Ascent

And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.

Mark 16:19 - 20

Another biblical drama, Mary Magdalene, has hit the screens introducing a much-maligned Mary who is struggling with her identify and whose salvation lies in the healer, Jesus. Callum Ryan's review panned Joaquin Phoenix's Jesus as "a bold and intriguing selection no doubt, but his Son of God feels out of touch... A core element of Jesus’ mystique was his humanity, but Phoenix’s Jesus doesn’t feel much like a person."

The role of Mary Magdalene in the life and ministry of Jesus has had a strong hold on the imaginations of writers since the second century AD (cf the 'Lost Gospel', the 'Gospel' of Mary). The Da Vinci Code appeared in Australian cinemas in mid-2006. From the book of the same name, it was based on the premise that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children to her. Few then feared that a backlash would occur where readers or viewers would blindly and blithely accept the plot as fact. Dan Brown and the film’s director Ron Howard both attested to its fictional plot and accept that it was based on flimsy evidence. Many commentators (including our former archbishop, Adrian Doyle) enjoyed the novel – but understood its underlying fictional plot.

At the centre of the Gospel is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. While the work of a contemporaneous, non-Christian witness, Josephus, gives evidence for Jesus’ ministry - the death, the resurrection, the ascension, the Pentecost experience are attested by Jesus’ followers. We know through the work of biblical scholars and theologians that we can peel back through layers of meaning to reach into the heart of the story of Jesus, and the richness and depth of his story enables him to be accessed at many levels. We grow in our understanding and our love of him. But there is no code to be broken, there are no secrets other than Jesus’ love for us, there is no conspiracy, no cover up. The mystery of Jesus is unveiled through the kerygma, the proclamation of the Word.

No one would suggest that you ought not explore your faith, our religious tradition as Christians and Catholics, nor that you should delve and question. The great thinkers of the Church, Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, the Doctors of the Church, the bishops of the first and second Nicene Councils and those at Chalcedon debated vigorously about the nature of Jesus’ humanity and divinity: they prayed, they reflected, they examined the scriptures and other Christian writings. Some boundaries were set to prevent unorthodoxy, yet other boundaries are shattered by the gift of the Holy Spirit and the reality that God continues to be revealed to us and in us every day. The Marian apparitions are evidence of both.

This coming Sunday we gather at a key moment in the story of Jesus, for the Ascension. Jesus sends his disciples to spread the Gospel, to preach and baptise. Dan Brown may have popular success, but it is we who have been entrusted with this mission.

Peter Douglas

                                                                       

                                         

Genesis and the gender question in

Catholic schools

by Elena Curti

In 1942, Enid Blyton published the first of her immensely successful “Famous Five” stories for children. Among the five youngsters is Georgina, who insists on being called George, cuts her hair short, dresses as a boy and wants to be known as Master instead of Miss.

For decades, George was regarded simply as a tomboy. Today, she might be seen as trans or transgender and a candidate for gender reassignment. George would not be referred to as “he” or “she” but gender-neutral terms such as “Mx” (pronounced by a cross between “Miks” and “Muks”) or “they”.

The number of children who feel their gender does not match their biological sex, and who are being referred to gender identity clinics, is on the increase. No one knows exactly how many children and teenagers believe they are trans, but their voices and images are everywhere. There is a fascination with gender incongruity and the media has featured dozens of case studies of children – some as young as six – who demand recognition and acceptance in their chosen gender, be it male, female or “fluid”.

It is against this background that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales issued the “fruits of its reflections” on transgender issues following the four-day spring plenary meeting at Hinsley Hall, Leeds, which ended on 19 April. The bishops have been particularly worried about the advance of the trans agenda because of its implications for Catholic schools. Under the 2010 Equality Act, schools must respect the wishes of a pupil who decides to live in the gender opposite to their biological sex. This may include a change of name, personal pronoun and school uniform. They are likely to want to use different toilets and changing rooms.

In 2016, a Catholic secondary school in Maidstone, Kent, St Simon Stock, backed down and apologised after it sent home an 18-year-old trans pupil, Lily Madigan (formerly Liam), for following the girls’ dress code. Lily hired a solicitor who informed the school of his client’s rights under the Equality Act.

Bishops need only look back to what happened a decade ago when the law required Catholic children’s societies to allow gay couples to become adoptive parents. Those that refused had to close down their adoption services. It is a cautionary tale for any Catholic school that defies the law. 

Yet both Pope Francis, and Benedict before him, have criticised so-called gender theory and the idea that gender can and should be determined by individuals regardless of their biological sex. At World Youth Day in 2016, Pope Francis’ concern was plain from what he said to Polish bishops: “Today, in schools they are teaching this to children – to children! – that everyone can choose their gender.”

In more coded remarks, Cardinal Vincent Nichols recently told a conference of head teachers in Westminster Diocese that they should affirm the values of family and community in their schools rather than individualism and self-determination.

Conservative bloggers have been forthright in their condemnation of those Catholic schools that are trying to accommodate trans pupils. Among their targets have been a primary school that introduced a gender-neutral school uniform, another that reportedly allowed an eight-year-old boy to dress as a girl, and the head of a highly regarded girls’ comprehensive who told parents that pupils can be referred to using their preferred pronoun. Also in their sights has been the Church of England’s Education Office, which has issued guidance that is supportive of trans pupils’ rights.

Yet a growing number of Catholic schools are taking a similar approach. The charity, Stonewall, which campaigns for trans rights, says 58 schools in the United Kingdom have taken part in its School Champion programme. In a guide to supporting LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) young people, a case study is given of an unnamed Catholic secondary school that described the process of supporting a pupil who wanted to transition. The school said it worked hard to establish its values of respect, equality and valuing the individual, explaining that “these are values of the Gospel and are lived in Catholic schools across the country”.

The planning for the transition included meetings with the student and her parents, training for all staff including governors, and the form class. A member of the leadership team led the preparation for the transition, which included thinking about toilet arrangements, changes of name on the system, PE amendments, visits and trips and school uniform.

Research published by Stonewall in 2017 found that two-thirds of trans pupils are bullied at school, four out of five trans young people have self-harmed, and two out of five have attempted suicide. The figures in all three categories are significantly higher than they are for lesbian and gay youths.

Not surprisingly, some Catholic thinkers say that the Church needs to learn more about gender dysphoria and avoid a rush to judgement. Among these is Mgr Keith Barltrop, who is Cardinal Nichols’ liaison and chaplain to the Farm Street LGBT group in central London. The group includes trans members and, in the course of his ministry, Mgr Barltrop has met lots of parents of transgender children.

“When a child who is living at home says they are contemplating gender reassignment, the parents are anxious to resolve the situation one way or another,” says Mgr Barltrop. “They’re putting pressure on the medics to tell them not to do it or get it done quickly. This is ridiculous.”

He tries to welcome unequivocally those who have transitioned while at the same time sounding a note of caution, particularly to young people. One difficulty, he believes, is that medical intervention is being seized on too readily. “For a small group of people it’s the lesser of two evils. But especially with children and young people, you need to slow down and look at alternatives. I think the medical profession would agree with that.”

Mgr Barltrop is trying to square the circle by, on the one hand, accepting Genesis 1:27 (“in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them”) and on the other acknowledging that gender is fluid and that boundaries are not black and white. He stresses that schools must always work with parents of children with gender dysphoria. “If someone is in secondary school and determined to change, and their parents are supporting them, then the school should be flexible about uniform and use of personal pronoun,” says Mgr Barltrop. And if other parents object? “The schools should say that they are following what the parents of this particular child have requested, and have discussions at an appropriate level.”

In reflections on gender dysphoria on the website of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, its director, Dr David Albert Jones, says the Church needs to develop a pastoral approach, particularly for children. Dr Jones, pointing out that  “transitioning” does not necessarily lead to surgery or even hormone treatment, writes: “Abstracting from issues of marriage, sexual ethics in a narrow sense, and surgery that destroys sexual or reproductive function, there is no consensus among Catholic moral theologians as to whether an adult who transitions is thereby departing from Catholic moral teaching.”

Jones expresses similar concerns to those of Mgr Barltrop about the prescription of hormone blockers to children to delay puberty. Supporters of the treatment say it buys time for a person to decide whether they wish to proceed towards irreversible treatment. Jones describes it as a drastic intervention that “deprives someone of an important stage of personal development and begs the question as to the person’s mature identity”.

In the United States, trans pupils’ use of school toilets has become a major political issue. One of President Trump’s first acts was to revoke guidance from the Obama administration that said schools should allow transgender students to use the bathrooms of their choice. Gender reassignment has also caused bitter debate in the Church, but, as yet, no guidance.

Just by talking about this difficult subject collectively and airing its reflections, the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has taken a bold step. 

Elena Curti is a former deputy editor of The Tablet. This article appeared in The Tablet of 28 April 2018.