality, and decorum as other students, so as to avoid a perception of two classes of students.
  • Create opportunities for all students to participate in sports at various levels (intramural, pick-up, informal) so as to benefit from their formative value. Avoid focus on just inter-school athletics or privileging the most talented athletes above other students.
  • To ensure that sporting programs effectively develop the spiritual, emotional, social, and moral dimensions of student athletes, establish professional development programs and policies for athletics personnel. They should be formed in a spirituality of athletics as part of their ongoing professional development. Such formation may include presentations by theologians on Christian anthropology, the role of sport and play in human wellbeing, and sports as a tool of evangelization and virtue development.[34]
  • Standards for hiring and evaluating coaches should require that they be role models for Christian virtue and maturity and avoid humiliation, degradation, or disrespect of student athletes.
  • Ensure that public prayer is a part of each home pre-game program and encourage post-game team prayers as well. Designate a program or team chaplain, if possible, to schedule and lead team Masses, retreats, and service projects.
  • Avoid practices and games on Sundays to allow for proper celebration of the Lord’s Day. Ensure that, if Sunday is a day of travel, students can attend Mass.
  • Insist that student safety and wellbeing are non-negotiable. If size or strength differentials or any other factor creates a situation of physical or psychological harm, ensure that a policy is in place to end a competition.
  • Develop policies to prohibit the use of steroids, assist students struggling with substance abuse, and promote integral bodily health.
  • To maintain the program’s mission and to ensure student safety, fair play, and justice, determine participation on sex-specific athletic teams by students’ biological sex, not gender expression or self-proclaimed gender identity. Sex identified at birth on a birth certificate can normally suffice to determine team placement. The extremely rare case of a child identified at birth with a disorder of sex development can be handled on a case-by case basis with medical consultation.
  • Consider invoking opt-out provisions when offered by a league or sport association that permits transgendered athletes or otherwise compromises the integrity of athletics and risks scandal to students.
  • Develop a policy requiring users of campus facilities to use restrooms or locker rooms corresponding to their biological sex, even when visiting from another institution. A person suffering from gender dysphoria should, if possible, have access to a designated, private gender-neutral facility for changing or bathroom needs.
  • Temper a win-at-all-costs mentality to ensure that sports are seen as beneficial in and of themselves, as an opportunity for human play and personal and team development in skill, strength, and virtue.
  • Ensure that athletic programs, policies, practices, and competitions promote the development of student virtue, good sportsmanship behavior, and the dignity of the human person including modesty in personal decorum and comportment. Modesty in dress avoids clothing that might be too tight, too short, reveals undergarments, or is missing altogether and requires changing in private areas. Modesty in talk means avoiding offensive songs, jokes, or other speech. Modesty in action means not seeking undue attention to oneself or envy of others’ successes.
  • Promote community by teaching students to show respect and care for fellow athletes, cheering them on, forgiving mistakes, showing encouragement them, and establishing positive friendships. Consequently this means a complete prohibition of hazing, cruel teasing, establishing cliques, and ostracizing others. Respect is also due to coaches and officials, precluding criticism of them in the performance of their duties.
  • Ensure that all persons attending sporting events (athletes, teams, coaches, and fans) are required to respect each other before, during, and after sports competitions. Bullying, mockery, or any sort of uncivil or unsportsmanlike behavior directed at any athletic participant for any reason is always forbidden.

Possible Questions

Question: Could we just let sport be sport, run a competitive program like our peers, and leave the rest to theology class or Sunday school?

Response: Catholic schools and colleges are educational evangelical communities of faith. Sports in our communities are a part of something much bigger than simply competition and athletic glory. Because Catholic education is different, with a more comprehensive integrated approach to student formation, our sports programs are different. They are orientated to integral formation of mind, body, and spirit within a Catholic understanding of the human person.

Question: Our coaches and trainers are not theologians and, in some cases, not even Catholic. Isn’t a philosophical and theological agenda impracticable for them?

Response: This may be a weakness that needs to be addressed. The Appendix has a few resources to start coaches and programs on a path to deeper Catholic understanding in these areas. The Cardinal Newman Society’s publication “All Employees Matter” may also help athletics personnel realize the privilege and responsibility of working in a Catholic educational institution.

Question: Isn’t it a violation of good taste and religious freedom to offer a specifically Christian or Catholic prayer before a game? Is that proselytizing? Shouldn’t we choose the most generic and universal sentiments to avoid offending others?

Response: In athletic events, the home team is responsible for the pre-game program. When we invite guests into our “home,” it is a Catholic home. We have a chance to show our guests who we are: a community of faith and part of the Catholic Church, and in this instance the Church at play and prayer. While we respect our guests and should never choose a Catholic prayer that might lead to confusion, we also respect them enough to assume they are capable of the virtue of tolerance and respect incumbent upon guests in another person’s home or Church. We should never shy away from the name of Jesus in any prayer or circumstance out of a false sense of inclusivity or a fear of appearing pious, e.g.,  John 14:13-14: “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” Also see Matthew 10:33: “But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven.”

Question: Don’t laws and athletic associations require a school or college to provide students access to the team of their choice according to their declared sexual identity?

Response: Local, state, and federal laws in the United States and athletic association policies are changing rapidly on this subject, and there is no national consensus. A Catholic school or college must carefully review applicable laws and affiliations. Regardless, there is no option for a faithfully Catholic institution to deny or cast doubt upon the God-given biological sex of any person, including students and employees. This would violate the mission of Catholic education to teach and witness to truth. Faced with a legal challenge, a Catholic institution’s best defense may be to assert religious freedom by claiming exemption from the law, seeking relief under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or appealing to the First Amendment or provisions in a state constitution. A school or college has the strongest claim to religious freedom protections if its policies and actions are directly explained by Catholic teachings, consistently faithful, and consistently applied over time and across situations.

Question: Not allowing a student the choice of team based on self-declared sexual identity seems bigoted and discriminatory. Isn’t equal opportunity in all aspects of school or college programming a core value in education?

Response: A policy of assigning students to single-sex teams according to the truth of their biological sex treats all men and women equitably and provides access to sports based on the disinterested classification of sex. The policy exists precisely to ensure equal opportunity for women, most of whom would otherwise be excluded from competition simply because they are naturally and physically different from men. Unjust discrimination occurs when similar people are segregated based on unchosen or unchangeable characteristics like race or sex, and the characteristic is irrelevant to the nature of the activity or policy. A school or college’s single-sex team policy acknowledges the scientific fact that men and women are not similar physiologically because of their biological makeup, yet ensures that all men and all women have similar opportunities to engage in sports.

Question: Won’t it hurt the feelings of students and attack their dignity if they are not allowed to choose a team?

Response: On the contrary, students benefit from acknowledging reality and wrestling with desires and ideas that are opposed to what is truthful and healthy. A single-sex team policy determined by biological sex is truthful, compassionate, and based on common sense. It provides a solution that does not compromise the dignity or safety of any athlete, and it protects female athletes who have access to athletic competitions that might not be otherwise available if forced to compete against males.

Question: Doesn’t allowing students access to sex-segregated changing facilities and locker rooms according to their gender identity affirm their dignity?

Response: Student athletes would not be treated with dignity if they were forced into a state of undress in front of the opposite sex. Coaches also have a right to be treated with dignity and should not be expected to supervise or observe an undressed student of the opposite sex. Maintaining the integrity of sex-designated facilities according to biological sex is the most protective policy given the conflicting needs and interests of all parties.

 

This document was developed with substantial comment and contributions from education, legal, and other experts. The lead author is Dan Guernsey, Ed.D., Senior Fellow at The Cardinal Newman Society and principal of a diocesan K-12 Catholic school.

 

Appendix A: Examples of Policies for Catholic Schools

This Appendix includes examples of policies in use at the time of publication. These are presented in alphabetical order by category and are not necessarily exemplary in all possible areas.

Athletic Mission and Philosophy

Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, N.C.[35]

Belmont Abbey Athletics: We exist to affect a positive change in the culture of sport by upholding a standard of virtue and excellence in all we do. Our mission is to provide positive athletic experiences in an academic environment where students will be encouraged to strive for virtue and excellence so that in all things God may be glorified.

University of Mary, Bismarck, N.D.

Marauders Vision Statement

To be the preeminent intercollegiate athletic department for developing the greatness within each human person through the practice of virtue and the formation of authentic friendships.

Marauders Mission Statement

Create a department-wide culture committed to individual greatness through Virtuous Leadership.

Philosophy

Virtues themselves are at the core of the athletic experience, and there are many that could be useful for scholar-athletes. In keeping with the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, the University of Mary has chosen to focus on six virtues: the four “Cardinal Virtues” of prudence, justice, courage, and temperance; paired with two virtues worthy of particular note as they pertain to sport: magnanimity and humility. Additionally, we recognize that the signs of these virtues—and thus the signs of greatness that will demonstrate our progress—will be solidarity and harmony. These reveal an integrated individual and communal living.

Our Strategic Plan ultimately focuses on five essential elements of the scholar-athlete experience at Mary. The following five essential areas taken together will serve as the blueprint for athletics at the University of Mary: 1. Virtuous Leadership and Whole-Person Development 2. Virtue-Based Approach to Academic Excellence 3. Virtue-Based Approach to Athletic Excellence 4. Virtue-Based Approach to Scholar-Athlete Safety, Health and Well-Being 5. Virtue-Based Approach to Community Integration and Connectedness

Code of Conduct

Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, N.C.[36]

While there are great incentives and advantages to being a student-athlete, there are also special responsibilities and requirements that accompany being a student athlete and representing Belmont Abbey College. The athletics department places the highest priority on respect and integrity in all endeavors and expects its student athletes to conduct themselves, both on and off campus, in a manner which reflects positively on Belmont Abbey College and its athletic teams. As such, student athletes must be concerned with any behavior which might discredit themselves, their teams, and/or the college and shall act in a manner that respects opponents, coaches, administrators, fans, and officials.

As a Benedictine Catholic College, the ten Benedictine Hallmarks, especially those of hospitality, obedience, humility, and community, guide and permeate the athletics activities on campus. In particular, these Hallmarks embody an expectation of one’s self and of one’s neighbor. Student-athletes are expected to act in concert with these Hallmarks so that the mission of the institution – That In All Things God May Be Glorified – is fulfilled.

Belmont Abbey College, Conference Carolinas and the NCAA encourage and promote good sportsmanship on and off the field. Student-athletes are expected to abide by core values of civility and respect for opponents. Profanity, racial, ethnic or sexual comments or other intimidating actions will not be tolerated and may be grounds for disciplinary actions.

The College expects its student-athletes to train and strive for their highest degree of athletic excellence, to demonstrate academic honesty and integrity and to conduct themselves as responsible citizens. Student-athletes must abide by all College, NCAA and Conference Carolinas codes, rules, regulations and policies, in addition to adhering with all state and federal laws.

In addition, student-athletes are subject to the rules and regulations specified by each head coach for team membership. A head coach, athletic administrator, or senior-level college administrator may at any time, if they believe the student athlete has engaged in misconduct, reprimand a student-athlete, suspend the student-athlete from the team, or impose conditions of probation or consequence on the student-athlete’s continued participation on the team. Any reprimand will be administered by the head coach and/or athletic administration.

Disciplinary Procedures for Rules and Conduct Infractions

  1. The designated athletic administrator will meet with the head coach of the student-athlete to discuss the possible disciplinary actions.
  2. The student-athlete will meet with the designated athletic administrator or coach to evaluate the incident. The designated athletic administrator or coach will present the charges of infraction to the student-athlete.
  3. The designated athletic administrator or coach will meet with student athlete to discuss and implement the disciplinary actions.

Role of the Student Athlete

As a student-athlete you are a role model. You are a visible representative of your team, the athletic department and Belmont Abbey College. As such you should remember you are an ambassador of the institution and at all times represent the college with the utmost integrity, honor, dedication and pride. The staff of the athletic department is here to assist you in achieving both your academic and athletic goals. However, you must take responsibility for your experience and actions.

As a student-athlete at Belmont Abbey College:

  1. I acknowledge that it is my responsibility to honor the college’s values as a Christian academic community which is set forth in its mission, vision, and values statement.
  2. I understand it is my responsibility to be aware of and abide by all current and future college, NCAA and Conference Carolinas policies, procedures, rules and regulations.
  3. I understand it is my sole responsibility to be aware of and abide by all current and future federal laws, state laws and local laws and ordinances.
  4. I will honor the principles of sportsmanship, refrain from using profanity, demonstrate fairness and be hospitable to my opponent. I will exercise humility in victory and grace in defeat. I will not brag or boast.
  5. I will not gamble, wager or bet in any form on any athletic activity.
  6. I will not engage in academic dishonesty including but not limited to cheating, plagiarism, and submitting work not my own.
  7. I will meet regularly with my assigned faculty advisor so that I can be guided toward my plan for my academic course of action.
  8. I will not engage in trickery or evasion of rules in order to gain an advantage over an opponent.
  9. I will not engage in behavior considered by the college to be harmful to the honor and reputation of the college, its athletic programs and my teammates.
  10. I will not engage in any form of hazing or harassment.
  11. I will not make, print, or publish any offensive, profane or sexually suggestive language, or make, print or publish any inappropriate, derogatory or disparaging remarks about the college, its athletic program, the faculty, staff or students including in websites such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, etc.
  12. I will strive, in both attitude and behavior, to make a positive contribution to the college, the athletics program and my team.
  13. I will respect myself, my coach, my teammates, game officials and college officials at all times.
  14. I will recognize authority of faculty members in the classroom and respect and honor them.
  15. I will respect college property and facilities, including residence halls and academic buildings.
  16. I will follow all policies and procedures established by the athletic training department to ensure a safe environment.
  17. I will immediately report any misconduct or violation of college policies by my teammates or other student-athletes to my coach or the athletics administration

Drugs and Alcohol

Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, N.C.[37]

Belmont Abbey College is in full compliance with the Drug-free Schools and Communities Act Amendment of 1989 (Public Law 101-226) and is committed to a program which discourages the illegal use and abuse of alcohol and controlled substances by students and employees.

Belmont Abbey College prohibits the unlawful possession, use, manufacture, distribution or dispensing of alcohol or controlled substances by students or employees in college buildings, on grounds or property, or as part of any college activity. Any full or part-time student or employee found in violation of said policy will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the policies and laws of the College, City of Belmont, the State of North Carolina and the US Federal Government.

Controlled substances include but are not limited to marijuana, cocaine, cocaine derivatives, heroin, barbiturates, LSD, PCP, amphetamines, tranquilizers and inhalants. Students and employees are to be made aware that illegal manufacture, possession, use, distribution or dispensing of controlled substance may subject individuals to criminal prosecution.

Belmont Abbey College administers and maintains an institutional drug testing policy for all of its student-athletes. Each year, prior to participation with their teams, student athletes are educated about its contents and sign an acknowledgement that they understand its tenets.

Gender

Diocese of Toledo, Ohio[38]

In Catholic parishes, schools and ecclesiastical organizations… all activities and ministries are to be rooted in, and consistent with, the principles of Catholic doctrine. Therefore, in every parish, school and institution, all paid employees and unpaid volunteers will… 5) Confirm that uniforms and gender specific dress, bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, and sponsored activities will all be according to biological sex. 6) Require that participation on athletic teams and extra-curricular activities be according to biological sex.

Toronto Catholic District School Board, Ontario, Canada[39]

The provision of female-only and male-only spaces and activities in a Catholic school is consistent with our understanding of the complementary differences between the sexes and the responsibility to provide for the safety and flourishing of all students.

In competitive sports, issues of safety, modesty, and fairness are of primary importance when considering which students should be allowed to participate in particular events. Male and female students should not be put in athletic situations that would threaten safety, modesty, and fairness.

St. Ann Catholic School, Hamilton, Ohio[40]

In all Catholic schools, all curricular and extra-curricular activity is rooted in and consistent with, the principles of Catholic doctrine. Catholic schools:

  • Support students with gender dysphoria by treating them with sensitivity, respect, mercy, and compassion.
  • Require that participation on school teams be according to their biological sex.
  • Require that names and pronouns be in accordance with the person’s biological sex.
  • Designate Catholic sex education, uniforms and gender appropriate dress, bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, and sleeping accommodations on trips according to their biological sex.
  • Maintain names in school records according to the student’s biological sex.
  • Provide reasonable accommodation to a private bathroom for use by any student who desires increased privacy.

The Cardinal Newman Society[41]

Students are only eligible to participate on our school’s sport teams consistent with their biological sex. In order to maintain dignity, modesty, and respect for forms of physical contact between members of the opposite sex, at no time will members of the opposite sex wrestle each other in intra-school or inter-school activities.

Privacy

Alliance Defending Freedom[42]

PHYSICAL PRIVACY POLICY

I. PURPOSE

In recognition of student physical privacy rights and the need to ensure student safety and maintain school discipline, this Policy is enacted to advise school site staff and administration regarding their duties in relation to use of restrooms, locker rooms, showers, similar school facilities, and school-related overnight accommodations where persons may be in a state of undress in the presence of others.

II. DEFINITIONS

“Sex” means a person’s immutable biological sex, either male or female, as objectively determined by anatomy and/or genetics existing at the time of birth. Evidence of a person’s biological sex includes, but is not limited to, any government-issued identification document that accurately reflects a person’s sex as listed on the person’s original birth certificate.

III. POLICY

A. Use of School Facilities and Overnight Accommodations

  1. Notwithstanding any other Board Policy, every public school restroom, locker room, and shower room accessible by multiple persons at the same time shall be designated for use by male persons only or female persons only.
  2. In all public schools in this District, restrooms, locker rooms, and showers that are designated for one sex shall be used only by members of that sex; and, no person shall enter a restroom, locker room, or shower that is designated for one sex unless he or she is a member of that sex.
  3. In any other public school facility or setting where a person may be in a state of undress in the presence of others, school personnel shall provide separate, private areas designated for use by persons based on their sex, and no person shall enter these private areas unless he or she is a member of the designated sex.
  4. During any school authorized activity or event where persons share overnight lodging, no person shall share a bedroom or multi-occupancy restroom with a member of the opposite sex, unless such persons are members of the same family (i.e., parent/guardian, child, sibling, or grandparent).
  5. This section shall not apply to a person who enters a facility designated for the opposite sex:
    1. for custodial or maintenance purposes, when the facility is not occupied by a member of the opposite sex;
    2. to render emergency medical assistance; or
    3. during a natural disaster, emergency, or when necessary to prevent a serious threat to good order or student safety.
  6. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit schools from adopting policies necessary to accommodate disabled persons or young children in need of physical assistance when using restrooms, locker rooms and shower rooms.

B. Accommodations

Persons who, for any reason, are unwilling or unable to use a facility described in subsection A may submit a request to the principal or other designee of the school district for access to alternative facilities. The principal or designee shall evaluate these requests on a case-by-case basis and shall, to the extent reasonable, offer options for alternate facilities, which may include, but are not limited to: access to a single-user restroom or controlled use of an employee restroom, locker room, or shower. In no event shall the accommodation be access to a facility described in subsection A that is designated for use by members of the opposite sex while persons of the opposite sex are present or could be present.[43]

Profanity

Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, N.C.[44]

The use of profanity by Belmont Abbey College athletics department personnel and Belmont Abbey College student-athletes is prohibited. Head coaches shall inform their student-athletes of this policy and implement clearly defined team sanctions for any departure from this policy by members of their team.

Religious Observance

Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, N.C.[45]

Practice and Competition – Sundays. Practice and Competition are not permitted with the exception of Golf, Baseball, Softball, and Reserve Team Basketball Practice.

Catholic Holy Days of Obligation. Practice, competition, conditioning, and travel are not permitted on Catholic Holy Days of Obligation. If Conference or NCAA Postseason competition is scheduled on a Holy Day of Obligation special approval may be granted.

Social Networking

Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, N.C.[46]

Our main concerns regarding the usage of social networking sites are your personal safety and the integrity of Belmont Abbey student-athletes. Potential employers, clients, and family members can, and do, access your site. What will they learn about you? Your personal integrity and safety are at issue. Any information, once posted to the web, is no longer private and can be utilized by anyone with internet access.

In addition to our concern about your personal well-being is the protection of the image of Belmont Abbey College, Belmont Abbey athletics, and you, our student athlete. We understand these sites are your “personal” space, but please remember, any information posted on-line becomes part of the public domain and therefore you forfeit any right to privacy. The pictures, blogs, and comments you post today may be archived forever and can be accessed by virtually anyone.

Due to the fact that we recognize the positive qualities of such networking sights and the educational and personal merit of them, we have decided against creating a hard and fast policy regarding the usage of such web sites. However, please be advised that we are, and will continue to be, aware of their content. It would be wise for you to review your personal space and reassess its content before your coach or a member of the athletics administration does so for you.

Basic guidelines for consideration are:

-never post personal address or residence hall location;

-avoid posting personal and cell phone numbers;

-do not make references to alcohol or drugs in photos, blogs, personal information, etc.;

-do not post explicit pictures;

-do not post negative references to your teammates, coaches, athletic administration, Belmont Abbey faculty/staff, or the college itself;

-logos and pictures posted on the college or athletics department websites are copyrighted and should not be used without expressed written permission;

-do not post references to infractions of team rules.

If a Belmont Abbey student-athlete posts any of the above mentioned items, violates, or appears to violate, college policy, team policy, state law or federal law disciplinary action will be taken.

Sportsmanship

University of Mary, Bismarck, N.D.[47]

It is the responsibility of all students to act as good stewards of the university’s name and reputation at all athletic competitions, whether at home or away, and at all other events. This includes the responsibility to support our student-athletes and other students participating in extra-curricular activities with dignity and pride while evidencing a spirit of hospitality, respect and civility for the student-athletes, coaches and fans representing other institutions. Further, University of Mary students are responsible to maintain a positive and respectful stance even when opposing fans or student-athletes adopt a disrespectful or insulting tone. Finally, University of Mary students are responsible to show respect for the game officials and all personnel responsible for the facility where the competition is taking place. The University of Mary reserves the right to eject any student from a university sponsored event who fails to conduct himself/herself as a good ambassador of the university or who otherwise acts contrary to the values of the university.

 

Appendix B: Selections from Church Documents Informing this Topic

Integral formation and Christian understanding of the person

Therefore children and young people must be helped, with the aid of the latest advances in psychology and the arts and science of teaching, to develop harmoniously their physical, moral and intellectual endowments so that they may gradually acquire a mature sense of responsibility in striving endlessly to form their own lives properly and in pursuing true freedom as they surmount the vicissitudes of life with courage and constancy.

St. Paul VI, Gravissiumum Educationis (1965) Introduction.

In today’s pluralistic world, the Catholic educator must consciously inspire his or her activity with the Christian concept of the person, in communion with the Magisterium of the Church.

Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith (1982) 18.

Any genuine educational philosophy has to be based on the nature of the human person, and therefore must take into account all of the physical and spiritual powers of each individual, along with the call of each one to be an active and creative agent in service to society.

Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education
in a Catholic School
(1988) 63.

The Catholic school sets out to be a school for the human person and of human persons. “The person of each individual human being, in his or her material and spiritual needs, is at the heart of Christ’s teaching: this is why the promotion of the human person is the goal of the Catholic school”. This affirmation, stressing man’s vital relationship with Christ, reminds us that it is in His person that the fullness of the truth concerning man is to be found. For this reason the Catholic school, in committing itself to the development of the whole man, does so in obedience to the solicitude of the Church, in the awareness that all human values find their fulfillment and unity in Christ.  This awareness expresses the centrality of the human person in the educational project of the Catholic school, strengthens its educational endeavor and renders it fit to form strong personalities. 

Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold
of the Third Millennium
(1997) 9.

The educational value of Christian anthropology is obvious. Here is where students discover the true value of the human person: loved by God, with a mission on earth and a destiny that is immortal. As a result, they learn the virtues of self-respect and self-love, and of love for others – a love that is universal. In addition, each student will develop a willingness to embrace life, and also his or her own unique vocation, as a fulfillment of God’s will.

Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education
in a Catholic School
(1988) 26.

Human development and growth in faith is a lifelong journey. Renewing the Vision builds upon the growth nurtured in childhood and provides a foundation for continuing growth in young adulthood. Effective ministry with adolescents provides developmentally appropriate experiences, programs, activities, strategies, resources, content, and processes to address the unique developmental and social needs of young and older adolescents both as individuals and as members of families. This approach responds to adolescents’ unique needs, focuses ministry efforts, and establishes realistic expectations for growth during adolescence.

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Renewing the Vision: A Framework
for Catholic Youth Ministry
(1997)

The Church esteems highly and seeks to penetrate and ennoble with her own spirit also other aids which belong to the general heritage of man and which are of great influence in forming souls and molding men, such as the media of communication, various groups for mental and physical development, youth associations, and, in particular, schools.

St. Paul VI, Gravissiumum Educationis (1965) 4.

Students should be helped to see the human person as a living creature having both a physical and a spiritual nature; each of us has an immortal soul, and we are in need of redemption. The older students can gradually come to a more mature understanding of all that is implied in the concept of “person”: intelligence and will, freedom and feelings, the capacity to be an active and creative agent; a being endowed with both rights and duties, capable of interpersonal relationships, called to a specific mission in the world. The human person is present in all the truths of faith: created in “the image and likeness” of God; elevated by God to the dignity of a child of God; unfaithful to God in original sin, but redeemed by Christ; a temple of the Holy Spirit; a member of the Church; destined to eternal life. 

Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education
in a Catholic School
(1988) 55.

Ministry with adolescents promotes the growth of healthy, competent, caring, and faith-filled Catholic young people. The Church is concerned for the whole person, addressing the young people’s spiritual needs in the context of his or her whole life. Ministry with adolescents fosters positive adolescent development and growth in both Christian discipleship and Catholic identity. Promoting the growth of young and older adolescents means addressing their unique developmental, social, and religious needs and nurturing the qualities or assets necessary for positive development. It also means addressing the objective obstacles to healthy growth that affect the lives of so many young people, such as poverty, racial discrimination, and social injustice, as well as the subjective obstacles to healthy growth such as the loss of a sense of sin, the influence of values promoted by the secular media, and the negative impact of the consumer mentality.

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Renewing the Vision: A Framework
for Catholic Youth Ministry
(1997)

Students may need to be convinced that it is better to know the positive picture of personal Christian ethics rather than to get lost in an analysis of human misery. In practice, this means respect for oneself and for others. We must cultivate intelligence and the other spiritual gifts, especially through scholastic work. We must learn to care for our body and its health, and this includes physical activity and sports. And we must be careful of our sexual integrity through the virtue of chastity, because sexual energies are also a gift of God, contributing to the perfection of the person and having a providential function for the life of society and of the Church. Thus, gradually, the teacher will guide students to the idea, and then to the realization, of a process of total formation.

Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education
in a Catholic School
(1988) 55.

The unique power of sport to aid in virtue and character formation

Sport, properly directed, develops character, makes a man courageous, a generous loser, and a gracious victor; it refines the senses, gives intellectual penetration, and steels the will to endurance. It is not merely a physical development then. Sport, rightly understood, is an occupation of the whole man, and while perfecting the body as an instrument of the mind, it also makes the mind itself a more refined instrument for the search and communication of truth and helps man to achieve that end to which all others must be subservient, the service and praise of his Creator.

Pope Pius XII, Sport at the Service of the Spirit (1945).

Sport, in fact, even under the aspect of physical education, finds in the Church support for all its good and wholesome elements. For the Church cannot but encourage everything that serves the harmonious development of the human body, rightly considered the masterpiece of the whole of creation, not only because of its proportion, vigor, and beauty, but also and especially because God has made it his dwelling and the instrument of an immortal soul, breathing into it that “breath of life” (c1. Gen. 2:7) by which man is made in his image and likeness. If we then consider the supernatural aspect, St. Paul’s words are an illuminating admonition: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? So glorify God in your body” (1 Cor 6:15; 19-20).

St. John Paul II, Address to the Athletes of the Italian “Youth Games” (1981).

…the key principle of which is not “sport for sport’s sake” or other motives than the dignity, freedom, and integral development of man!

St. John Paul II, Jubilee Year of The Redeemer: Homily Given at the
Olympic Stadium in Rome
(1984).

Sport runs the risk of degrading man if it is not based on and supported by the human virtues of loyalty, generosity and respect for the rules of the game as well as respect for the player. These are virtues that harmonize well with the Christian spirit because they demand a capacity for self-control, self-denial, sacrifice and humility, and therefore an attitude of gratefulness to God, who is the giver of every good and therefore also the giver of the necessary physical and intellectual talents. Sport is not merely the exercise of muscles, but it is the school of mortal values and of training in courage, in perseverance, and in overcoming laziness and carelessness. Besides, it is an antidote for weakness, discouragement and dejection in defeat. There is no doubt that these values are of greatest interest for the formation of a personality which consider sports not an end in itself but as a means to total and harmonious physical, moral, and social development.

St. John Paul II. Address to Italian Olympic Medal Winners: Sports Offers
Opportunity for Spiritual Elevation
(1984).

In fact every sport, at both the amateur and the competitive level, requires basic human qualities such as rigorous preparation, continual training, awareness of one’s personal limits, fair competition, acceptance of precise rules, respect for one’s opponent and a sense of solidarity and unselfishness. Without these qualities, sport would be reduced to mere effort and to a questionable, soulless demonstration of physical strength.

St. John Paul II. Address to the Organizers and Participants in the 83rd
Giro d’Italia Cycle Race
(2000).

A sense of brotherhood, generosity, honesty and respect for one’s body – virtues that are undoubtedly essential for every good athlete – help to build a civil society where antagonism is replaced by healthy competition, where meeting is preferred to conflict, and honest challenge to spiteful opposition. When understood in this way, sport is not an end, but a means; it can become a vehicle of civility and genuine recreation, encouraging people to put the best of themselves on the field and to avoid what might be dangerous or seriously harmful to themselves or to others.

St. John Paul II, Address to the Lazio Sports Club (2000).

With this celebration the world of sport is joining in a great chorus, as it were, to express through prayer, song, play and movement a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. It is a fitting occasion to give thanks to God for the gift of sport, in which the human person exercises his body, intellect and will, recognizing these abilities as so many gifts of his Creator… It is important to identify and promote the many positive aspects of sport, but it is only right also to recognize the various transgressions to which it can succumb.  The educational and spiritual potential of sport must make believers and people of good will united and determined in challenging every distorted aspect that can intrude, recognizing it as a phenomenon opposed to the full development of the individual and to his enjoyment of life. Every care must be taken to protect the human body from any attack on its integrity, from any exploitation and from any idolatry.  

St. John Paul II. Jubilee of Sports People. Homily of John Paul II (2000).

Sport and the unity of body and soul

In the context of the modern world, sport is perhaps the most striking example of the unity of body and soul… Neglecting the unity of body and soul results in an attitude that either entirely disregards the body or fosters a worldly materialism. Hence, all the dimensions have to be taken into account in order to understand what actually constitutes the human being.

…The human person who is created in the image and likeness of God is more important than sport. The person does not exist to serve sport, but rather sport should serve the human person in his or her integral development. As has been mentioned, the person is a unity of body, soul and spirit, this means that the embodied experiences of play and sport necessarily also involve and impact young people at the level of soul and spirit.  For this reason, they can be a part of the education of the whole person.

…The Church understands the human person as a unit of body, soul and spirit, and seek to avoid any kind of reductionism in sport that debases human dignity. ”The Church is interested in sport because the person is at her heart, the whole person, and she recognizes that sports activity affects the formation, relations and spirituality of a person.” If sport is actually a competition regulated by particular rules of the game, then the equality of opportunities has to be warranted. It simply would not make sense to have two or more competitors, be they individuals or teams, whose starting conditions are largely unequal. That’s the reason why in sport competitions usually a distinction is made between the sexes, performance levels, age classes, weight classes, degrees of disabilities and so forth.

Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, Giving the Best of Yourself: A Document on the
Christian Perspective on Sport and the Human Person
(2018).

Sport, as you well know, is an activity that involves more than the movement of the body; it demands the use of intelligence and the disciplining of the will. It reveals, in other words, the wonderful structure of the human person created by God as spiritual being, a unity of body and spirit. Athletic activity can help every man and woman to recall that moment when God the Creator gave origin to the human person, the masterpiece of his creative work. As the Scriptures tell us: “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Gen 2:7). We are reminded then that even the laws of sport belong to a certain order, which is basically that of all creation. The observance of this order is the condition for success…You are true athletes when you prepare yourselves not only by training your bodies but also by constantly engaging the spiritual dimensions of your person for a harmonious development of all your human talents.

St. John Paul II. The Ideals of Sport Promote Peace to the Participants of the
43rd Italian International Tennis Championship
(1986).

Sport, community, and justice

Freedom is a gift to us from God that reveals the grandeur of human nature. Created in the image and likeness of God, men and women are called to participate in divine creation. But freedom comes with responsibility, for free choices made by every human person impact one’s relationships, the community, and in some cases, all of creation. Nowadays, many people believe that freedom is doing what one wants, without any limits. Such a view decouples freedom and responsibility and may even eliminate regard for the consequences of human acts. However, sport reminds us that to be truly free is also to be responsible.

In recent decades, there has been an increasing awareness of the need for fair play in sport, i.e., that the game is clean. Athletes honor fair play when they not only obey the formal rules but also observe justice with respect to their opponents so that all competitors can freely engage in the game. It is one thing to abide by the rules of the game in order to avoid being rebuked by a referee or formally disqualified because of a rule violation. It is another thing to be attentive to and respectful of the opponent and his freedom regardless of any rule advantage. Doing so includes not using hidden strategies, such as doping, to have an illicit advantage over competitors. Sporting activity “must be an unavoidable occasion to practice human and Christian virtues of solidarity, loyalty, good behavior and respect for others, who must be seen as competitors and not as mere opponents or rivals.” In this way, sports can set higher goals beyond victory, toward the development of the human person in a community of teammates and competitors.

Fair play allows sports to become a means of education for all of society, of the values and virtues found in sports, such as perseverance, justice and courtesy, to name a few that Pope Benedict XVI points out. “You, dear athletes, shoulder the responsibility –not less significant – of bearing witness to these attitudes and convictions and of incarnating them beyond your sporting activity into the fabric of the family, culture, and religion. In doing so, you will be of great help for others, especially the youth, who are immersed in rapidly developing society where there is a widespread loss of values and growing disorientation.”

In this sense, athletes have the mission to be “educators as well, since sport can effectively inculcate many higher values, such as loyalty, friendship and team-spirit.”

Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, Giving the Best of Yourself: A Document on the
Christian Perspective on Sport and the Human Person
(2018).

Young people have to be taught to share their personal lives with God. They are to overcome their individualism and discover, in the light of faith, their specific vocation to live responsibly in a community with others. The very pattern of the Christian life draws them to commit themselves to serve God in their brethren and to make the world a better place for man to live in.

Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School (1977).

Scriptural Verses

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Hebrews 12:1

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

2 Timothy 4:7

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.

Hebrews 12:11-13

…for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

1 Timothy 4:8

For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:12

Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Philippians 2:3-4

It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable for people to seek their own glory.

Proverbs 25:27

Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:13

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules.

2 Timothy 2:5

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear

Ephesians 4:29 

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

1 Timothy 4:12 

Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.

1 John 2:6

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

John 15:12 

 

Appendix C: Selected Resources for Staff Training on Sports

Kevin Lixey, Norbert Müller, and Cornelius Schäfer (eds.), Blessed John Paul II Speaks to Athletes: Homilies, Messages and Speeches on Sport (London: John Paul II Sports Foundation, 2012). Retrieved from http://www.laici.va/content/dam/laici/documenti/sport/eng/magisterium/jpii-pastoral-messages.pdf

Congregation for Catholic Education, “Male And Female He Created Them:” Towards a Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education (2019). Retrieved from http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccatheduc/documents/rc_con_ccatheduc_doc_20190202_maschio-e-femmina_en.pdf

Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, Giving the Best of Yourself: A Document on the Christian Perspective on Sport and the Human Person (2018). Retrieved from http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2018/06/01/180601b.html

Christian or Catholic sport virtue programs such as:

  • Sports Leader, at https://www.sportsleader.org/
  • FOCUS’s Varsity Catholic athttps://www.focus.org/what-we-do/varsity-catholic
  • Notre Dame’s Play Like a Champion at https://www.playlikeachampion.org/

 

Appendix D: Selected Resources for Policy Development

University of Mary, Student-Athlete Handbook (2020) at https://goumary.com/documents/2020/8/5/2020_21_SA_Handbook_Complete_Version_.pdf

University of Mary, Greatness through Virtue Athletic Strategic Plan (2019) at https://goumary.com/documents/2019/8/19//Athletic_Strategic_plan.pdf?id=1330

Alliance Defending Freedom, Student Physical Privacy Policy (2015) at http://www.adfmedia.org/files/StudentPhysicalPrivacyPolicy.pdf

Diocese of Springfield, Ill., A Pastoral Guide Regarding Gender Identity (2020) at https://www.dio.org/policy-book/77-650-gender-identity/file.html

Archbishop Robert J. Carlson, Compassion and Challenge: Reflections on Gender Ideology (2020) at http://www.archstl.org/Portals/0/Pastoral%20letters/Compassion%20and%20Challenge%20-%20letter%20size.pdf

Minnesota Family Council, Responding to the Transgender Issue: Parent Resource Guide (2019) at https://genderresourceguide.com/wp-content/themes/genderresource/library/documents/NPRG_Full_Document_Links_V18.pdf

 

[1] Pope Pius XII, Sport at the Service of the Spirit (1945).

[2] St. John Paul II, Address to the Organizers and Participants in the 83rd Giro d’Italia Cycle Race (2000).

[3] St. John Paul II, Jubilee of Sports People. Homily of John Paul II (2000).

[4] St. John Paul II, Address to Italian Olympic Medal Winners: Sports Offers Opportunity for Spiritual Elevation (1984) 50.

[5] See Pope Francis, Address to the Italian Tennis Federation (2015).

[6] Congregation for Catholic Education, Male and Female He Created Them: Towards a Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education (2019) 41.

[7] Pope Pius XII, 1945.

[8] St. John Paul II, Address to the Athletes of the Italian “Youth Games” (1981).

[9] Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith (1982) 18.

[10] Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School (1988) 55.

[11] Ibid.

[12] CCC 339.

[13] CCC 307.

[14] CCC 27.

[15] CCC 362.

[16] Genesis 1:27; CCC 2334, 2383.

[17] Pope Francis, Amoris laetitia (2016) 56.

[18] CCC 2393.

[19] St. John Paul II, “Language of the Body, the Substratum and Content of the Sacramental Sign of Spousal Communion” (January 5, 1983) in The Redemption of the Body and Sacramentality of Marriage (Theology of the Body) (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2005) 268-270.

[20] St. Paul VI, Gaudium et spes: Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (1965) 22, at http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html (accessed on Oct. 6, 2020).

[21] Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, Giving the Best of Yourself: A Document on the Christian Perspective on Sport and the Human Person (2018) 3.10.

[22] Congregation for Catholic Education (2019) 23.

[23] Congregation for Catholic Education (2019) Introduction.

[24] CCC 1928.

[25] Taryn Knox, Lynley C Anderson, and Alison Heather, “Transwomen in Elite Sport: Scientific and Ethical Considerations,” Journal of Medical Ethics, Vol. 45, Iss. 6 (2018). Retrieved from

 https://jme.bmj.com/content/45/6/395.

[26] St. John Paul II, Sport as Training Ground for Virtue and Instrument of Union Among People: Address to the Presidents of the Italian Sports Federations (1979).

[27] Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School (1977) 37

[28] St. John Paul II (1984).

[29] St. John Paul II (2000).

[30] CCC 1803.

[31] St. John Paul II (1984).

[32] Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life (2018), 1.1.

[33] See The Cardinal Newman Society’s policy guidance on mission statement.

[34] See appendix for select resources.

[35] Excerpted from student athlete handbook at https://abbeyathletics.com/documents/2020/8/3/Student_Athlete_Handbook.pdf

[36] Excerpted from student athlete handbook at https://abbeyathletics.com/documents/2020/8/3/Student_Athlete_Handbook.pdf

[37] Excerpted from student athlete handbook at https://abbeyathletics.com/documents/2020/8/3/Student_Athlete_Handbook.pdf

[38] Excerpted from “Policy Statement on Gender-Related Matters” at https://www.dioceseoftoledo.org/policy-statement-on-gender-related-matters-1

[39] Excerpted from student/parent handbook at https://saintanncs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/StAnnHandbook2017.pdf

[40] Excerpted from “Speaking the Truth in Love: Pastoral Guidelines for Educators Concerning Students Experiencing Gender Incongruence” at https://tcdsbpublishing.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=19105

[41] Excerpted from Denise Donohue and Dan Guernsey, “Human Sexuality Policies for Catholic Schools” (March 2016) at “https://cardinalnewmansociety.org/wp-content/uploads/Human-Sexuality-Policies-for-Catholic-Schools_For-Web.pdf

[42] Excerpted from Alliance Defending Freedom, Memo on “Access to Privacy Facilities: Protecting the Privacy and Dignity of All Students” (2015) at https://adflegal.blob.core.windows.net/web-content-dev/docs/default-source/documents/resources/campaign-resources/marriage/safe-bathrooms/student-privacy-letter-and-model-policy.pdf

[43] An alternative might read: “Students who assert that their gender is different from their sex and request special accommodation regarding the facilities described in subsection A shall, to the extent reasonable, be provided with an available accommodation that meets their needs. Such accommodation may include, but is not limited to: access to a single-stall restroom, locker room, or shower. In no event shall the accommodation give access to a facility described in subsection A that is designated for use by members of the opposite sex.”

[44] Excerpted from student athlete handbook at https://abbeyathletics.com/documents/2020/8/3/Student_Athlete_Handbook.pdf

[45] Excerpted from student athlete handbook at https://abbeyathletics.com/documents/2020/8/3/Student_Athlete_Handbook.pdf

[46] Excerpted from student athlete handbook at https://abbeyathletics.com/documents/2020/8/3/Student_Athlete_Handbook.pdf

[47] Excerpted from student athlete handbook at https://goumary.com/documents/2020/8/5/2020_21_SA_Handbook_Complete_Version_.pdf

Policy Standards on Human Sexuality in Catholic Education

Catholic education is committed to the pursuit of truth and promotion of the Gospel. Central to its mission is the integral formation of students’ minds, hearts, and bodies in truth and holiness.

A significant challenge toward this end is confusion in the common culture regarding the nature of human sexuality. The Catholic Church has a deep and rich understanding of the human person informed by natural law and firmly rooted in Christian revelation, which is its privilege and duty to proclaim and which the culture desperately needs to hear. Errors in understanding human sexuality can lead to errors in understanding human nature, the moral order, and even truth and reality itself.

Catholic education’s proclamation of the full truth of humanity requires both sensitivity and courage. It requires clarity, charity, and integrity. It requires loving pastoral responses and clearly articulated beliefs, standards, and policies.

Such pastoral efforts and policies should support the mission of Catholic education, be consistent with Church teaching, and be based on a sound Christian anthropology (i.e., concept of the human person). This concept derives from the overarching biblical vision of the human person, which proposes that we find our deepest identity and happiness only by making a sincere gift of ourselves to others. God made men and women as complementary creatures who are naturally ordered to the special union of one man and one woman in marriage. Central as well to the Christian concept of the human person is that God made both men and women in His image, of equal and immense dignity, existing as a unity of body and soul, and destined for union with Him according to His plan.

To counteract confusion in the common culture and to ensure that Catholic educational institutions fulfill their missions, it is essential to establish policies that foster a true account of the human person and of human sexuality consonant with Church teaching. Such policies justly ensure that employees, volunteers, and students are fully aware of their obligations and the institution’s principles, priorities, and commitments, and they help guard against error and disoriented notions of the human person.

Because modeling and personal witness are essential to the process of education, all members of a Catholic educational community should strive for virtue, guided by the teachings of the Catholic Church. Pastoral and policy practices will therefore necessarily touch on a broad array of activities beyond the strictly academic, in Catholic education’s attempts to promote the integral formation of student’s minds, bodies, and souls.

This broader goal is served by explicit efforts at developing moral, theological, and academic virtues. Development of these human excellences are critical to human freedom and fulfillment. By modeling moral freedom “grounded on those absolute values which alone give meaning and value to human life,”[1] Catholic schools and colleges fulfill their obligation to be “places of evangelization”[2] and equip students to be “leaven in the human community.”[3]

It is hard to overstate how radical the sexual revolution has been and how far-reaching and devastating its consequences to the human community. It has physically, morally, and spiritually destroyed countless individuals, families, children, and communities. Catholic educators must be astutely aware of the challenges posed by the sexual culture, prepared to bravely confront it, and equipped with educational principles and policies to deal with the crisis it has created.

The following principles and standards, deeply informed by guidance from the Church, aim to assist in this regard.

Principles

Principle 1: A key aspect of the mission of Catholic education is the integral formation of the human person.

This key aspect of integral formation, especially as it relates to human sexuality, should be reflected in institutional policies. This type of formation is rooted in the Church’s philosophy of the human person, who is seen as a complex and multi-faceted being, striving for full human flourishing in their physical, moral, spiritual, psychological, social, and intellectual faculties.[4]

Canon Law affirms:

Since true education must strive for complete formation of the human person that looks to his or her final end as well as to the common good of societies, children and youth are to be nurtured in such a way that they are able to develop their physical, moral, and intellectual talents harmoniously, acquire a more perfect sense of responsibility and right use of freedom, and are formed to participate actively in social life.[5]

Catholic schools and colleges are also obligated to be “places of evangelization”[6] to bring students to the fullness of truth and disposing them to salvation in Christ and service to the common good.[7] The mission includes empowering students to be “a saving leaven in the human community”[8] through apostolic witness and modeling of a Catholic understanding of moral freedom, which is “grounded on those absolute values which alone give meaning and value to human life.”[9]

Catholic schools and colleges are not simply educational organizations designed to satisfy the intellects of students with academic content. Rather, their “primary responsibility is one of witness”[10] and instruction in the truth of God and the world through complete integral human formation:

The integral formation of the human person, which is the purpose of education, includes the development of all the human faculties of the students, together with preparation for professional life, formation of ethical and social awareness, becoming aware of the transcendental, and religious education.[11]

In all they do, Catholic educators “must consider the totality of the person and insist therefore on the integration of the biological, psycho-affective, social, and spiritual elements.”[12] This is a distinctly different view of the person than is currently promoted in much of common culture, which presents a disaggregation of these elements in an effort to empower the will, instill a false sense of freedom, and remove the divine.

Principle 2: Catholic education is founded upon a sound Christian anthropology, which describes the human person as “a being at once corporeal and spiritual,”[13] made in the image of God,[14] with complementarity and equality of the sexes as male and female.[15]

The Congregation for Catholic Education emphasizes that:

In today’s pluralistic world, the Catholic educator must consciously inspire his or her activity with the Christian concept of the person, in communion with the Magisterium of the Church.[16]

Some fundamental tenets of a Christian concept of the human person include that God created each person body and soul (Gen. 1:27) and that:

The human body shares in the dignity of “the image of God”: it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit. Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity. Through his very bodily condition he sums up in himself the elements of the material world. Through him they are thus brought to their highest perfection and can raise their voice in praise freely given to the Creator. For this reason man may not despise his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day.[17]

This bodily nature includes a biological sexual reality that shares in God’s creative plan for the good.

“Being man” or “being woman” is a reality which is good and willed by God: man and woman possess an inalienable dignity which comes to them immediately from God their Creator.[18]

The conjugal union of man and woman is naturally ordered toward the good of marriage and family:

In marriage the physical intimacy of the spouses becomes a sign and pledge of spiritual communion. Marriage bonds between baptized persons are sanctified by the sacrament.

“Sexuality, by means of which man and woman give themselves to one another through the acts which are proper and exclusive to spouses, is not something simply biological, but concerns the innermost being of the human person as such. It is realized in a truly human way only if it is an integral part of the love by which a man and woman commit themselves totally to one another until death.”[19]

This is important, since there are many competing and incomplete views of humanity, particularly as related to issues of human sexuality.

The educative program should work in harmony with a Catholic understanding of the human person and the role of human sexuality, because:

…our sexuality plays an integral part in the development of our personality and in the process of its education: “In fact, it is from [their] sex that the human person receives the characteristics which, on the biological, psychological and spiritual levels, make that person a man or a woman, and thereby largely condition his or her progress towards maturity and insertion into society.”[20]

Catholic education addresses issues of human sexuality, because it seeks to foster maturity, growth, and the ability of students to respond to God’s vocation for each of them as individuals and as members of society.

The Congregation for Catholic Education warns that our society is in “an educational crisis, especially in the field of affectivity and sexuality,” and that prevalent today is:

…an anthropology opposed to faith and to right reason… bringing with it a tendency to cancel out the differences between men and women, presenting them instead as merely the product of historical and cultural conditioning.[21]

This false ideology “creates the idea of the human person as a sort of abstraction who ‘chooses for himself what his nature is to be.’”[22] What is at stake is not just isolated discussions about personal sexual preferences or what to do about a small segment of people suffering from gender dysphoria (i.e., transgenderism), but rather what is at stake is this ideology’s “aim to annihilate the concept of ‘nature’”[23] and the surrender of natural law, objective reality, and God’s divine plan to the ravages of materialism and relativism.

In the face of such error and like St. Paul at the Areopagus, teachers must use all legitimate means to promote the truth of human body-soul integrity. Natural law arguments are a good start when explaining the harmony between body and soul and the actions that lead to human flourishing. These arguments use reason and are open to all of humanity. But these arguments alone are insufficient and must open to divine revelation in and through the person of Christ who has fully revealed our nature and destiny.

It is important to maintain in teaching and policy the Catholic understanding that, “Biological sex and the socio-cultural role of sex (gender) can be distinguished but not separated.”[24] One’s biological sex and gender expression are not to be disaggregated[25] but should be seen in harmony, according to God’s plan. One’s gender identity must be rooted in one’s biological sex. As the Church teaches, a biologically-based sexual identity is “a reality deeply inscribed in man and woman”[26] and affirms that a person “should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity.”[27]

The Congregation for Catholic Education reminds educators that “any genuine educational philosophy has to be based on the nature of the human person and therefore must take into account all of the physical and spiritual powers of each individual.”[28] Educational programs or policies that promote a false understanding of the human person put the whole educational project at risk.

Principle 3: Catholic education should communicate and support the formation of virtue in order to help students “live a new life in Christ”[29] and faithfully fulfill their roles in building up the Kingdom of God.

Key to the area of human sexuality is the virtue of temperance, including the associated virtues of modesty, chastity, purity, abstinence, self-control, and moderation. All of these virtues are proper and important where one’s sexuality is concerned, but chastity, “the successful integration of sexuality within the person,”[30] sets the basis for one’s internal integrity of body and soul.

The Church holds that all are called to chastity appropriate to their state in life as single, married, or consecrated religious.[31] Human sexual behavior is only properly oriented to the ends of love and life in the context of Holy Matrimony. A proper understanding of human sexuality requires personal integrity and full integration of body and soul as created by God. The Catechism emphasizes this need for integrity:

…the chaste person maintains the integrity of the powers of life and love placed in him. This integrity ensures the unity of the person; it is opposed to any behavior that would impair it. It tolerates neither a double life nor duplicity in speech.[32]

Integrity must be modeled by Catholic educational institutions as well. Policies should be clear, consistent, faithful to Church teaching, and protect from anything which might impair an institution’s faith-based mission and educational philosophy.

Catholic education cannot condone and must form young people with the desire, habits, and fortitude to avoid offenses against chastity and against God, including but not limited to lust, masturbation, pornography, homosexual activity, and fornication.[33] Students must also be formed with appreciation for the gifts of sexuality and openness toward life in marriage, respect for the sanctity of marriage and for all human life, and the desire, habits, and fortitude to avoid artificial contraception, in-vitro fertilization, and abortion.

Standards for Policies Related to Human Sexuality

In Catholic education, policies involving human sexuality:

  • support and protect educational communities of evangelization that promote the salvation of students, teach and witness to truth, and serve the common good;

  • ensure a Catholic environment in which students can develop their physical, moral, and intellectual talents harmoniously;

  • uphold Catholic teaching according to the magisterium of the Catholic Church, especially in matters of human sexuality;

  • are founded on a Christian anthropology which supports the unity of body and soul as part of God’s original plan for humanity and understands sexuality as a gift ordered toward the union of one man and one woman in marriage;

  • expect all members of the Catholic educational community to strive for a life of chastity in keeping with their particular state of life, emphasizing the importance of chastity to a life of virtue and growth in one’s relationship with God;

  • provide clear institutional supports for living chastely, such as single-sex dorms and rules regarding clothing and behavior to establish standards and minimize temptation;

  • provide instruction and reading material, such as Catholic books and pamphlets, that offer practical guidance for living chastely;

  • ensure that all human sexuality materials and instruction are carefully vetted for complete fidelity to Church teachings, taught by qualified and committed Catholics, modest and pure, targeted to the appropriate age and developmental stage of the student with respect for a child’s latency period (lasting up until puberty),[34] and available in advance to parents who may choose to opt a minor student out of the program;

  • ensure that all speakers, vendors, third-party services, and materials are in harmony with the Catholic moral formation of students;

  • ensure that the arts, movies, and literature on campus or in the curriculum are not an affront to a student’s purity or a proximate cause of sinful thoughts or actions;

  • relate to all members of the school or college community according to their biological sex at birth and maintain appropriate distinctions between males and females, especially in issues of facilities use, athletic teams, uniforms, and nomenclature;

  • prohibit advocacy of moral behavior at odds with Catholic teaching and activities that tend to encourage immoral behavior, especially on issues related to chastity;

  • prohibit displays or promotion of vulgar, promiscuous, or same-sex attracted behavior;

  • prohibit actions or activities which promote or encourage students to disaggregate gender from sex; and

  • prohibit bullying and ensure that the dignity of all is respected.

Operationalizing the Standards

Definition of Terms

“Chastity” is the virtue of sexual self-control and is an aspect of the cardinal virtue of temperance; as a religious virtue, chastity motivates and enables us to use the gift of our sexuality in complete accordance with God’s plan. Chastity makes possible the successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of the person in his bodily and spiritual being.[35]

“Gender” was commonly used synonymously with the word “sex,” but over time has been changed to mean a person’s socio-cultural role apart from their biological sex. The Church is opposed to this division and views gender (one’s outward manifestation of sexuality) as inseparable from one’s biological sex.[36]

“Gender dysphoria” is the psychological condition given to a person who experiences a conflict between their biological sex and the gender in which they identity.[37]

“Marriage” is the lifelong union of one man and one woman for the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of children. Jesus Christ raised this union between baptized persons to the dignity of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.[38]

“Sex” means the biological condition of being male or female.[39]

Specific Areas and Types of Policies

Catholic education policies related to human sexuality are needed within many areas of a school or college’s operation. The Cardinal Newman Society is committed to identifying principles of Catholic identity and policy standards particular to all key aspects of Catholic education through the work of its Catholic Identity Standards Project. For each area below, be sure to check with the Newman Society for more specific policy guidance that incorporates the human sexuality standards and other relevant concerns.

Admissions policies help target admission to students and families who can benefit from the educative and formative approach of the Catholic education program and not hinder the institution’s faith-based mission. Admissions policies should also ensure that students and families understand they are entering a faith-based institution and have an obligation to support its religious mission.

Athletics policies protect biological females and ensure fair play by having students participate on sport teams consistent with their biological sex.

Bullying policies prohibit bullying of any kind and support the common good and Christian justice and charity by affirming the dignity of all persons.

Chastity policies encourage all members of a Catholic educational community to strive for a life of chastity, appropriate to their vocation as single, married, or consecrated religious. The policies require modesty in language, appearance, and behavior.

Dance policies, consistent with the goal to form virtuous and Christ-centered persons, require students to refrain from any immodest, impure, or sexually suggestive behavior both on and off the dance floor.

Dress code/uniform policies, in order to maintain uniform appearance, modesty, and proper comportment throughout the school day and at school events, require all students, staff, and faculty to follow the dress code expectations of their biological sex while on campus and while representing the institution at outside functions.

Employment and volunteer policies, among other things, ensure that all employees and volunteers uphold the Catholic faith and morals—including sexual morality—in their teaching and other duties and by their personal witness. The policies ensure that employee benefits are provided in a manner that does not violate Catholic teaching, including prohibiting insurance coverage for abortion, artificial insemination, contraception, in-vitro fertilization, and drugs and procedures intended to change a person’s biological sex.

Facilities use policies require all adults and students who are on campus to model chaste behavior and observe modesty when using changing facilities, locker rooms, showers, and restrooms, and ensure that such facilities are only shared by those of the same biological sex. Facilities use policies should also prohibit use for any purpose or cause that is contrary to Catholic teaching or otherwise opposes or is opposed by the Catholic Church.

Formal titles and names policies ensure that students address all adults by their proper titles and names and that personnel address students by the original name with which the student was registered (or its common derivative) and correlating pronouns.

Health services, counseling, and programs policies ensure that health services personnel, counselors, and other medical and psychological student programs support a Christian anthropology and that parents, as primary educators of their children, are apprised of all conversations and concerns related to the child’s social, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and physical well-being and safety, unless restrained otherwise by law. The policies ensure that the institution will not support a student or employee in any type of “transitioning” of gender or allow medications used for “transitioning” to be administered on campus or by school or college personnel.

Hiring policies ensure that all candidates are properly vetted for their adherence to Catholic teaching especially in the areas of moral expectations as articulated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Housing services policies ensure that students are assigned housing based on their biological sex, are prohibited from engaging in sexual immorality, and preserve the privacy of bedrooms from opposite-sex visitors. Housing policies should support chastity.

Instructional material policies for schools ensure that students are not exposed to materials that are an affront to purity; do not include explicit discussion, presentation, or description of sexuality, sexual activity, or sexual fantasy; and are not a proximate cause of sinful thoughts or actions. The policies ensure that all human sexuality materials are carefully vetted for complete fidelity to Church teachings, taught by qualified committed Catholics, targeted to the appropriate age and developmental stage of the student, respect a child’s latency period, and are available in advance to parents who choose to opt their student out of the program.

Mission integrity policies ensure that the institution exercises its responsibility to teach Catholic faith and morals in all fullness and especially as expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. These policies should also articulate that openly hostile, public defiance and challenge of Catholic truths or morality are signs that a student, parent, staff member, or faculty member may not be a good fit for a Catholic institution’s primary evangelical mission.

Nondiscrimination policies, crafted together with legal counsel to protect students and employees, should assert the institution’s Catholic identity and legal right to act according to its religious beliefs; avoid terms that can be broadly or falsely interpreted in ways that conflict with Catholic teaching, especially with regard to sexual identity; and stick to the minimal language required by law to avoid unnecessary legal implications.

Public displays of affection policies maintain a professional atmosphere of learning and for K-12 schools prohibit romantic displays of affection, such as romantic hugging, kissing, and handholding.

Same-sex attraction policies emphasize that because the Catholic Church teaches that same-sex attraction is inherently disordered[40] and that sexual activity is only appropriate for the purposes of love and life within Holy Matrimony,[41] individuals experiencing this disordered inclination are called to a life of chastity and may not advocate, celebrate, or express the disordered inclination in the context of classes, activities, or events. Such policies should use the term “same-sex attraction” in discussing homosexual inclinations, since there is only one proper sexual orientation: that which orients a man to a woman in the bonds of matrimony.

Sexual harassment policies, crafted together with legal counsel to protect students and employees, use language that upholds Catholic anthropology and morality.

Sexual identity policies clarify that the institution will provide pastoral care for any student working through challenges related to the integration of their sexual identity but will interact with students according to their biological sex as based upon physical differences at birth and will direct students to work with their parents, pastor, and other trained licensed professionals who might best assist them in clarifying and defining issues of self (and sexual) identity in accord with Catholic teaching and natural law.

Single-sex program policies allow for participation of students in particular activities based on their biological sex.

Speaker policies ensure that speaker presentations do not conflict with Catholic teaching and a Catholic worldview.

Student clubs policies ensure that all student clubs operate based on a Christian anthropology of the human person, and that no clubs advocate or celebrate gender transitioning or sexual behavior contrary to Church teaching.

Student pregnancy policies commit to helping a student-parent re-establish a life of chastity, prohibit abortion, and support students in their affirmation of the gift of life under all circumstances.

Third-party vendor policies regulate the hiring of outside contractors (such as after-school providers, Title II tutors, and counseling services) to ensure that their programs and personnel do not work against the educative and formative mission of Catholic education.

Possible Questions

Question: Don’t we need to be concerned about illegally discriminating against those who identify as “LGBTQ”?

Response: Under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and America’s tradition of respect for the natural right of religious freedom, faith-based institutions have a legal right to base hiring, admittance, and other decisions on clearly articulated and consistently applied faith and moral criteria. Increasingly, however, religious freedom has been threatened by local, state, and federal measures, and conflicts with government authorities or lawsuits by employees and students may bring serious challenges. Catholic educators can and must defend their religious freedom and, more importantly, must never violate the mission of Catholic education by compromising Catholic teaching on human sexuality.

Question: Even though it’s not illegal, isn’t it unjust and uncharitable not to conform to the wishes and behaviors of those who identify as “LGBTQ”?

Response: Relating to students and employees truthfully and with desire for their moral growth and purity is charitable and just. Catholic education strives to serve and respect the human dignity of all members of its communities. It does not single out anyone for correction, but it justly addresses concerns about sexual morality in accord with the gravity of the situation and the degree of scandal to its students. Catholic educational institutions have a right to expect employees and students to adhere to a code of conduct designed to create an educational environment capable of effectively carrying out Catholic formation and faith-based education. Publicly unchaste or scandalous behavior, or the presentation of sinful behavior as a good to be pursued, works against this mission.

Question: We don’t dismiss “heterosexual” students who are unchaste, so why do we seem to have a double standard for those who identify as “LGBTQ”?

Response: In fact, Catholic educators should be prepared to dismiss any student whose unchaste behavior is scandalous to other students and who is unlikely to be reconciled to Christ by conformity to Catholic teaching. An isolated non-scandalous incident of unchastity is usually not enough for removal, but an especially scandalous incident may require dismissal, as may repeated and persistent activity. Catholic educators must make distinctions between a student who falls while striving for chastity and a student who claims that unchaste activity is not a sin and acts, celebrates, or publicly encourages others to act accordingly.

Question: Don’t politeness, respect, and civility require addressing transgendered people by their preferred names and pronouns and allowing them to present as whatever gender they wish?

Response: In an entirely adult environment, there may be some logic to this approach, given the complex social fabric of the modern adult world and adults’ heightened ability to distinguish between labels and the true nature of the human person. Still, embracing a false perception of a person is unhealthy for the individual and for observers, and the potential for scandal must be weighed against the demands of civility. Our focus here is on Catholic educational institutions intended for young people; they seek to integrally form students harmoniously in mind, body, and spirit, and encouraging or accommodating gender dysphoria works against this goal. Significant data also shows that about 80 percent of youth experiencing gender dysphoria see the inclinations dissipate in adulthood.[42] In addition, Catholic teachers are in the truth-telling business and cannot blindly support student error, which in this case is a disconnect between the mind and reality.

Question: Since studies show that “LGBTQ” identifying students suffer higher rates of depression and often feel they are socially excluded, should Catholic schools and colleges actively promote “LGBTQ” support groups, “LGBTQ” pride groups, and groups of “LGBTQ” allies?

Response: Catholic schools and colleges should be prepared to offer discreet and robust pastoral services to students who may be struggling with sexuality, but public support groups on campus are inappropriate, as they may prematurely encourage a student to ascribe to a temporary struggle or attraction to a lasting sense of personal identity. They could lead peers to pigeon-hole a student into a category of errant sexuality. Additionally, such support groups, especially if tied to national “LGBTQ” movements, embrace a false notion of the human person and human sexuality which is antithetical to a Christian anthropology, and therefore they are harmful to the students we are trying to integrally form in truth and love.

 

This document was developed with substantial comment and contributions from education, legal, and other experts. Lead authors are Denise Donohue, Ed.D., Director of the Catholic Education Honor Roll at The Cardinal Newman Society, and Dan Guernsey, Ed.D., Senior Fellow at The Cardinal Newman Society and principal of a diocesan K-12 Catholic school.

 

Appendix A: Examples of Diocesan and School Policies

This Appendix includes examples of policies in use at the time of publication. These are presented in alphabetical order by category and are not necessarily exemplary in all possible areas.

Chastity

Marian High School, Mishawaka, Ind.

The Catholic school upholds and supports God’s plan for sexual relations by promoting chastity and a respect for human life. Sexual union is intended by God to express the complete gift of self that a man and a woman make to one another in marriage, a mutual gift that opens them to the gift of a child. Therefore, all students are expected to live a chaste lifestyle and to abstain from sexual relations.

Gender Identity

Catholic Bishops of Minnesota[43]

Application of Guiding Principles

The aforementioned Guiding Principles are practically applied in Catholic schools. Catholic schools in the Diocese of [insert] will relate to each student in a way that is respectful of and consistent with each student’s God-given sexual identity and biological sex. To this end, below are some examples of how these Guiding Principles apply to organizations that teach children and youth in the name of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of [insert]:

  1. All school policies, procedures, resources, employee training, and assistance given to families are consistent with the Church’s teaching on the dignity of the human person, including human sexuality. Reflective of a commitment to a culture of transparency and understanding, these policies will be made available in writing to members of the school community by way of inclusion in relevant handbooks, agreements, and statements.
  2. Student’s name and pronouns usage will correspond to his/her sexual identity (see definitions).
  3. Student access to facilities and overnight accommodations will align with his/her sexual identity.
  4. Eligibility for single-sex curricular and extracurricular activities is based on the sexual identity of the child.
  5. Expressions of a student’s sexual identity are prohibited when they cause disruption or confusion regarding the Church’s teaching on human sexuality.
  6. The consciences of students and employees will be respected with the assurance of their inviolable right to the acknowledgement that God has created each person as a unity of body and soul, male or female, and that God-designed sexual expression and behavior must be exclusively oriented to love and life in marriage between one man and one woman.
  7. Schools communicate with parents or guardians about their child’s behavior at school and inform them of any concerns relating to the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual health, safety, or welfare of their child, except when advised otherwise by law enforcement or a social service agency.

    Definitions
    1. Sex refers to a person’s biological identification as male or female based upon physical characteristics present at birth.
    2. Sexual identity refers to a person’s identity as male or female that is congruent with one’s sex.
    3. Sexual binary refers to the God-given gift of the human family created male or female in the image and likeness of God.
    4. Transgender or gender non-conforming is an adjective describing a person who perceives his or her sexual identity to be different from his or her sex and publicly presents himself or herself as the opposite sex or outside the sexual binary. Such public expressions that are intended to communicate a sexual identity different from one’s sex include, but are not limited to, utilizing pronouns of the opposite sex, changing one’s name to reflect the cultural norms of the opposite sex, wearing a uniform designated for the opposite sex, and undergoing surgery to change the appearance of one’s reproductive or sexual anatomy.

Diocese of Springfield in Illinois[44]

§650.1 General Policy Concerning Gender Identity

While the Church has a duty to teach the truth about the human person (anthropology) and human sexuality, and incorporate this teaching into her policies and procedures, the Church has compassion and empathy toward all her members who suffer from confusion about their identity, including their sexual or gender identity.

650.1. Policy: It is the policy of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois that all Catholic agencies, including parishes, schools, institutions, departments, or other entities, shall respect the biological sex with which a person is born and shall apply all policies and procedures in relation to that person according to that person’s biological sex at birth.

Procedures: (portions omitted)

  1. Examples of this policy in practice include the following:
    1. All persons will be addressed and referred to with pronouns in accord with their biological sex;
    2. All correspondence, documents, and records will reflect the subject person’s biological sex;
    3. All persons will use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their biological sex while on Diocesan or Parish property.
  2. The Diocese also supports and encourages counseling for those who suffer from or are diagnosed with gender dysphoria by licensed counselors or other medical professionals who hold a correct Christian anthropology of the human person and who understand and adhere to Catholic teaching.
  3. While the Catholic Church does not support transgender therapies and/or surgeries that assist a person in “transitioning” his or her gender, the Church recognizes that appropriate medical care may be necessary in rare cases of true genetic or physical anomalies, such as hermaphroditism or intersex.

§650.2. Specific Policy Concerning Employees and Volunteers

650.2 Policy. Employees and volunteers are expected to live virtuous lives guided by Gospel values and the teaching of the Church. Employees and volunteers shall conduct themselves in accord with their biological sex at all times. Likewise, all employees and volunteers shall perform their duties, and tailor their interactions with other persons, in accord with the Diocese’s general policy concerning gender identity (650.1).

Procedures:

  1. Examples of this policy in practice include the following:
    1. All employees and volunteers will be addressed and referred to with pronouns in accord with their biological sex;
    2. All employee or volunteer correspondence, documents, and records will reflect the employee’s or volunteer’s biological sex;
    3. All employees and volunteers will use bathrooms that correspond with their biological sex while on Diocesan or Parish property.
  2. Violation of this policy by any employee may include immediate corrective action, suspension, and possible termination of employment.
  3. Violation of this policy by any volunteer may include immediate corrective action, suspension, and possible termination of volunteer status.

§650.3 Specific Policy Concerning Students

650.3. Policy. Students and their parents are expected to live virtuous lives guided by Gospel values and the teaching of the Church as described in the Family School Agreement (BK3§404.1). Students shall conduct themselves in accord with their biological sex at all times.

Procedures:

  1. A student diagnosed with gender dysphoria should not be denied admission to a Catholic school as long as the student and his or her parents agree that the child will abide by the Family School Agreement and this policy.
  2. Respectful, critical questioning of Catholic teaching in the classroom is encouraged as long as its intent is to help the student progress toward greater awareness and understanding.
  3. Examples of this policy in practice include the following:
    1. All students and their parents will be addressed and referred to with pronouns in accord with their biological sex;
    2. All school correspondence, documents, and records will reflect the student or parent’s biological sex;
    3. Students will participate in competitive athletics in accord with their biological sex;
    4. Catholic schools will not allow, or otherwise cooperate in, the administration of puberty-blocking or cross-sex hormones on school property;
    5. All students will use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their biological sex. Students who have been clinically diagnosed with gender dysphoria, however, may request the use of a single-person, unisex facility. Such requests will be assessed on an individual basis by the appropriate school administrator.
  4. A student of any Catholic school who insists, or whose parents insist, on open hostility toward, or defiance of, Church teaching, or who otherwise intentionally violate this policy, may be expelled from the school pursuant to this policy and the provisions of BK3§404.1.3.

Diocese of Steubenville

Policies regarding Transgender Students in Catholic Schools

  1. In Catholic schools of the Diocese of Steubenville, all curricular and extra-curricular activity is to be rooted in, and consistent with, the principles of Catholic doctrine.
  2. Catholic schools, and individuals employed with Catholic schools, shall not sponsor, facilitate or host such organizations, events or activities that would promote views contrary to Catholic doctrine regarding human sexuality and gender, either on or off the school campus, or through social media.
  3. Students enrolled in Catholic schools who suffer from gender dysphoria shall be treated with sensitivity, respect, mercy, and compassion.
  4. The sexual identity of students enrolled in Catholic schools shall be in accordance to the student’s biological sex, as determined by an original state issued birth certificate (or an official copy thereof).
  5. Catholic schools shall:
    1. Require that participation on/in school athletic teams and all other school sponsored extra-curricular activities, where applicable (e., school dances) be in accordance with biological sex.
    2. Require that the use of names and pronouns be in accordance with the person’s biological sex.
    3. Designate Catholic sex education, school and athletic uniforms, and appropriate dress, bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, and sleeping accommodations on trips according to biological sex.
    4. Maintain names in school records according to the student’s biological sex.
    5. Provide reasonable accommodation to a private bathroom for use by any student who desires increased privacy.
  6. In the case of a specific request, the school shall consider in a compassionate way, on a case-by-case basis, the physical and psychological needs of a student based on the following questions:
    1. What is the specific request of the student and/or parent?
    2. Is the request in keeping with the teaching of the Catholic Church?
    3. Is the school reasonably able to accommodate the request?

Schools shall make a reasonable effort to inform and instruct school personnel, parents, and students (where appropriate) concerning these policies. School personnel shall be made aware of “Exhibit B.1” (Catechetical Statement) regarding students who identify as transgender. Parents and high school grade students shall read and sign Exhibit B.2 upon enrollment in a Catholic school.

Modesty in Dress

Holy Family Academy, Manchester, N.H.

As the body reflects the soul, so one’s dress reflects one’s attitudes. Modesty is crucial in the dress of each student: dressing with dignity is uplifting, it encourages growth in virtue and character, and prepares the student to engage in the noble activity of liberal education. As such, students are always neat, clean, and well-groomed while at school and at all school-related functions. At all school events, it is important that students keep in mind that they serve as ambassadors of Holy Family Academy in the larger community.

The Highlands School, Irving, Tex.

Pope St. John Paul II called modesty the boundary that protects “the intimate center of the person.” Dances and all school sponsored events (sports banquets, other social activities) should reflect the philosophy of our school (Blazer Spirit) and the moral teachings of the Catholic faith. Out of respect for their own dignity and others’ as children of God and temples of the Holy Spirit, The Highlands School asks all students and guests to dress with modesty, following school guidelines.

Pregnancy

Bishop England High School, Charleston, S.C.

Pro-Life Policy: It is understood that we, as Catholic educators, are convinced of the value and dignity of human life. We hold a pro-life stance which enables us to bring to our students the realization that a Christian code of morality based on the Gospel should give their lives direction and that thorough instruction should help them understand their own sexuality. While we do not condone contraception or premarital sex, once a young couple becomes responsible for the conceiving of human life, we believe every effort must be made and every measure must be taken to preserve this life. In all instances, the student(s) will be treated with charity. In keeping with these beliefs, the following guidelines will be applied whenever female or male students become involved in a pregnancy:

  1. As soon as possible after learning of the pregnancy, the student(s) and their parents will meet with the Principal to inform the school of the situation.
  2. A female student will obtain a medical statement from her doctor giving her due date and her medical fitness to remain in school. The statement must include any medical problems of which the school should be aware. When it is deemed necessary by the administration, she will proceed to an alternative educational program. At that time, the male student will also proceed to an alternative educational program.
  3. Female and male students must follow a bona fide program of counseling which their church or other religious support agency offers. The name of the counselor must be given to the Principal.
  4. During the time of the pregnancy and after the birth, participation for both the mother and the father in all co-curricular activities, as well as graduation, is at the discretion of the Principal.
  5. After the birth, the students and their parents must schedule an interview with the school administration to determine the feasibility and conditions of returning to school.

In addition, we believe that abortion at any stage of pregnancy is the taking of the life of an innocent human person. Therefore, a female student who attempts to procure an abortion or a male student who enables this attempt must withdraw from the school immediately.

Academy of Our Lady, Marrero, La.

A young woman’s life is forever changed with the conception and birth of a child. Her new condition takes precedence even over her role as a student. In order to foster a complete “pro-life” stance, when a pregnancy becomes known the parent/guardian(s) and student must inform the principal, and the student will be required to follow the guidelines set out by the Archdiocese of New Orleans. In accordance with Archdiocesan policy, the student may be allowed to return to Academy of Our Lady after the birth of her child if she agrees to abide by the conditions for returning and remaining in school. The administration will meet with the student and her parents/guardians to explain the conditions for returning and remaining in school. The principal determines attendance at school functions. A student who does not disclose her pregnancy to school administration and continues to attend classes is subject to immediate dismissal.

Same-Sex Attraction Policy

Archdiocese of New Orleans

The Archdiocese of New Orleans respects and follows the teachings of the Catholic Church as we minister to youth who face the complexity of cultural and personal issues of today. As they grow in their understanding of their identity and sexuality, we will provide guidance and parameters founded on the truth that they, as male and female, are created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus. We will teach respect for the dignity of the human person, recognizing the importance of chastity as we guide our youth in discovering their identity as children of God. We will not tolerate hatred or bullying at any level in our parish or school programs. We set boundaries and policies that help us teach young people to live with relational integrity, showing respect for themselves and one another. Out of respect for the confidentiality of our students and their families, we will not address specific questions regarding a parish/school situation. We will continue to minister to our youth and members of their families during times of struggle as they develop in their understanding of their identity and sexuality.

Appendix B: Selections from Church Documents Informing This Topic

Bodily Integrity

The human body shares in the dignity of “the image of God”: it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit:

Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity. Through his very bodily condition he sums up in himself the elements of the material world. Through him they are thus brought to their highest perfection and can raise their voice in praise freely given to the Creator. For this reason man may not despise his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day.

 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 364.

The Holy Scripture reveals the wisdom of the Creator’s design, which “has assigned as a task to man his body, his masculinity and femininity; and that in masculinity and femininity he, in a way, assigned to him as a task his humanity, the dignity of the person, and also the clear sign of the interpersonal communion in which man fulfils himself through the authentic gift of himself.” Thus, human nature must be understood on the basis of the unity of body and soul, far removed from any sort of physicalism or naturalism…

Congregation for Catholic Education, Male and Female He Created Them:
Towards a Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education
(2019) 32.

Sexuality affects all aspect of the human person in the unity of his body and soul. It especially concern affectivity, the capacity to love and to procreate, and in a more general way the aptitude for forming bonds of communion with others.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 2332.

By creating the human being man and woman, God gives personal dignity equally to the one and the other. Each of them, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 2393.

In [St.] Paul’s eyes, it is not only the human spirit…that decides the dignity of the human body. But even more so it is the supernatural reality [of] the indwelling and continual presence of the Holy Spirit in man—in his soul and in his body—as the fruit of the redemption carried out by Christ. It follows that man’s body is no longer just his own. It deserves that respect whose manifestation in the mutual conduct of man, male and female, constitutes the virtue of purity.

Pope St. John Paul II, General Audience, The Virtue of Purity
Is the Expression and Fruit of Life According to the Spirit
(February 11, 1981) 3.

A sexual education that fosters a healthy sense of modesty has immense value, however much some people nowadays consider modesty a relic of a bygone era. Modesty is a natural means whereby we defend our personal privacy and prevent ourselves from being turned into objects to be used. Without a sense of modesty, affection and sexuality can be reduced to an obsession with genitality and unhealthy behaviours that distort our capacity for love, and with forms of sexual violence that lead to inhuman treatment or cause hurt to others.

Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia (2016) 282.

Yet the contemporary way of exalting the body is deceptive. Eros, reduced to pure “sex,” has become a commodity, a mere “thing” to be bought and sold, or rather, man himself becomes a commodity. This is hardly man’s great “yes” to the body. On the contrary, he now considers his body and his sexuality as the purely material part of himself, to be used and exploited at will.

Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est (2005) 5.

…human sexuality [is] being regarded more as an area for manipulation and exploitation than as the basis of the primordial wonder which led Adam on the morning of creation to exclaim before Eve: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Gen 2:23).

Pope St. John Paul II, Letter to the Families (1994) 19.

Frequently, sex education deals primarily with “protection” through the practice of “safe sex.” Such expressions convey a negative attitude towards the natural procreative fina`lity of sexuality, as if an eventual child were an enemy to be protected against. This way of thinking promotes narcissism and aggressivity in place of acceptance. It is always irresponsible to invite adolescents to toy with their bodies and their desires, as if they possessed the maturity, values, mutual commitment and goals proper to marriage. They end up being blithely encouraged to use other persons as a means of fulfilling their needs or limitations. The important thing is to teach them sensitivity to different expressions of love, mutual concern and care, loving respect and deeply meaningful communication. All of these prepare them for an integral and generous gift of self that will be expressed, following a public commitment, in the gift of their bodies. Sexual union in marriage will thus appear as a sign of an all-inclusive commitment, enriched by everything that has preceded it.

Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia (2016) 283.

Sexual Complementarity

Man and woman have been created, which is to say, willed by God: on the one hand, in perfect equality as human persons; on the other, in their respective beings as man and woman. “Being man” and “being woman” is a reality which is good and willed by God: man and woman possess an inalienable dignity which comes to them immediately from God their Creator. Man and woman are both with one and the same dignity “in the image of God.” In their “being-man” and “being-woman,” they reflect the Creator’s wisdom and goodness.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 369.

Sexuality, by means of which man and woman give themselves to one another through the acts which are proper and exclusive to spouses, is not something simply biological, but concerns the innermost being of the human person as such. It is realized in a truly human way only if it is an integral part of the love by which a man and woman commit themselves totally to one another until death.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 2361.

Sexuality is ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman. In marriage the physical intimacy of the spouses becomes a sign and pledge of spiritual communion. Marriage bonds between baptized persons are sanctified by the sacrament.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 2360.

Everyone, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity. Physical, moral, and spiritual difference and complementarity are oriented toward the goods of marriage and the flourishing of family life. The harmony of the couple and of society depends in part on the way in which the complementarity, needs, and mutual support between the sexes are lived out.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 2333.

Homosexuality refers to relations between men or women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which present homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.” They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 2357.

Connected with de facto unions is the particular problem concerning demands for the legal recognition of unions between homosexual persons, which is increasingly the topic of public debate. Only an anthropology corresponding to the full truth of the human person can give an appropriate response to this problem with its different aspects on both the societal and ecclesial levels. The light of such anthropology reveals “how incongruous is the demand to accord ‘marital’ status to unions between persons of the same sex. It is opposed, first of all, by the objective impossibility of making the partnership fruitful through the transmission of life according to the plan inscribed by God in the very structure of the human being. Another obstacle is the absence of the conditions for that interpersonal complementarity between male and female willed by the Creator at both the physical-biological and the eminently psychological levels. It is only in the union of two sexually different persons that the individual can achieve perfection in a synthesis of unity and mutual psychophysical completion.” Homosexual persons are to be fully respected in their human dignity and encouraged to follow God’s plan with particular attention in the exercise of chastity. This duty calling for respect does not justify the legitimization of behaviour that is not consistent with moral law, even less does it justify the recognition of a right to marriage between persons of the same sex and its being considered equivalent to the family.

Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the
Social Doctrine of the Church
(2004) 228.

The complementarity of man and woman, the pinnacle of divine creation, is being questioned by the so-called gender ideology, in the name of a more free and just society. The differences between man and woman are not for opposition or subordination, but for communion and generation, always in the “image and likeness” of God.

Pope Francis, Address to the Bishops of Puerto Rico (June 8, 2015).

The Christian vision of man is, in fact, a great “yes” to the dignity of persons called to an intimate filial communion of humility and faithfulness. The human being is not a self-sufficient individual nor an anonymous element in the group. Rather he is a unique and unrepeatable person, intrinsically ordered to relationships and sociability. Thus the Church reaffirms her great “yes” to the dignity and beauty of marriage as an expression of the faithful and generous bond between man and woman, and her no to “gender” philosophies, because the reciprocity between male and female is an expression of the beauty of nature willed by the Creator.

Pope Benedict XVI, Address to the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” (January 19, 2013).

Femininity in some way finds itself before masculinity, while masculinity confirms itself through femininity. Precisely the function of sex [that is, being male or female], which in some way is “constitutive for the person” (not only “an attribute of the person”), shows how deeply man, with all his spiritual solitude, with the uniqueness and unrepeatability proper to the person, is constituted by the body as “he” or “she.”

Pope St. John Paul II, Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body,
trans. M. Waldstein, (Pauline Books and Media, 2006) 10:1.

There is a need to reaffirm the metaphysical roots of sexual difference, as an anthropological refutation of attempts to negate the male-female duality of human nature, from which the family is generated. The denial of this duality not only erases the vision of human beings as the fruit of an act of creation but creates the idea of the human person as a sort of abstraction who “chooses for himself what his nature is to be. Man and woman in their created state as complementary versions of what it means to be human are disputed. But if there is no pre-ordained duality of man and woman in creation, then neither is the family any longer a reality established by creation. Likewise, the child has lost the place he had occupied hitherto and the dignity pertaining to him.”

Congregation for Catholic Education, Male and Female He Created Them (2019) 34.

Social Ideology

These words lay the foundation for what is put forward today under the term “gender” as a new philosophy of sexuality. According to this philosophy, sex is no longer a given element of nature that man has to accept and personally make sense of: it is a social role that we choose for ourselves, while in the past it was chosen for us by society. The profound falsehood of this theory and of the anthropological revolution contained within it is obvious. People dispute the idea that they have a nature, given by their bodily identity, that serves as a defining element of the human being. They deny their nature and decide that it is not something previously given to them, but that they make it for themselves.

Pope Benedict XVI, Address to the Roman Curia (December 21, 2012).

The process of identifying sexual identity is made more difficult by the fictitious construct known as “gender neuter” or “third gender,” which has the effect of obscuring the fact that a person’s sex is a structural determinant of male or female identity. Efforts to go beyond the constitutive male-female sexual difference, such as the ideas of “intersex” or “transgender,” lead to a masculinity or femininity that is ambiguous, even though (in a self-contradictory way), these concepts themselves actually presuppose the very sexual difference that they propose to negate or supersede.

Congregation for Catholic Education, Male and Female He Created Them (2019) 25.

In this perspective [i.e., that of gender ideology], physical difference, termed sex, is minimized, while the purely cultural element, termed gender, is emphasized to the maximum and held to be primary. The obscuring of the difference or duality of the sexes has enormous consequences on a variety of levels. This theory of the human person, intended to promote prospects for equality of women through liberation from biological determinism, has in reality inspired ideologies which, for example, call into question the family, in its natural two-parent structure of mother and father, and make homosexuality and heterosexuality virtually equivalent, in a new model of polymorphous sexuality.

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter on the Collaboration of
Men and Women in the Church and in the World
(2004) 2.

The profound falsehood of this theory and the anthropological revolution contained within are obvious. People dispute the idea that they have a nature, given by their bodily identity, that serves as a defining element of the human being. They deny their nature and decide that it is not something previously given to them, but that they make it for themselves. According to the Biblical creation account, being created by God as male and female pertains to the essence of the human creature. This duality is an essential aspect of what being human is all about, as ordained by God. This very duality as something given is now disputed. The words “male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27) no longer apply. No, what now applies is this: it was not God who created them male and female—hitherto society did this, now we decide for ourselves.

Pope Benedict XVI, Address on the Occasion of Christmas Greetings
to the Roman Curia
(December 21, 2012).

Yet another challenge is posed by the various forms of an ideology of gender that “denies the difference and reciprocity in nature of a man and a woman and envisages a society without sexual differences, thereby eliminating the anthropological basis of the family. This ideology leads to educational programmes and legislative enactments that promote a personal identity and emotional intimacy radically separated from the biological difference between male and female. Consequently, human identity becomes the choice of the individual, one which can also change over time.” It is a source of concern that some ideologies of this sort, which seek to respond to what are at times understandable aspirations, manage to assert themselves as absolute and unquestionable, even dictating how children should be raised. It needs to be emphasized that “biological sex and the socio-cultural role of sex (gender) can be distinguished but not separated.” …It is one thing to be understanding of human weakness and the complexities of life, and another to accept ideologies that attempt to sunder what are inseparable aspects of reality. Let us not fall into the sin of trying to replace the Creator. We are creatures, and not omnipotent. Creation is prior to us and must be received as a gift. At the same time, we are called to protect our humanity, and this means, in the first place, accepting it and respecting it as it was created.

Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia (2016) 56.

The crisis of the family is a societal fact. There are also ideological colonializations of the family, different paths and proposals in Europe and also coming from overseas. Then, there is the mistake of the human mind—gender theory—creating so much confusion.

Pope Francis, Pastoral Visit of His Holiness Pope Francis
to Pompeii and Naples
(March 21, 2015).

The underlying presuppositions of these theories can be traced back to a dualistic anthropology separating body (reduced to the status of inert matter) from human will, which itself becomes an absolute that can manipulate the body as it pleases. This combination of physicalism and voluntarism gives rise to relativism, in which everything that exists is of equal value and at the same time undifferentiated, without any real order or purpose…The effect of this move is chiefly to create a cultural and ideological revolution driven by relativism…

Congregation for Catholic Education, Male and Female He Created Them (2019) 20.

Faced with theories that consider gender identity as merely the cultural and social product of the interaction between the community and the individual, independent of personal sexual identity without any reference to the true meaning of sexuality, the Church does not tire of repeating her teaching: “Everyone, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity. Physical, moral and spiritual difference and complementarities are oriented towards the goods of marriage and the flourishing of family life….” According to this perspective, it is obligatory that positive law be conformed to the natural law, according to which sexual identity is indispensable, because it is the objective condition for forming a couple in marriage. [Emphasis in original and internal citation omitted.]

Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of
the Social Doctrine of the Church
(2004) 224.

In the process that could be described as the gradual cultural and human de-structuring of the institution of marriage, the spread of a certain ideology of “gender” should not be underestimated. According to this ideology, being a man or a woman is not determined fundamentally by sex but by culture. Therefore, the bases of the family and inter-personal relationships are attacked.

Pontifical Council for the Family, Family, Marriage and “De Facto” Unions (2000) 8.

 

 

[1] Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School (1977) 9.

[2] Congregation for Catholic Education, Catholic Schools on the Threshold of the Third Millennium (1997) 11.

[3] Saint Paul VI, Gravissimum Educationis (1965) 8.

[4] Congregation for Catholic Education, Male and Female He Created Them: Towards a Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education (2019) 3; citing Congregation for Catholic Education, Educational Guidance in Human Love: Outlines for Sex Education (1983) 5.

[5] Code of Canon Law (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1983) 795.

[6] Congregation for Catholic Education, Catholic Schools on the Threshold of the Third Millennium (1997) 11.

[7] Saint John Paul II, Ex corde Ecclesiae (1990) 4.

[8] Saint Paul VI, Gravissimum Educationis (1965) 8.

[9] Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School (1977) 9.

[10] Congregation for Catholic Education, Educating in Intercultural Dialogue in the Catholic School: Living in Harmony for a Civilization of Love (2013) 57.

[11] Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith (1982) 17.

[12] Congregation for Catholic Education (2019) 3.

[13] Catechism of the Catholic Church (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1993) 362.

[14] Catechism 355.

[15] Catechism 355, 369.

[16] Congregation for Catholic Education (1982) 18.

[17] Catechism 364.

[18] Catechism 362, 369.

[19] Catechism 2360-2361.

[20] Congregation for Catholic Education (2019) 4; citing Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Persona Humana: Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics (1975) 1.

[21] Congregation for Catholic Education (2019) Introduction.

[22] Congregation for Catholic Education (2019) Introduction.

[23] Congregation for Catholic Education (2019) 25.

[24] Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia (2016) 56.

[25] Pontifical Council for the Family, Family, Marriage and ‘De Facto’ Unions (2000) 8.

[26] Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Letter to Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Collaboration of Men and Women in the Church and the World (2004) 8.

[27] Catechism 2393.

[28] Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School: Guidelines for Reflection and Renewal (1988) Introduction, 63.

[29] Congregation for Catholic Education (1977) 36.

[30] Catechism 2337.

[31] Catechism 2348.

[32] Catechism 2338; Mt 5:37.

[33] Catechism 2351-2359.

[34] The Pontifical Council for the Family, The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality (1996) 60.

[35] Catechism 2337.

[36] Synod of Bishops, “Synod15 – Final Relatio of the Synod of Bishops to The Holy Father, Francis,” (October 2015) 58. Accessed July 20, 2020 from http://www.lancasterdiocese.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Final-Relatio15-Final.pdf

“According to the Christian principle, soul and body, biological sex as well and the social-cultural role of the sex (gender), can be distinguished, but not separated.” See also Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia (2016) 56.

[37] American Psychiatric Association. What is Gender Dysphoria? Accessed 7/17/20. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender-dysphoria/what-is-gender-dysphoria.

[38] Catechism 1601.

[39] Physical differences at birth include chromosomal levels. In the unlikely event that a biological sex determination made at birth is uncertain or inaccurate chromosomal levels may need be taken into consideration. Statistics show that such disorders of sexual development (DSD) occur between 1 and  4,500 – 5,500 births (.02%). See Lee, P.A., et al. “Global Disorders of Sex Development Update since 2006: Perceptions, Approach and Care,” Hormone Research in Paediatrics. Vol. 85 (April 2016). Accessed July 20, 2020 from https://www.karger.com/Article/Fulltext/442975

[40] Catechism 2357.

[41] Catechism 2360.

[42] Riittakerttu Kaltiala-Heino et al. “Gender Dysphoria in Adolescence: Current Perspectives,” Adolescent Health, Medicine and Therapeutics, Vol. 9 (March 2018) 31-41.

[43] Full text can be found at http://www.mncatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/20.0304-Sexual-Identity-Guiding-Principles-FINAL.pdf (accessed 5/20/20). See also the Diocese of Little Rock, AR. Policies and Procedures Manual (2019) found at https://www.dolr.org/sites/default/files/documents/policy_manual_students_20.pdf (accessed 5/20/20) #4.40 for excellent wording and citations.

[44] Full text can be found at https://www.dio.org/policy-book/77-650-gender-identity/file.html (accessed 5/20/20).

Fighting Pornography on Catholic College Campuses

Summary

Pornography is gravely sinful and commodifies the human person; it deeply harms students and impacts every aspect of their lives. Catholic colleges should strive to prevent pornography use on campus, form students in an authentic understanding of human sexuality, and provide opportunities for healing. Based on the recommendations of varied experts, this paper explores the impact of pornography on students and suggests resources and tactics to support students and limit pornography use on Catholic college campuses.

Introduction

Helping students avoid pornography and developing the virtues that are necessary for lifelong freedom from this pernicious obstacle to the moral life, intellectual growth, mental health, and social and spiritual maturity should be a major concern for Catholic educators today, especially staff who deal directly with forming and counseling college students. 

Secular colleges may be embarrassed to tackle the problem of pornography, because it is so widespread and pervasive among young people today, but Catholic colleges ought to recognize pornography as a serious threat not only to the wellbeing of their students but also to the success of their mission. The Catholic college does not artificially divorce pastoral concerns from the work of education. To the contrary, faithful Catholic education emphasizes the importance of morality to the intellectual life, admitting of all truth including religious and moral, striving for the integral formation of students as humans created for union with God, developing their capacity for loving communion with others, and forming students to fulfill their vocations in service to God and man.

For all these reasons, the faithful Catholic college will make fighting pornography on campus a priority and apply adequate resources to address the problem.[1] It would be a huge missed opportunity—and maybe even a dereliction of duty—not to make a sincere effort to help students in this arena.[2]

This paper explores the impact of pornography on students at Catholic colleges and suggests some resources and tactics to support students and limit pornography on Catholic college campuses. For students in college—who are often living alone for the first time and may be lonely—there are new challenges that arise to resisting pornography. Catholic colleges should adopt a multi-faceted approach to meet the needs of students on campus.

To mitigate pornography use, Catholic colleges can install a filter on the campus wireless or wired network to block obscene material. They can also implement media policies and other chastity-related policies to prohibit sexually explicit materials on campus and reinforce a culture of chastity. Initiatives to help students form strong friendships can help prevent isolation.

Catholic colleges can offer orientation programs, campus speakers, and homilies on the dangers of pornography and a proper understanding of human sexuality. Staff members in campus ministry and student life should especially be formed to address these topics.

Finally, Catholic colleges should prioritize healing opportunities for students who are afflicted by pornography addiction, including convenient access to the sacraments and devotions, accountability services, support and therapy groups, spiritual direction, and counseling. All of these should be conducted in line with Church teaching on human sexuality.

The following considerations and recommendations are compiled from the best resources and conversations with varied experts, but nothing herein should be considered professional medical, psychological, theological, or legal advice. It is important for Catholic educators to consult with experts before deciding on policy and pastoral care. A list of resources, including subject matter experts and published material, is appended at the end.

Clear and Present Danger

Easy access to internet pornography is one of the most rampant scourges facing our culture today. The advent of the smartphone and high-definition digital video streaming platforms, the rise of targeted online advertising, increased levels of sexual permissiveness in society, and a largely unregulated internet have made the ubiquity of pornography a fact of life.

Today, it is more difficult than ever before to avoid accidental exposure to pornography on an unfiltered internet browser, and it is easier than ever to intentionally tap into an ever-expanding library of illicit content. We have now entered an era in which many students entering college have been exposed to hard-core pornographic material on the internet before their age was in the double digits.[3] It is reasonable to assume that by the age they leave for college, most young men and, to a lesser but still frightening degree, many young women have been wounded by the evil of pornography.

Pornography is condemned by the Church as a grave sin that “offends against chastity” and “does grave injury to the dignity of its participants.”[4] The commodification of the human person is the ultimate depersonalization. The person becomes property; an object of abuse, profit, and violence. The pornography industry perpetuates numerous horrible injustices, including human trafficking and sexual exploitation.[5]

This is reason enough to prevent access to pornography on Catholic campuses, but colleges should be especially concerned about pornography’s damage to the consumer—in this case, the student. Its consumption has lasting physiological effects, reducing impulse control, hijacking the brain’s reward system, and fueling desire for increasingly perverted or shocking acts.[6] It is also connected to increasing permissiveness of and proclivity toward sexual violence.[7] Pornography is corrosive to relationships, communities, and society, and it undermines both married and consecrated vocations after college.[8]

Moreover, pornography is highly addictive to the consumer. Research has suggested a possible connection between the pleasure-inducing hormone dopamine and pornography use, and brain scans indicate brain reactions to pornography that are similar to cocaine addiction.[9] Scholars believe that “emotionally arousing images imprint and alter the brain, triggering an instant, involuntary, but lasting, biochemical memory trail.”[10]

Of particular concern to educators, habitual use of pornography has been linked to poor academic performance, and the psychological consequences of addictive behavior can be a serious obstacle to liberal education and growth in virtue. Pornography can affect the student’s ability to see reality as it is and may lessen the student’s desire for spiritual goods, a habitual inclination that may have been developed over years of childhood formation and education. Pornography consumption stokes the fire of a unique combination of vices—including unchastity, acedia, and curiositas—each of which are direct impediments to education. It is worthwhile to explore each of these in detail.

Unchastity

Because it “perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other,” pornography clearly feeds into the vice of unchastity, which strikes at the core of our moral life.[11] This has important implications for all educational institutions pursuing integral formation. Due to its intense energy and connection to the end of human nature as loving self-gift, the sexual dimension of the person is bound up with the entire moral life. This in turn is inseparable (though distinguishable) from our intellectual life. In short, educators who lead students to the truth should consider the virtue of chastity a valuable prerequisite.[12]

Summarizing St. Thomas Aquinas, the 20th century German philosopher Josef Pieper describes the effects of unchastity in this way:

Unchastity most effectively falsifies and corrupts the virtue of prudence. All that conflicts with the virtue of prudence stems for the most part from unchastity; unchastity begets a blindness of spirit which practically excludes all understanding of the goods of the spirit; unchastity splits the power of decision; conversely, the virtue of chastity more than any other makes man capable and ready for contemplation. All these propositions of St. Thomas do not refer to isolated effects and consequences…. This blindness is of the essence of unchastity itself, which is by its very nature destructive.[13]

Although it is not of itself a sufficient preparation for higher intellectual formation, it is certainly important that the sexual dimension of the person be integrated and channeled for the “eye” of the intellect to be able to perceive truth clearly. The “essence of the moral person” is to be “open to the truth of real things” and to live accordingly.[14] Only those who possess the clear vision afforded by a pure heart are able to really see the beauty around them and attain true freedom.[15] As a species of temperance, chastity contributes to “both the realization of actual good and the actual movement of man toward his goal” by “preserving and defending order in man himself.”[16]

Often the viewing of pornography is accompanied by the sin of masturbation. This combination is more than a doubling of the number of sexual sins, especially when it takes root as a habit during periods of sexual development. The person who claims to know that human sexuality is for self-gift and not personal gratification but has only ever experienced that reality as one of personal gratification has experienced a traumatic interruption in the healthy development of his or her implicit understanding of the function and purpose of his or her own sexuality. Forgiveness and healing are always possible, but the wounding effects of sin can still be substantial.[17]

Acedia

Pornography also is closely connected with acedia, one of the seven deadly sins. More than mere laziness, as might be connoted by its typical English translation as “sloth,” acedia consists of a deep sorrow regarding spiritual goods.[18] Acedia can function as a cause of pornography use, which initiates a vicious cycle that expands the dark cloud of acedia even further. The contemporary era is steeped in acedia, because it “turns against any remnant of or witness to the transcendent dignity of human persons and to their calling to friendship with God.”[19] Pornography acts as a powerful catalyst for this cycle of spiritual apathy. “The vast numbers of persons who, unbeknownst to themselves, are indulging in acedia, despair of and eventually come to resent the very dignity of the human person that pornography treats with contempt.”[20]

St. Thomas quotes St. Gregory in identifying the “daughters” of acedia, which include “malice, spite, faint-heartedness, despair, sluggishness in regard to the commandments, wandering of the mind after unlawful things.”[21] Pornography is powerfully addictive and often accompanied by a deep sense of shame. It can be so difficult to resist, that users who wish to change their behavior can quickly despair of any progress. Despair and isolation set up the conditions for another lapse, and the cycle continues. With a damaged appetite for spiritual goods, the pornography user may find himself or herself lacking willpower and zeal.

Curiositas

The “wandering of the mind after unlawful things” includes the vice of curiositas, the inordinate desire for knowledge, including sense knowledge. St. John identifies one of the temptations of the world to be concupiscence of the eyes (1 John 2:16)—illicit sight-seeing. The desire to know and experience sensible things is itself good, until it becomes disordered. One source of disorder that makes the act sinful, according to St. Thomas, is “when the knowledge of sensible things is directed to something harmful, as looking on a woman is directed to lust.”[22]

Lack of discipline and the feeding of the vice of curiositas make it more difficult to build up the opposing virtue of studiositas. Studiositas or studiousness is the virtue by which man controls his appetite for knowledge and applies his mind with diligence to a particular mental object, especially when it is difficult. It has broader application than merely the act of studying, but it is a critical virtue for excelling in the role of a student.

Paul Griffiths observes that the curious person’s disordered appetite for knowledge and the studious person’s rightly ordered appetite for knowledge result in very different relationships with what is knowable: “The curious inhabit a world of objects, which can be sequestered and possessed; the studious inhabit a world of gifts, given things, which can be known by participation, but which, because of their very natures, can never be possessed.”[23] This contrast is found in the effects of pornography on the person and his or her relationships with others. An unhealthy curiosity strengthened by habitual pornography consumption undermines the relationship one has with knowable things, whether it be the truth of the person or the truth presented in class. Curiositas leads to a desire to possess another person as an object.

Challenges in College

Today’s Catholic college student is likely affected by pornography in some way, and many will have an ongoing relationship with it. Some may struggle with deeply ingrained sexual addictions, while others may simply want to break a dirty habit. Still others may have left pornography use in the past but are not yet made whole. The remaining students may never have encountered it directly, but they surely know of peers who have. Nearly all have grown up in a culture that has assaulted the student’s perception of his or her sexual identity and left lasting wounds.

Fr. Mike Schmitz, chaplain of the Newman Catholic Campus Ministry at the University of Minnesota Duluth, says going off to college immediately presents new challenges.[24] For those who already struggle with pornography, the new college environment suddenly makes it harder to resist. First, there are typically few restrictions compared to living at home with a family, which requires additional personal discipline. Second, even with classes and required activities, a student often has far more free time than before and is not held accountable for it. Finally, the student typically arrives with no preexisting relationships on campus, so it can be easy to feel isolated and lonely. These challenges present a danger not only to students who are already struggling with pornography, but also those who may not have had much prior temptation.

Addressing the varied needs of the student body will take a multifaceted approach. It is important to remember a few things at the outset:

Pornography’s effects vary from person to person, but everyone can benefit from the Church’s message of chastity and love.

Making an effort to address pornography directly will have positive effects on the entire campus community. Perhaps it is only a small number of students who will need a lot of help (although the statistics should lead us to err on the side of caution). The benefits of reversing the cultural trend on pornography, however, are not limited only to those who “recover.” Pornography damages the entire community, not just those who view it regularly, and restoring integrity in the next generation will require facing it as a community.

Pornography affects both men and women, and it affects each sex differently.

While men have borne the brunt of this cultural scourge for decades and efforts to fight pornography have been directed primarily toward men, the data is showing that a significant number of women are regularly viewing pornography as well.[25] Clearly, pornography is not just a “men’s problem.” This presents two challenges. First, pornography affects women’s lives differently, so it may not be helpful to simply hand them existing resources designed for men. Second, the plethora of resources and testimonials that are directed to men can make a woman looking for help feel even more isolated. Recovery and healing may take different pathways for men and women.

Both college-aged men and women may find themselves in relationships with students addicted to pornography. They may be faced with distressful decisions about how or whether to continue dating or get married and how to show support while also setting boundaries. These students may need significant emotional support for the pain these relationships cause.

Christian charity requires sensitivity toward those struggling with this temptation by those who are not.

Pornography is a difficult topic. It can also be a very difficult habit to overcome. It can be easy for those who are not dealing with pornography addiction themselves to avoid thinking about its dangers and effects. It is also easy to reduce it to merely a dirty habit proceeding from lust, a “personal problem,” one that can be eradicated by force of will and (in a Catholic setting) frequent confession. The Christian life is lived in community. People today suffer from an intense individualism that can reinforce cultural diseases like pornography and allow the devil to “sift [us] like wheat” (Luke 22:31). It will take courage and sensitivity among all faithful Catholics to properly address today’s challenges.

Restoring and protecting the whole person is the goal, and a strong and intentional response to pornography should not be allowed to become myopic.

A strong institutional response to pornography as a particular issue cannot replace a pastoral approach for each individual that addresses pornography in the context of the whole person. Catholic educators provide resources for healing and growth out of love for the student and strive to maintain a balance. Care is taken to inspire, aid, and equip students without feeding scrupulosity or narrowing their gaze. On the other hand, many are tempted to ignore or minimize its negative effects on the person and society. These opposing reactions to pornography—inordinately focusing on it to the detriment of other issues, and trying to downplay it as a passing phase, a harmless indulgence, or merely a private problem—are rooted in the same impulse to compartmentalize the human person.

Extra attention to pornography on campus should always be situated in the broader context of growth in virtue and holiness. Fighting pornography and promoting chastity is not the summit of moral formation but a necessary component of a true interior freedom that allows a student to pursue his or her vocation. Today’s challenges in the realm of chastity and sexual integration are profound and require a strong, courageous response. While attempting to strike a balance in order to serve the entire person, it is good to err on the side of doing more rather than less.[26]

Helping adults combat and heal from pornography is no less important than protecting minors.

Pope Francis advises transcending legal distinctions of adulthood to adequately address the evils of pornography:

We rightly insist on the gravity of these problems for minors. But we can also underestimate or overlook the extent that they are also problems for adults. Determining the age of minority and majority is important for legal systems, but it is insufficient for dealing with other issues. The spread of ever more extreme pornography and other improper uses of the net not only causes disorders, dependencies and grave harm among adults, but also has a real impact on the way we view love and relations between the sexes. We would be seriously deluding ourselves were we to think that a society where an abnormal consumption of internet sex is rampant among adults could be capable of effectively protecting minors.[27]

A college providing programs for minors should take additional measures to protect them from accidental exposure on the campus network. However, the moral evil of pornography and its effects on the person and society do not change once a student turns 18. Neither does a student with newfound personal liberty suddenly acquire a proportionate level of virtue to fight the onslaught of pornography alone. Catholic colleges have a unique opportunity to address these issues head-on rather than hide behind false notions of autonomy and independence.

One of the fundamental lies about pornography is that it is merely “adult entertainment,” as if that renders it harmless, mature, or freely chosen. Slavery to sin undermines any sort of external freedom that our secular culture claims we possess, and it should be considered an obstacle to student success by Catholic educators. “There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just.”[28]

Preventing Pornography Use on Campus

Catholic colleges should strive to reduce pornography consumption or prevent it altogether. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and taking steps to reduce access to pornography will complement other programs for formation, recovery, and healing.

Implementing multiple preventative strategies at once can help create an environment that communicates a baseline expectation of chastity and makes it easier to be chaste than to not. This is especially helpful for those who are already struggling with temptation. Care for the individuals suffering the wounds of pornography use should be a guiding concern for the community and, in charity, ought to override particular liberties of those who are not struggling in this way.

Explicitly prohibiting the possession or use of pornography in a student code of conduct can be a helpful first step—as long as it is enforced—but there are other tactics to help prevent pornography consumption on campus.

Network filters and university IT resources

A filter on a campus computer network—whether wired or wireless—is a common-sense layer of protection, and it communicates an important message that the institution takes seriously a culture of chastity. A college IT team should be able to implement a campus-wide solution. Recent technological advances have made options available that are inexpensive and sophisticated. Even though pornography is more easily accessed on a student’s smartphone with an independent cellular data network, a campus network filter can be an effective barrier in some circumstances, and more importantly, it signals the institution’s commitment to not be complicit in the evils of pornography use.[29]

Consider adding language to IT user policies, declaring that the institution’s resources may not be used to access or transmit sexually explicit or exploitative material. Note that viewing, distributing or owning child pornography is illegal. Even with a filter in place, this can be another way to communicate an expectation of chastity and prevent accidental exposure. Such policies should be clear, specific, and enforceable.

Media policies

Students should generally be prohibited from displaying films, plays, art, etc. containing sexually explicit material. In addition to preventing near occasions of sin, a general prohibition of this sort communicates a more comprehensive and consistent vision for moral development. Much of what may not be labeled as pornography per se or caught by network filters can still be offensive to chastity and degrading to both the viewer and the actor. The arts form a person’s moral imagination and are thus never wholly neutral or “harmless fun.” The goal is not merely to remove morally offensive media from campus, but ultimately to replace it with what is truly beautiful and in accordance with truth and goodness.

Catholic college leaders might also reflect on the pervasiveness of detached communication (such as texting) and internet use, especially as it relates to student isolation. Efforts that promote a culture of presence and responsible detachment from technology would likely improve interpersonal communication, build community, support chastity, and reduce pornography use.

Relationships and student activities

Since isolation is both a cause of pornography use as well as a challenge that may be new to college students, initiatives to combat it specifically can be a helpful preventive measure. Encouraging strong, healthy friendships is worth the effort for its own sake, as human beings are made for community. In the context of a society wrecked by pornography use, it is even more important to seek creative ways to help students enter into meaningful relationships.

Robust, healthy relationships will not necessarily prevent or heal pornography on their own, but they are important to lasting change. Many of the strategies for formation and healing that are detailed below require a firm rooting in existing relationships to succeed. Pornography is not just a personal problem; the culture will only be healed in community.

Some colleges have developed “household” programs for their students. Most notable among these is Franciscan University of Steubenville; two-thirds of its students participate in a household before graduation. Households at Franciscan are groups of three or more students of the same sex, organized under a pledge expressing a common commitment to a particular spiritual identity. For many students, the fraternity experienced in the household provides a strong foundation for community life in college and often extends past graduation.

Other chastity-related policies

Amanda Graf, vice president of student affairs at Christendom College, recommends taking action to “prevent the downward slide” in campus culture by targeting the conditions that would allow a permissiveness toward pornography to creep in. For many people, pornography consumption is often part of a vicious cycle as both a cause and an effect of isolation or depression. Likewise, actions that offend against the dignity of the person can desensitize one to the evil of pornography.

Residence life staff can enforce “violations of the objectification of people” in residence halls, such as swimsuit posters or rude images or remarks.[30] Similarly, clothing containing degrading imagery or slogans ought to be prohibited in modesty regulations.

When considering strategies to prevent pornography use, it is helpful to step back from the most direct solutions to consider the bigger picture. Our habits are mutually reinforcing, and recognition of this fact can help us put a person’s struggles back into the context of the whole person. This context opens up additional opportunities for preventative measures.[31]

Ensure that all policies related to chastity are coherent and consistent. Thinking through the Church’s teachings on the nature of the human person as male and female and the implications of a proper anthropology can provide a unifying principle that help chastity-related policies work together for the benefit of the student and the community. It is important to clearly identify this unifying principle and consider how policies can be mutually reinforcing.

Explain policies to the college community. In the busy-ness of the school year, it is easy for students and even staff to lose sight of the positive vision that provides the foundation for these policies. They need to know that chastity is neither repressive nor unattainable. The goal is not merely students who can live porn-free, but rather students who embrace the Church’s vision for authentic freedom in Christ.

Forming Staff and Students

Perversions of the natural human inclination to seek love and sexual fulfillment need to be countered with the healing message of Jesus Christ’s redemptive love and man transformed by grace. The gates have been flung open in our culture, and the enemy has already done great damage inside, especially through pornography. Countering the dis-integration wrought by our secular culture will take significant effort but will be well worth it in the long run.

Staff training and peer ministries

Education about the dangers of pornography, confidence in the Church’s message of healing, and pastoral sensitivity are critical for addressing students’ needs. Leaders in the campus community (especially student life and campus ministry staff) should be prepared to discuss the issue of pornography with clarity, charity, and effectiveness. Squeamishness or moral immaturity can be overcome by a responsible enthusiasm born out of confidence in the Church’s teachings. There are many resources available online from Catholic and secular sources that can be used as a starting point for staff discussions, such as:

  • Clean Heart Online (https://cleanheart.online/): created by Covenant Eyes in response to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ 2015 pastoral letter on pornography.[32]
  • Integrity Restored (https://integrityrestored.com/): created by Catholic counselors and therapists for individuals struggling with pornography addiction.
  • Fight the New Drug (https://fightthenewdrug.org/): An anti-pornography organization that produced Brain, Heart, World, a documentary about the harms of pornography (at https://brainheartworld.org).
  • Blind Eyes Opened (https://blindeyesopened.com/): a documentary film about sex trafficking in the United States and its connection to the pornography industry.
  • Peter Kleponis resources (https://www.peterkleponis.com/resources-for-porn-addiction-recovery/): Dr. Kleponis is a Catholic counselor who has gathered many print and online resources into a helpful directory.

Since pornography ought to be addressed in the wider context of human sexuality and the Church’s positive vision of chastity, a foundational understanding of the Theology of the Body can be helpful for navigating the issue.

Identify clear point persons (ideally one of each sex) in student life or campus ministry departments who can help a student (and other staff members) navigate through the college’s resources and come up with a personal plan. While all student life staff members should be adequately trained in talking about this issue, having a single person who is easily accessible can make it easier for students to avail themselves of the resources made available by the college.

Consider also identifying and equipping peer leaders possessing an interest in restoring authentic community with training and resources to address today’s pressing moral and social challenges. Resident assistants and other formal leaders should be equipped as members of the student life staff, but there are other groups of campus leaders who can be leaven in the campus society. Train peer leaders to identify and address unhealthy behavior, including pornography use, setting appropriate boundaries with the recognition that peers are not experts. Peers who are able to talk realistically and not awkwardly about chastity and the Church’s positive vision for human sexuality can help break down barriers that may be based on personal isolation or a distrust of authority.

Orientation programs

At a Catholic college, the policies, activities, and general culture should convey the strong expectation that students refrain from pornography and immoral sexual activity—an “assumption of chastity”[33]—and the first few weeks on campus are critical for establishing this assumption and cultivating habits for the next four years. College student orientations typically include presentations on student safety (to reduce sexual assault risks, for example), but it is also important to address the deeper moral crisis in our culture. Catholic institutions have the tools to effect a moral transformation that proceeds from the heart of the person and changes the course of one’s life for good. Consider working a strong foundation of chastity and virtuous living into new-student orientation programs and including a section on pornography.

Pornography thrives in the dark and will be rarely discussed by students. Incorporating a robust, sex-specific presentation on pornography into a college’s orientation program can bring it out of the dark and open the cultural conversation on campus. More importantly, it can be a powerful opportunity to set the tone for the students’ college experience. Present the institution’s understanding of human sexuality along with the dangers of pornography, following up with an invitation to take advantage of these next four years to transform one’s capacity for authentic human love.

Speakers and homilies

Education is a critical component of any strategy for changing harmful patterns of behavior or effecting lasting cultural change. Many faithful colleges provide opportunities for students to learn about the dangers and effects of pornography. In addition to the benefits of expert testimony, speakers can reignite the campus conversation and create additional spaces for growth within student relationships. Students often lack the language to open up to their peers about these issues.

Pornography can be addressed from many different angles. The spiritual, social, neurological, and physical aspects of pornography use provide ample material to discuss at events ranging from small group settings to public lectures. It will be important that the speaker is able to get past students’ natural skepticism and awkwardness. Sophisticated and well-informed presentations crafted for a mature audience can draw students in. Vague “chastity talks” are probably unhelpful, compared to focused, detailed, intellectual presentations.

Homilies at campus Masses are another forum in which the issue can be raised periodically out of pastoral concern. Consider setting a goal for the chaplaincy to preach on the subject at least once a semester.

Chastity and authentic love programs

Some faithful Catholic colleges have moved beyond the occasional pornography or chastity talk and developed more comprehensive programs. Contrary to many secular universities which highlight and encourage sexual deviancy during “sex week,” some Catholic colleges have hosted a series of programs and events promoting authentic love. For example, Benedictine College’s Residence Life staff hosts an annual Real Love Initiative Week “to bring to light the power of relationships and sexuality to either affirm or wound individuals and our society as a whole.”[34]

Devoting a theme week to presenting the Church’s vision for human sexuality and authentic love can provide the space for a more comprehensive and holistic treatment of contemporary and perennial issues. Whether it occurs concentrated in a single week or spread out through the semester, a regular series on human love can benefit every college community. Since pornography is one of the largest obstacles to virtue in today’s society, it ought to have a prominent place in any comprehensive chastity program.

Healing from Damage and Addiction

God often makes use of human agents in His work of healing souls and bodies. Catholic colleges are uniquely positioned to offer a host of effective resources to students who struggle with pornography and desire freedom. For many students, college may be the first time that a truly Catholic approach to recovering from pornography use is close at hand, one which addresses the spiritual dimension of the person in addition to the psychological or physical dimension.

In his apostolic constitution Ex corde Ecclesiae, Pope St. John Paul II reminds us that pastoral ministry is “a constitutive element of a Catholic University itself, both in its structure and in its life.”[35] He continues:

Pastoral ministry is an indispensable means by which Catholic students can, in fulfilment of their baptism, be prepared for active participation in the life of the Church; it can assist in developing and nurturing the value of marriage and family life, fostering vocations to the priesthood and religious life, stimulating the Christian commitment of the laity and imbuing every activity with the spirit of the Gospel.[36]

Part of this preparation consists of the removal of obstacles to growth in virtue and the pursuit of one’s vocation. Pornography disrupts relationships especially within marriage and family life, hampers formation in pursuit of consecrated vocations,[37] and generally harms a person’s ability to pursue spiritual goods and exist as a person-for-others.[38] If students’ potential is to be fully realized, real healing from pornography addiction or the effects of prior use must take place. Colleges can do much to help with the healing process.

Sacraments and devotions

The Sacrament of Confession is a necessary remedy for dealing with habitual sin, and on a Catholic college campus, there ought to be ample time for confessions during the week. Students should be encouraged not to “priest-hop” if they are dealing with a habit, once they have found a priest who takes the habit seriously. Campus ministry staff can ensure that there are information cards present inside the confessional, so that a confessor can easily recommend resources for breaking free of pornography, as well as brief articles by reputable Catholics.

Students struggling with pornography should be encouraged to avail themselves of the grace received in weekly and daily Mass. Frequent Mass attendance diminishes the potential for disconnectedness, drift, and isolation from the Body of Christ.

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is also a powerful opportunity for students to experience healing. Pornography assaults not only the physical eyes but also the inner eye that disposes us to see through the sacramental veil, and it is helpful for many to have a direct, physical encounter with Christ’s Eucharistic Face. Jesus desires us to be in His presence, and it is important for students to have ample opportunities to make reparation and seek healing.

Consider a devotional event such as a Holy Hour dedicated specifically to making reparation for the evils of pornography and seeking healing for those suffering from its effects. The first recourse on a Catholic college campus should be to God through prayer and fasting. However, since God works through His creation and many struggles with pornography are rooted in human causes, it is not the only recourse.

Accountability

Priests, counselors, chastity speakers—nearly every expert in this arena consistently recommends accountability software like Covenant Eyes for men and women fighting pornography. They do so with good reason. College students suddenly lose structures of accountability that were in place at home, and many find it helpful to intentionally reintroduce accountability into their adult life. For students fighting pornography addiction, internet accountability software may be essential to their healing. Of course, voluntary internet accountability can be new and difficult at first for students, and it requires a strong commitment from both parties that is rooted in love.

Colleges can make subscriptions to services like Covenant Eyes available to students for free and perhaps even require students to install such a service as a condition of using a device on campus networks. Covenant Eyes has group plans that help make it more affordable to institutions or students.[39]

Other programs that can be helpful to point students toward include:

  • The Victory App[40]
  • Strive 21 with Matt Fradd[41]
  • Exodus 90[42]

Support and therapy groups

Some may find a group helpful for accountability, inspiration, and motivation—especially when situated within a strong faith-based community on campus. It is important for these to consist of men or women who are serious about recovery and always moving forward. Support groups are typically led by peers, but a trained counselor who is qualified to deal with matters of spiritual and mental health is a better leader. In a peer-to-peer setting, communication is not protected as privileged under the law, as it would be with a professional or a priest.

Catholic colleges should not make referrals to programs that are not committed to authentic sexual morality, but there may be groups in the local area that are a good fit for a student. For example, Sexaholics Anonymous (SA) is a 12-step-style group with a sobriety definition that is in line with the Catholic understanding of chastity. SA has chapters across the country.[43]

Spiritual direction

Chaplains who are readily available for spiritual direction are well-positioned to help a student work through recovery beyond the confessional. Inviting students to discuss difficult topics like pornography one-on-one is part of a holistic approach that may be needed for those whose struggles are more deeply engrained. Priest chaplains who are well-trained when it comes to dealing with sexual addictions and pornography use can help break down misconceptions of the self that are rooted in shame and help reorient a person’s self-identity as a son or daughter of God.

Counselors and health centers

All mental health staff on campus should be required to know and work within the Church’s teaching on human sexuality. In a staff of multiple counselors, it is important that at least one is trained in sexual issues like pornography addiction. In addition to helping students overcome addiction through regular confession, accountability software and relationships, support group sessions, and a spiritual director, consideration for professional help should be ongoing. This should not be a last resort, but rather a resource throughout the process. Therapy is meant to be used at any time and ideally in conjunction with other resources. It is not meant to be only a last resort for crisis situations.

Addiction is a progressive disease, meaning that it is subtle and evolves slowly. When quality of life has been impacted to the point that an individual recognizes the need for outside support, the impact on thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and relationships is already substantial enough to warrant counseling support. He or she may need professional help to uncover what else could be going on as the porn use continues. Professional assistance throughout the process can facilitate the remedy at an earlier stage.

If a college does not have mental health professionals on staff, there may be local Catholic counselors available to students. They may be able to conduct sessions online or over the phone. Here are some resources:

  • https://integrityrestored.com/finding-a-good-therapist/: Helpful guidelines for finding a counselor who understands Catholic teaching.
  • https://www.catholictherapists.com/: This website identifies local Catholic therapists.
  • https://www.peterkleponis.com/: Dr. Peter Kleponis is an example of a Catholic therapist specializing in sexual addictions who is willing to work with clients online.

The research has shown that addiction and dependence diagnoses are best addressed with a multifaceted approach. Ideally, the approach is a combination of group therapy, an identified peer available for consistent support and accountability, and individual mental health counseling. If the college can make these opportunities accessible in addition to the sacraments, it can be extremely powerful for healing.

Consider one example: Benedictine College developed a committee two years ago consisting of representatives from campus ministry, the counseling center, residence life, and the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. The committee brainstormed a multi-faceted approach to battle pornography use and addiction, including workshops, small groups, presentations, homilies, and individual therapy. This comprehensive approach seems to be having good results, according to College staff.

The partnering of Benedictine College’s campus ministry and counseling center—which includes one male counselor and one female counselor certified and trained in pornography and sex addiction—optimizes the development of programs and effective support resources. For instance, the counseling center collaborates with campus ministry to provide a presentation on pornography to the student body at least once per semester. Attendance and interest have been positive.

Benedictine provides a weekly group meeting for men, jointly led by a male counselor and a priest. The group breaks into smaller groups to facilitate communication and relationship building. After each group meeting, a priest offers confession. The keys to this approach are 1) having a trusted priest involved to give personal invitations to men, 2) positive reputation among students, and 3) peer-to-peer referrals.

Benedictine College has found implementing group programs for women more difficult. Female students tend to prefer individual counseling; however, they have been more receptive to participating in a small-group setting when it is led by a trusted senior woman in leadership, who is supported by a resident director and a counselor.

Conclusion

Pornography has run rampant through our culture, leaving many with lasting wounds. Catholic colleges are entrusted by the Church and parents with a special mission and ought to do everything in their power to turn the tide and to cooperate with grace, in order to be instruments of the lasting healing that our Lord and our Mother desire for the students in their care.

In times of crisis, Catholics have always been able to turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary for help. Consider dedicating anti-pornography efforts to her, confident that she will distribute healing graces to her children. Consecrate the student life team to the Blessed Mother and promote Marian consecration on campus. In addition, look to St. Raphael, the archangel who healed Tobit’s eyes and is associated by tradition with the healing waters of the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-4), as a special protector of students who are in need of healing from pornography.

 

About the Author

Peter Tapsak is a researcher and writer for the Catholic Identity Standards Project of The Cardinal Newman Society.

 

Appendix – Select Resources

Websites

Angelic Warfare Confraternity: https://www.angelicwarfareconfraternity.org/

Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas My House Initiative: https://www.archkck.org/myhouse

Catholic Therapists: https://www.catholictherapists.com/

Chastity Project: https://chastity.com/

Clean Heart Online: https://cleanheart.online/

Covenant Eyes: https://www.covenanteyes.com/

Diocese of Arlington Office of Family Life, Anti-Pornography Resources: https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/find-support/anti-pornography/

Diocese of Lincoln Office of Family Life, Internet Protection & Pornography: https://www.lincolndiocese.org/internet-protection-pornography/home

Exodus 90: https://exodus90.com/

Fight the New Drug: https://fightthenewdrug.org/

Integrity Restored: https://intregrityrestored.com/

Sexaholics Anonymous: https://www.sa.org/

Strive: https://www.strive21.com/

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Create in Me a Clean Heart:  https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/pornography/index.cfm

Victory App: https://thevictoryapp.com/

Articles

Benedictine College. “Blocking Pornography on Campus” at https://www.thegregorian.org/2019/
blocking-pornography-on-campus (accessed on March 3, 2020).

Carroll, Jason et al. “Generation XXX: Pornography Acceptance and Use Among Emerging Adults.” Journal of Adolescent Research (Vol. 23: 1, 2008) 6-30.

Fagan, Pat. “The Effects of Pornography on Individuals, Marriage, Family and Community” at https://cardinalnewmansociety.org/effects-pornography-individuals-marriage-family-community/.

Fight the New Drug. “Porn Kills Grades: Research Shows XXX Content’s Effect on Academics” at https://fightthenewdrug.org/study-shows-college-kids-are-struggling-academically-due-to-porn-viewing/ (accessed on June 2, 2020).

Fradd, Matt. “Porn and Relationships” at https://focusoncampus.org/content/porn-and-relationships (accessed on June 10, 2020).

Gobry, Pascal-Emmanuel. “A Science-Based Case for Ending the Porn Epidemic” at https://eppc.org/publications/a-science-based-case-for-ending-the-porn-epidemic/ (accessed on Mar. 5, 2020).

Grondelski, John. “Catholic Colleges and Online Pornography.” Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Quarterly (Vol. 31: 2, Summer 2008) 18-21.

Grondelski, John. “Pornography, Masturbation, and the Confessor” at https://www.hprweb.com/
2012/11/pornography-masturbation-and-the-confessor/ (accessed on June 2, 2020).

Hammer, Josh. “Porn is not a Blessing of Liberty” at https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/12/porn-is-not-a-blessing-of-liberty (accessed on June 10, 2020).

Hawkins, Dawn. “It Can’t Wait: Exposing the Connection Between Forms of Sexual Exploitation” at https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/dignity/vol2/iss3/2/ (accessed on June 2, 2020).

Hutter, Reinhard. “Pornography and Acedia” at https://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/04/
pornography-and-acedia (accessed on June 10, 2020).

Kaczor, Christopher. “Strategies for Reducing Binge Drinking and a ‘Hook-Up’ Culture on Campus” at https://cardinalnewmansociety.org/strategies-reducing-binge-drinking-hook-culture-campus/ (accessed on June 10, 2020).

Lickona, Thomas. “Battling Pornography: The Power of Media Literacy and Character Development” at https://www2.cortland.edu/dotAsset/1f4d0be6-1aa4-48da-917f-c282fc265aef.pdf (accessed on June 10, 2020).

Mosley, Patrina. “Women and Pornography” at https://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF18F20.pdf (accessed on June 10, 2020).

National Center on Sexual Exploitation. “The Links Between Pornography and Sexual Violence” at https://endsexualexploitation.org/wp-content/uploads/NCOSE_Connections2019_PornViolence_toPrint_bleed_8-16.pdf (accessed on June 10, 2020).

Pope Francis. “Address to Participants in the Congress on ‘Child Dignity in the Digital World’” at https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2017/october/documents/papa-francesco_20171006_congresso-childdignity-digitalworld.html (accessed on June 10, 2020).

Reilly, Patrick. “Catholics Should Lead on Banning Porn.” The National Catholic Register at https://www.ncregister.com/blog/reilly/catholics-should-lead-on-banning-porn (accessed on June 10, 2020).

Salomon, Kelly. “‘We Strive to Develop a Sense of Chastity:’ How Catholic Colleges are Fighting Porn” at https://catholicherald.co.uk/we-strive-to-develop-a-sense-of-chastity-how-catholic-colleges-are-fighting-porn/ (accessed on June 10, 2020).

Books 

Fradd, Matt. The Porn Myth: Exposing the Reality Behind the Fantasy of Pornography. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2017.

Kleponis, Peter. Integrity Restored: Helping Catholic Families Win the Battle Against Pornography. Steubenville: Emmaus Road Publishing, 2014.

Kleponis, Peter. Integrity Starts Here! A Catholic Approach to Restoring Sexual Integrity. Denver: Outskirts Press, 2016.

Loverde, Bp. Paul. Bought with a Price: Every Man’s Duty to Protect Himself and His Family from a Pornographic Culture. Diocese of Arlington (2014) at https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/
find-support/anti-pornography/.

Pieper, Josef. A Brief Reader on the Virtues of the Human Heart. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1991.

Pieper, Josef. The Four Cardinal Virtues. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2003.

Videos/Podcasts

Ascension Presents. “How to Quit Porn” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpGygVwFMtM (accessed on June 2, 2020).

Blind Eyes Opened at https://blindeyesopened.com/.

Covenant Eyes. “Remaining Porn Free in College” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf-8EIeo13I (accessed on June 2, 2020).

“How Pornography Impacts Vocational Discernment” athttps://faithandmarriage.org/podcast/017-how-pornography-impacts-vocational-discernment-with-fr-sean-kilcawley/ (accessed on June 10, 2020).

Kilcawley, Fr. Sean. YouTube channel. Many helpful videos and talks at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmoUcArv9m2pJ9VdbHo_NA.

Experts

Jason Evert, founder, Chastity Project

Dr. Kevin Kilcawley, founder, Integrative Psychology Services

Fr. Sean Kilcawley, Director of the Office of Family Life, Diocese of Lincoln

Dr. Peter Kleponis, Licensed Professional Counselor

Dr. Mary Anne Layden, Psychotherapist and Director of Education at the Center for Cognitive Therapy and Director of the Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program and Director of the Social Action Committee for Women’s Psychological Health, University of Pennsylvania

 

[1] See also John Grondelski, “Catholic Colleges and Online Pornography,” Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Quarterly, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Summer 2008) 18-21.

[2] Pope John Paul II explains the importance of pastoral ministry in the context of the Catholic university thus: “Pastoral ministry is that activity of the University which offers the members of the university community an opportunity to integrate religious and moral principles with their academic study and non-academic activities, thus integrating faith with life. It is part of the mission of the Church within the University and is also a constitutive element of a Catholic University itself, both in its structure and in its life. A university community concerned with promoting the Institution’s Catholic character will be conscious of this pastoral dimension and sensitive to the ways in which it can have an influence on all university activities.” Saint John Paul II, Ex corde Ecclesiae (1990) 38.

[3] “What’s the Average Age of a Child’s First Exposure to Porn?” at https://fightthenewdrug.org/real-average-age-of-first-exposure/ (accessed on Mar. 5, 2020).

[4] Catechism of the Catholic Church (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1993) 2354.

[5] Dawn Hawkins, “It Can’t Wait: Exposing the Connection Between Forms of Sexual Exploitation,” Dignity: A Journal on Sexual Exploitation and Violence, Vol. 2, No. 3 (2017) at https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/dignity/vol2/iss3/2/ (accessed on June 2, 2020).

[6] Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry, “A Science-Based Case for Ending the Porn Epidemic” (December 15, 2019) at https://eppc.org/publications/a-science-based-case-for-ending-the-porn-epidemic/ (accessed on Mar. 5, 2020).

[7] National Center on Sexual Exploitation, “The Links Between Pornography and Sexual Violence” (2019) at https://endsexualexploitation.org/wp-content/uploads/NCOSE_Connections2019_PornViolence_toPrint_bleed_8-16.pdf (accessed on Mar. 5, 2020).

[8] Pat Fagan, “The Effects of Pornography on Individuals, Marriage, Family and Community” (December 2009) at https://cardinalnewmansociety.org/effects-pornography-individuals-marriage-family-community/ (accessed on June 2, 2020).

[9] MarriPedia, “Neurological Effects of Pornography” at http://marripedia.org/neurological_effects_of_pornography (accessed on Sept. 4, 2020).

[10] Judith A. Reisman, “The Brain Science Behind Pornography Addiction and the Effects of Addiction on Families and Communities” (Testimony before the United States Senate, Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Nov. 18, 2004) at https://oxbowacademy.net/educationalarticles/senate_hearing_porn1/ (accessed on June 2, 2020).

[11] Catechism 2354.

[12] This is difficult for us to understand in an age of relativism and sexual libertinism. Josef Pieper notes: “For us men and women of today… who scarcely regard as sensible the concept of an ascesis of the intellect—for us, the deeply intrinsic connection that links the knowledge of truth to the condition of purity has vanished from our consciousness. Thomas [Aquinas] notes that the firstborn daughter of unchastity is the blindness of spirit.” Josef Pieper, A Brief Reader on the Virtues of the Human Heart (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1991) 42.

[13] Josef Pieper, The Four Cardinal Virtues (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2003) 159-160.

[14] Pieper (1991) 42-43.

[15] Pieper (1991) 44.

[16] Pieper (2003) 175.

[17] John Grondelski, “Pornography, Masturbation, and the Confessor,” Homiletic and Pastoral Review (November 29, 2012) at https://www.hprweb.com/2012/11/pornography-masturbation-and-the-confessor/ (accessed on June 2, 2020).

[18] St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province (1920) II-II 35:1 at https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3035.htm (accessed on Sept. 15, 2020).

[19] Reinhard Hutter, “Pornography and Acedia,” First Things (April 2012) at https://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/04/pornography-and-acedia (accessed on June 2, 2020).

[20] Reinhard Hutter, “Pornography and Acedia,” First Things (April 2012) at https://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/04/pornography-and-acedia (accessed June 2, 2020).

[21] Aquinas (1920) II-II 35:4.

[22] Aquinas (1920) II-II 167:2.

[23] Paul Griffiths, Intellectual Appetite: A Theological Grammar (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2009) 22, 161.

[24] Covenant Eyes, “Remaining Porn Free in College” YouTube video (November 18, 2014) at

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf-8EIeo13I (accessed on June 2, 2020); Ascension Presents, “How to Quit Porn” YouTube video (April 1, 2015) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpGygVwFMtM (accessed on June 2, 2020).

[25] Jason S. Carroll, et al. “Generation XXX: Pornography Acceptance and Use Among Emerging Adults,” Journal of Adolescent Research, Volume: 23, Issue: 1 (2008) 6-30.

[26] Aristotle observes that we often obtain the virtuous mean by aiming beyond it, erring on the opposite side of what we tend to naturally: “But we must consider the things towards which we ourselves also are easily carried away; for some of us tend to one thing, some to another; and this will be recognizable from the pleasure and the pain we feel. We must drag ourselves away to the contrary extreme; for we shall get into the intermediate state by drawing well away from error, as people do in straightening sticks that are bent.” Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, trans. W.D. Ross, at http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.2.ii.html 2.11 (accessed on Sept. 15, 2020).

[27] Pope Francis, “Address to the Participants in the Congress on ‘Child Dignity in the Digital World’” (October 6, 2017) at https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2017/october/documents/papa-francesco_20171006_congresso-childdignity-digitalworld.html (accessed on June 2, 2020).

[28] Catechism 1733.

[29] John Garvey, “Look at This,” Arlington Catholic Herald (April 24, 2019) at https://www.catholicherald.com/Opinions/Columnists/Look_at_this/ (accessed on Sept. 15, 2020); Martin M. Barillas, “Online Petition Calls on Catholic University of America to Ban Campus Internet Porn” (April 10. 2019) at https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/online-petition-calls-on-catholic-university-of-america-to-ban-campus-internet-porn (accessed on Sept. 15, 2020).

[30] Benedictine College, “Blocking Pornography on Campus” at https://www.thegregorian.org/2019/blocking-pornography-on-campus (accessed Feb. 20, 2020).

[31] See additional ideas regarding chastity-related policies in Christopher Kaczor, “Strategies for Reducing Binge Drinking and a ‘Hook-Up’ Culture on Campus” (The Cardinal Newman Society, 2012) at https://cardinalnewmansociety.org/strategies-reducing-binge-drinking-hook-culture-campus/ (accessed on Sept. 15, 2020).

[32] See U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Create in Me a Clean Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography” (Nov. 2015) at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/pornography/index.cfm (accessed Sept. 15, 2020).

[33] This term was coined and the concept shared with the Newman Society by Dr. Patrick Fagan, director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute at The Catholic University of America. Dr. Fagan suggested that the cultural and institutional assumptions about chastity will be clearly picked up by students and they will feel pressure to conform either to a chaste environment or a hook-up environment. If the institutional policies are a “wink and a nod” giving lip-service to chastity, or if student resident assistants condone the hook-up culture, students will be far more likely to engage in that culture even if they would rather remain chaste. A Catholic college has an opportunity and, the Newman Society would argue, a responsibility to create a campus culture where chastity is assumed, valued, and supported.

[34] Benedictine College, “Blocking Pornography on Campus” at https://www.thegregorian.org/2019/blocking-pornography-on-campus (accessed on Mar. 3, 2020).

[35] Saint John Paul II (1990) 38.

[36] Saint John Paul II (1990) 41.

[37] Especially vocations to the priesthood—as Saint John Paul II writes, “Affective maturity, which is the result of an education in true and responsible love, is a significant and decisive factor in the formation of candidates for the priesthood.” We may read into “education” here a removal of those obstacles to true and responsible love caused by pornography. Saint John Paul II, Pastores Dabo Vobis (1992) 43.

[38] For more on how pornography harms vocational discernment, see this interview with Fr. Sean Kilcawley on the Always Hope podcast at https://faithandmarriage.org/podcast/017-how-pornography-impacts-vocational-discernment-with-fr-sean-kilcawley/ (accessed on Sept. 15, 2020).

[39] Covenant Eyes (https://www.covenanteyes.com/) is the industry leader when it comes to internet accountability software. See https://www.covenanteyes.com/catholic-resources/ and https://cleanheart.online/ for additional resources.

[40] See https://thevictoryapp.com/.

[41] See https://www.cardinalstudios.org/strive.

[42] See https://exodus90.com/. This is a rigorous ascetic program designed specifically for men. It was developed by seminarians and crafted with certain neuroscience findings in mind, such as it taking about 90 days of abstinence to break addictions, even though it is not a recovery program per se. It is advisable to consult a counselor and/or spiritual director about the program. While it is not directly an anti-pornography program, many participants in Exodus 90 have found it to be very helpful in cultivating accountability relationships and fighting bad sexual habits.

[43] See https://www.sa.org/.

Scattered Catholic College Students Forge Ahead with Prayer

Many faithful Catholic colleges are taking practical steps to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, such as sending students home and switching to online-only courses. But although students are now scattered across the country, many are finding ways to join together in prayer with college leaders, faculty and staff to seek God’s help for those in need.

At Ave Maria University in Ave Maria, Florida, President Christopher Ice — whose planned inauguration later this month has been postponed — has asked his students to “double down” on “prayers, fasting, and sacrifices.”

Students involved with the Mary and Mercy Center just across the street from the University are doing just that. The students are organizing a 54-day Divine Mercy Chaplet novena for an end to the virus and for the “souls of the dying, healing of the sick, the return of souls to the Church.” The novena begins on March 22 and ends on May 14, the feast of St. Corona, patron saint of pandemics.

“Prayer can never be our only response to a problem, but we should never leave it out, either,” says President Stephen Minnis of Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, who asked the college community to join him in praying a novena to Our Lady of Monte Berico, who under this title ended a plague in the 1400s.

“I thought now would be a good time to take a breath and do what we as a community do best — call upon Our Lady’s intercession for a swift end to the spread of the virus and for her maternal protection for all,” he continued.

In addition, on Thursday he announced a “Memorare Army,” inviting each member of the Benedictine College community to say the “Memorare” prayer to Mary, Mother of God, 100 times over the next 10 days.

A beautiful Rosary procession was held at Thomas Aquinas College in Northfield, Massachusetts, on March 12, before students were sent home. Altar servers carried a statue of Our Lady across campus to pray for an end to the virus.

In Front Royal, Virginia, the president of Christendom College is asking for prayers to be entrusted to “Jesus Christ through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother.” Dr. Timothy O’Donnell is encouraging students during this “challenging time” to ask for “insight in how we can best act for His greater glory even now.”

“So often throughout history, Christian witness in times of trial moved others to embrace the faith,” Dr. O’Donnell told his community. “What a powerful message God can convey through us if we let Him, showing others our faith in a life after this earthly existence, and our hope in Our Savior who bears our suffering and sin to make possible our eternal happiness.”

The friars at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, are offering a private Mass every day for an end to the coronavirus. “I would like to invite everybody to pray that God does a mighty work,” says Father Dave Pivonka, president of the University, in a video message to students. “Heavenly father, confound and amaze the scientists by defeating this virus by your power and by your grace.”

Public participation in the Masses on many college campuses has come to a halt, such as at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, where Mass on campus is the longest standing tradition extending back to the University’s founding in 1959. A number of colleges, including Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina, have begun livestreaming Mass on Facebook and other platforms.

Prayer is certainly needed during this challenging time. President John Garvey of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., has tested positive for COVID-19 and is in quarantine, although he is no longer showing symptoms. Please keep this devoted leader of faithful Catholic education in your prayers.

Catholic college presidents are rightly making tough choices to ensure the safety of students and others in the country. Even more admirable, these faithful leaders are turning to Heaven, recognizing that God triumphs over any challenge.

This article first appeared at The National Catholic Register.

Track and field

Catholic School Athletics Must Be Truthful

Gender ideology has created huge inequities in the world of sports, with men competing on women’s teams and sometimes taking top honors away from outstanding female athletes.

Add to this many other controversies in sports, including players refusing to respect the national anthem, cheating and betting scandals, sexual abuse and harassment, and more.

Catholics are forced to ask some important questions: Is there a Catholic approach to athletics, especially in Catholic schools and colleges? Should we simply embrace the norms of secular schools and athletic associations in order to have opportunities to compete against them?

The Church has not shied away from these questions, but rather has been outspoken about the role of sports. Pope St. John Paul II especially focused on athletics in many homilies, messages and speeches.

“Sport… is an activity that involves more than the movement of the body; it demands the use of intelligence and the disciplining of the will,” he told athletes in 1987.

“It reveals, in other words, the wonderful structure of the human person created by God as spiritual being, a unity of body and spirit,” he said.

What a wonderful message! But sadly today, “body” and “spirit” are being divided in sport because of gender ideology.

Some girls have had enough of it, and Alliance Defending Freedom is representing them in a lawsuit against a Connecticut athletic conference that allows biological boys to defeat biological girls in high school track competitions. Catholic schools and colleges, too, should stand their ground and uphold truth.

“Given the incompatibility of gender ideology and a Catholic worldview, Catholic educational institutions cannot simply look the other way or surrender their vision of man and reality. Too much is at stake,” writes Dr. Dan Guernsey, senior fellow of The Cardinal Newman Society, in a draft set of standards for Catholic school and college athletics.

The standards are being circulated among experts in Catholic education, sports and theology to find common ground and help educators avoid the errors of their secular counterparts.

Athletics can be important to student development, explains Guernsey. “It can affect their understanding of themselves and their relationship with God in profound ways.”

According to the Vatican, the mission of Catholic education is about the “integral formation of the human person.” Athletics can support this mission by helping students “develop virtue and harmonize mind, body and will,” Guernsey writes.

But respecting the sex of athletes, he argues, is necessary to ensure player safety, fair play and social justice. It’s crucial for Catholic schools and colleges to develop clear position statements and policies to ensure that “athletics is not coopted to work against the mission of Catholic education.”

Ultimately, sports at Catholic schools and colleges should bear witness to the Truth. And in a culture that’s increasingly relativistic, Catholic athletics must go against the tide.

This article first appeared at The National Catholic Register.

Let’s Follow Bishop Paprocki’s Lead

Last week, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, released a clear, truthful guide on gender identity that does a great service for Catholic schools in his diocese. Catholic educators everywhere should follow his lead in implementing similar policies in their schools.

The timing of the guide could not be better, as society embraces a sorely confused understanding of gender identity. For example, biological males are winning female events in Connecticut high school sports, and high school districts like one in Illinois are allowing biological males to use female locker rooms, and vice versa.

But the Catholic Church’s teaching on gender identity and human sexuality is clear. Catholic school policies should be consistent, as well.

For handling situations of a student facing “gender dysphoria,” Bishop Paprocki’s guide stresses the importance of “gentle and compassionate pastoral skill and concern” and condemns any sort of “discrimination or harsh treatment.”

At the same time, the guide states that sex is determined at birth. The truly loving thing to do in a situation when a person is facing gender dysphoria is to be “clear on the reality of human biology as a gift from God that we cannot change.”

As a result, students at diocesan schools must “use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their biological sex,” and they will be “addressed and referred to with pronouns in accord with their biological sex.”

Thank you, Bishop Paprocki! More than ever, Catholic schools need to teach and witness to the Truth.

The Church’s teaching on human sexuality should be steeped deeply in our Catholic schools. A Christian anthropology should guide classroom learning, student activities and all school policies.

In fact, Catholic schools might consider adopting Human Sexuality Policies, like the ones developed by The Cardinal Newman Society, that go beyond the issue of gender identity. If a school has a firm commitment to forming young people in chastity, then it is clear that the concern is for all students of every stripe, and not targeting certain students as many activists claim.

“As a Catholic institution, we believe that human bodies are gifts from God and temples of the Holy Spirit,” the resource states. “All men and women are called to a life of chastity appropriate to their vocation as single, married, or consecrated religious.”

“Because our efforts at integral formation include the integrity of body, spirit, and moral development, our school has a proper concern for each student’s behavior and development in the complex area of human sexuality,” the resource continues.

The resource offers examples of specific policies related to human sexuality, including addressing athletics, dances, dress code, facilities use, same-sex attraction and more.

In the months ahead, Catholic schools will face even more questions related to human sexuality. Catholic educators must be prepared with responses that are clear and consistent, upholding Church teaching.

Having strong policies in place will help Catholic schools to fend off attacks and legal threats. But even more important is the witness for students — they should learn the Truth about the human person in the classroom and see it lived out.

This article first appeared at The National Catholic Register.

University of Mary hockey team

University of Mary: Scholar-Athletes Formed ‘For the Whole of Life’

This year, the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D., which is recommended in The Newman Guide for its strong Catholic identity, unveiled a “Greatness through Virtue” strategic plan for the University’s athletic programs. Through the plan, the University aims to “develop each athlete into becoming who God created them.”

The Newman Society recently asked Jerome Richter, executive vice president at the University of Mary, to discuss “Greatness through Virtue” and what makes it attractive for prospective Catholic students and families.

Newman Society: What does “Greatness through Virtue” mean, and how does it make the University of Mary stand out from other college options?

Jerome Richter: The University of Mary believes that scholar-athletes possess an inherent desire — a burning passion to achieve greatness. They are willing to take on rigorous and disciplined training schedules coupled with full-time academic work in order to pursue excellence in their sports.

“Greatness through Virtue” is the University of Mary’s plan to take advantage of this opportunity to develop each athlete into becoming who God created them to be, through the practice of virtue and the formation of authentic friendships. It means the University is taking strategic and practical steps to infuse its athletic programs with the virtues of magnanimity, humility, prudence, courage, justice and temperance to teach its athletes to pursue greatness in every arena of their lives — athletic, spiritual, personal, and scholastic.

This by no means lessens the commitment to striving to win on the field or court, rather it provides an important distinction between the University of Mary and other intercollegiate athletic programs. While many school athletic programs are aimed at solely at winning records, at the University of Mary, students, including our scholar-athletes, are formed by an education “for the whole of life.”

University of Mary basketball team
Members of the men’s basketball team at the University of Mary cheer on their teammates.

Newman Society: What is involved in the “Greatness through Virtue” plan?

Jerome Richter: The Greatness through Virtue plan is intentionally integrated into athletics in every facet from coaching and recruiting to developing leadership, personal development, academics, safety, health and well-being, and community integration. The university will be tracking this plan through a follow-up evaluation process and will reach out to share this vision of “greatness through virtue” by hosting institutes with other schools.

The University has placed Father Craig Vasek, a multi-sport athlete in high school and a graduate of the Pontifical North American College in Rome, among its athletes as the full-time chaplain for the University of Mary athletic department, guiding our athletes as they develop lifelong lessons of friendship, teamwork and values.

For Catholic families who want the assurance that their student will have access to genuinely faith-based higher education, one that brings virtue into every aspect of their university experience, including athletics, the University of Mary’s foundational faithfulness, academic excellence and genuine affordability makes it the best choice.

Newman Society: How do you expect “Greatness through Virtue” to impact areas of your campus beyond athletics?

Jerome Richter: Greatness through Virtue is not a thing apart from the life of the campus; as our scholar-athletes strive for greatness, they will undoubtably influence their friends and those around them. As “iron sharpens iron,” so too will these students further shape the culture of the campus into one where all members of the student body are fully integrated into the mission of the University of Mary.

The “Greatness through Virtue Athletic Strategic Plan” also includes core strategies for facilities and assessment to ensure its campus meets the needs for every team to excel and for every member in the athletic department to be properly assessed. Through this strategic plan, which is just a part of the University of Mary’s overall Vision 2030 Strategic Plan, there will not be any areas of campus not impacted by the university’s commitment to excellence.

Our hashtag #lifeatmary spreads the word through social media that if you want more out of an education – that dimension of eternal meaning – the University of Mary is the right fit for you.

Newman Society: How are faith-based values incorporated into some of the University of Mary’s most popular academic programs, including nursing?

Jerome Richter: The University of Mary is a campus with a rich sacramental life that includes daily Mass, adoration and prayer. Our programs in bioethics, Catholic philanthropy, Catholic Studies and programs for Catholic educators are cutting edge and faithful to the teachings of the Church. The university’s Christian, Catholic, and Benedictine values are infused throughout the curriculum, and a strong emphasis on “servant leadership” is placed in all programs.

University of Mary nursing
Nursing students in the St. Gianna School of Health Sciences.

Recently, Saint Gianna Beretta Molla’s family gave the university permission to name our School of Health Sciences after her to signal our commitment to providing exceptional health sciences education and our profound respect for the dignity of every human person. Under this newly named school, our stellar nursing program has been ranked #1 in the nation for its quality of instruction and caliber of graduates.

Our programs in business feature lessons and classes on Alexandre Havard’s Virtuous Leadership, which is meant to bring traditional views on excellence into the workplace.

Each faculty member is “hired for mission” and pledges to support the vision of educating leaders of moral courage in the pursuit of Truth.

Chapel at Franciscan University

True Love at Faithful Catholic Colleges

Are students being prepared for careers — and for life — in colleges today? Some college professors are noticing that students are “excelling academically but not necessarily in other areas of adult life,” including dating and preparing for the vocation of marriage.

Students at faithful Catholic colleges, however, may be the exception. A good Catholic college will promote a campus environment that supports healthy relationships, and that’s greatly needed today.

Popular chastity speaker Jason Evert, a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio, argues that there needs to be a revival of Catholic dating in our culture. He recently published The Dating Blueprint: What She Wants You to Know About Dating but Will Never Tell Youadvising men to “put down their screens, look a woman in the eye, and ask her on a date.”

Michael Kenney, director of The Cardinal Newman Society’s Catholic Identity Standards Project and one of the curriculum developers for the Dating Project, agrees. “The most consequential decision a person makes is the decision concerning marriage,” he says. “A healthy dating culture is essential to building strong marriages and families. Tragically, our culture saturates the airwaves with false lyrics, images and messages concerning dating.”

If a revival of traditional courtship seems unlikely on most college campuses, students can expect something different at a faithful Catholic college. At several colleges recommended in The Newman Guide, students can still find evidence of mature, chaste relationships leading to healthy marriages.

At Thomas Aquinas College, which has campuses in Santa Paula, California, and Northfield, Massachusetts, “about 10 percent of the College’s alumni have entered the priesthood or religious life,” the college reports. “Most of the rest marry, often wedding fellow Thomas Aquinas College alumni and raising fruitful, faithful families that bear joyful witness to the Culture of Life.”

With an annual enrollment of just 500 students, Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, boasts more than 480 alumnus-alumna marriages in its 40-year history. This has something to do with the academic program, the college explains:

Students learn Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body in one course, while they learn about Catholic doctrine and moral theology in other courses as well. As students complete each course, they gain a greater knowledge of the principles of the faith, especially pertaining to the Church’s teachings on sexuality, marriage and family.

But even more than the academic study, Christendom’s campus fosters healthy relationships by providing only single-sex dorms, which are totally off limits to students of the opposite sex. That’s opposite to the typical college hookup culture, but the marriages among Christendom alumni are evidence that true love is in the air.

Such is true also of John Paul the Great Catholic University, Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts, Thomas More College of Liberal Arts and Wyoming Catholic College, where — like Christendom and Thomas Aquinas — student dorms are single-sex and opposite-sex visitation is not allowed.

Such dorm policies help combat the hookup culture and preserve the privacy of student bedrooms. A Newman Society report cites one study finding that “students living in co-ed housing were also more likely [than those in single-sex residences] to have more sexual partners in the last 12 months.” Further, those students were “more than twice as likely as students in gender-specific housing to indicate that they had had three or more sexual partners in the last year.”

Of course, reducing the hookup culture doesn’t automatically lead to healthy dating — that’s something that needs to be taught to a generation of students who see casual relationships promoted in popular entertainment — but responsible campus policies certainly can help. Student programming, such as the chastity speaking events at Franciscan University and other faithful colleges, are helpful too.

New online dating apps and other options are being created to help address the Catholic dating problem. But it helps to live in a culture that supports authentic relationships. Faithful Catholic colleges attract students with similar values, and they are uniquely positioned to help prepare Catholic students for happy and meaningful lives.

This article first appeared at The National Catholic Register.

Celebrate the Students Who Marched for Life

Again this January, huge numbers of young people from around the country showed up in Washington, D.C., to demand an end to abortion. Many were from faithful Catholic schools and colleges that bused students to the annual March for Life.

Seeing all those schools and colleges represented made me very proud of our Catholic educators and their continued renewal of Catholic identity. And so, how perfect was it that we celebrated National Catholic Schools Week (Jan. 26-Feb. 1) just following the March?

The two events should remind us: when Catholic education is done well, it prepares its students to be ethical leaders and to transform the culture. And nothing could be more important than defending the weakest among us, the innocent baby in the womb.

Two pro-life leaders with Students for Life of America, one of the most dynamic pro-life organizations, say that their Catholic education prepared them for the work they do today.

Katie Portka credits her faithful Catholic education at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, with strengthening her pro-life convictions. Portka learned about Benedictine through The Newman Guide, and then, while a senior in high school, saw the College’s students carrying the banner at the head of the March for Life.

“I loved how energetic they were — this huge group of young adults who were so full of life and passionate,” says Portka. She had been involved in pro-life efforts with her family, but she didn’t often see large groups of young people standing for life as a high school student. Shortly after the March for Life, Portka signed her acceptance letter to attend Benedictine.

On campus, Portka immediately got involved in the large Respect Life Ravens Group. “The school at large was a very pro-life campus,” she says, “in the dorms, in classes, and in the faculty.”

Benedictine “really did embody the Church’s teaching on life and the dignity and sanctity of life,” says Portka. “In college was when I realized why I was pro-life and why I wanted to be pro-life.”

Stephanie Stone works for Students for Life of America as regional coordinator in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. She credits her faithful Catholic education with helping her discover that pro-life work was part of her “mission.”

As a high school student, Stone visited The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and “fell in love with how proudly the school wore its Catholic identity.”

“Catholic University helped me to dive deeper into my faith and experience how faith is applied to the world around us,” says Stone. “It also gave me a number of opportunities to become more active in the pro-life movement, eventually leading me to understand that pro-life work was my mission.”

On campus, Stone served as president of the Cardinals for Life club and was instrumental in organizing the first Pep Rally for Life for students ahead of the March for Life. Stone also found that studying in Washington, D.C., was a great place to learn about politics and grow in her pro-life beliefs.

“In my experience, having a Catholic education really solidified my understanding of the value of the human person,” explains Stone. “It helped me form a deep respect and radical love for all of God’s people, which is what ultimately encourages me to do this work.”

Whether at the elementary, secondary or higher education level, the fruits of Catholic education can be seen in the witness of its graduates. Many alumni of faithful Catholic schools and colleges are doing important work in rebuilding a culture of life in our country.

Hopefully, last week’s celebration of Catholic Schools was a reminder to Catholic educators everywhere to redouble their focus on the most important things that distinguish Catholic education from a secular program. Students should be prepared to follow God’s will for their lives and impact the world.

This article first appeared at The National Catholic Register.