Memo

Date: April 10, 2017

To: Priests, Deacons, Brothers, Sisters, Parish & Chancery Staff

From: Sue Stubbs, Director, Victim Assistance Program, Office of Child & Youth Protection

Re: “Framing a Catholic Response to Gender Ideology” Conference

Please consider participating in an upcoming conference entitled, “Framing a Catholic Response to Gender Ideology” at Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver, Colorado. They have arranged an outstanding group of presenters on this important topic.

The conference runs from Tuesday, May 16, 2017 (4:00 p.m.) until Thursday May 18, 2017 (3:30 p.m.). The cost is $150 which includes all meals (Tuesday dinner through Thursday lunch). Accommodations at a special rate are set up at the Courtyard Denver Cherry Creek. Please see the attached conference brochure and a detailed list of presenters and topics.

If you know any colleagues who would be interested in this conference, please share this invitation with them as well.

Gender ideology … Framing a Catholic  is having a devastating impact on children and Framing a Catholic teens. Response to  ignores God as Creator and promotes a view Response to of individual autonomy which is simply sinful. Gender Ideology  redefines the parent-child relationship, Gender Ideology casting parents as “oppressing” children by Tuesday, May 16 (5:00pm)- raising them as boys or girls. Thursday, May 18 (3:30pm)  undermines basic Christian anthropology by defining the person as a disembodied mind St. John Vianney and the body as a mere instrument. Theological Seminary

St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, 1300 South Steele St. in cooperation with the Denver, CO 80210 Catholic Women’s Forum and Courage International, is proud to Cost: $150 (includes all meals) announce our upcoming conference: For registration and additional information “Framing a Catholic Response to Gender Ideology.” visit: http://sjvdenver.edu/conferences email:[email protected] or call: 303-282-3427 The conference will explore an authentically Catholic response to gender ideology from the medical, psychological, philosophical, theological, pastoral, and legal perspectives. Aiming to serve key personnel involved in , Catholic Schools, Seminary Formation, Counseling and Diocesan Staff, we will present the issues involved and discuss ways to prepare a proactive, truthful and compassionate response to gender ideology when these issues arise. We hope to equip participants Discount Rate for Reservations Prior to April 24 Courtyard Denver Cherry Creek to return to their dioceses and be proactive 1475 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO 80222 catalysts for advancing this discussion and 303-757-8797 preparing to respond to gender ideology at www.courtyardcherrycreek.com Mention “Archdiocese of Denver May 2017” the diocesan level. for the group rate www.SJVDenver.edu/conferences

The Church faces a serious challenge The Context from an organized and sweeping What Is Gender Ideology and Why Do US Dioceses agenda... Need to Be Prepared to Respond to It? “Organized religion is at the heart of Pia de Solenni, S.T.L., S.T.D. LGBTI oppression and needs to be Associate Dean, Augustine Institute, Orange County deconstructed. [But] How can one The Perspective of Medical and Psychological Science deconstruct an institution that provides hope and comfort to millions of Transgender Surgery and Christian Anthropology desperate people? ... An engagement Deacon Patrick Lappert, MD needs to come from groups within the Plastic Surgeon and Deacon of the Diocese of Birmingham churches. They need capacity-building and support…LGBTI organizations What Does the Science and Practice of Psychology Tell Us about Gender Identity? need to appropriate Christian values Suzanne Hollman, PsyD, MSc for a progressive rights agenda.” Institute for Psychological Studies --Atlantic Philanthropies 2010 report, “A Meeting of Queer Minds” The Philosophical and Theological Perspective …which Pope Francis has characterized Why is Gender Ideology Incompatible with Catholicism?

as “ideological colonization”: Susan Selner-Wright, PhD St. John Vianney Theological Seminary “We are experiencing a moment of the The Emperor’s (New) New Clothes: annihilation of man as the image of God. A Look at the Logic of the (Not So) New Gender Ideology … In Europe, America, Latin America, Margaret Harper McCarthy, PhD Africa, and in some countries of Asia, John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family, CUA there are genuine forms of ideological colonization taking place. The Pastoral Perspective And one of these - I will call it clearly by its name - is [the ideology of] Welcoming and Accompanying Catholics with Confusion about Sexual Identity “gender.” Today children – children! – Father Philip Bochanski are taught in school that everyone can Executive Director, Courage International choose his or her sex. Why are they The US and Global Situation teaching this? Because the books are provided by the persons and The Cultural Impact of Gender Ideology: institutions that give you money. These What Happened and How Did It Happen So Fast? forms of ideological colonization are Mary Rice Hasson, JD also supported by influential Director, Catholic Women’s Forum at the Ethics and Public Policy Center countries. And this is terrible!” The Legal Situation in the US --Pope Francis, meeting with the Polish Helen Alvaré, JD Bishops, Cathedral of Kraków: 27 July George Mason School of Law 2016

Framing A Catholic Response to Gender Ideology May 16-18, 2017 Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary SPEAKERS AND PRESENTATIONS

Helen Alvaré, JD The Legal Situation in the US The law concerning gender in the United States is a patchwork of federal, state and local law featuring poorly defined terms and emerging from ideology and politics versus science or morality. This talk will outline the basics for those in the frontlines of diocesan response.

Helen Alvaré is a Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law, where she teaches Family Law, Law and Religion, and Property Law. She publishes on matters concerning marriage, parenting, non-marital households, and the First Amendment religion clauses. She is a consultor for the Pontifical Council of the , an advisor to the USCCB, and founder of WomenSpeakforThemselves.com. She cooperates with the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations as a speaker and a delegate to various United Nations conferences concerning women and the family. She is a founding member of the Catholic Women's Forum.

Father Philip Bochanski Welcoming and Accompanying Catholics Experiencing Confusion About Sexual Identity Our pastoral priority toward people who are experiencing confusion regarding their sexual identity, and towards their parents and loved ones, must be to welcome them in the name of Christ and to help them to understand and accept God's plan for their lives. This talk will consider how "speaking the truth in love" to someone about his or her identity, vocation and relationships can lead him or her to a greater self-understanding and fulfillment in Christ. It will also consider the impact that the experience of confusion about sexual identity can have on the life of the parish, and how clergy and others in ministry should respond.

Father Bochanski is a native of suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was ordained for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1999. In addition to various parish assignments he served as chaplain of the Philadelphia chapter of the Courage for five years. Father Bochanski presently lives in the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he serves as the executive director of Courage International, providing support and assistance for local Courage chapters and their chaplains, as well as continuing formation for priests and others in ministry. He is an award-winning author and has published several books, articles and audio lectures on such topics as Church history, spirituality, evangelization and pastoral care.

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Pia de Solenni, STD What Is Gender Ideology and Why Do US Dioceses Need to Be Prepared to Respond to It? This talk will orient us to the current state of the phenomenon Pope Francis has called Gender Ideology and the various forms this ideology is taking in US dioceses today.

Dr. de Solenni is a Professor of Moral Theology and Associate Dean of the Augustine Institute in Orange County. Since earning graduate degrees in theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, she has had work appear in various publications including The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Washington Post, National Catholic Reporter, Our Sunday Visitor, Patheos, and National Review Online. She is a consulting member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas and a member of the Catholic Women’s Forum.

Deacon Patrick Lappert, MD Transgender Surgery and Christian Anthropology Deacon Lappert will present a discussion of the “transgender” phenomenon, its historic roots, the scientific evidence for the existence of such a condition, and the moral and ethical problems of the use of medicine and surgery in the treatment of this condition.

Trained and board-certified as a general surgeon and as a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Lappert is a Permanent Deacon in the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama. He is a veteran of the Naval Service, retiring with the rank of Captain, USN, after serving for twenty-four years. Deacon Lappert divides his time between his private practice of plastic surgery and serving as deacon at Annunciation of the Lord in Decatur, Alabama. He is also chaplain for Courage in the Diocese of Birmingham.

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Suzanne Hollman, PsyD, MSc What Does the Science and Practice of Psychology Tell Us about Gender Identity? Through a critical review of the literature in Neuroscience and Biology, Dr. Hollman will examine the current state of scientific controversy and consensus in this area. The conflation of body politics with empirical research necessitates an evaluation of the state of current experimental findings in this area. She will examine what is known about the biology, neuroscience, psychosocial factors and potential comorbid psychopathology related to the contentious areas of transgender issues and gender identity in children and adolescents.

Dr. Hollman holds the positions of Associate Professor, Co-Director of the PsyD Program, and Clinical Supervisor at Divine Mercy University, the home of the Institute for Psychological Studies. Originally from South Africa, Dr. Hollman earned her PsyD at George Washington University and MSc in the History of Medicine from Oxford University. She is the author of papers on Attachment Theory, Cross-cultural psychiatry, and is a reviewer for the Eastern European Social Science journal, Seminare. She is a member of the Catholic Women’s Forum.

Susan Selner-Wright, PhD Why Is Gender Ideology Incompatible with Catholicism? Drawing on the unbroken tradition of seeing the human person as an embodied spirit, this talk will review why the Church teaches that our bodies are as much ourselves as our souls are, that our human nature sets boundaries for actions consistent with our flourishing, and that there is a direct connection between the physical and the spiritual. It will also discuss how modern notions of the body as mechanical and of freedom as autonomy have undermined these basic tenets of our tradition.

Dr. Selner-Wright is the Archbishop Charles J Chaput Chair of Philosophy at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. Her academic specialty is the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. She is the author of the Endow study guide, Aquinas for Beginners, and of scholarly articles published in journals including Logos and the International Philosophical Quarterly. She is also the translator and editor of On Creation, a translation of St. Thomas’ De potentia Dei, Q. 3, published by the Catholic University of America Press. She is a member of the Catholic Women’s Forum.

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Margaret Harper McCarthy, PhD The Emperor’s (New) New Clothes: A Look at the Logic of the (Not So) New Gender Ideology The claim of the talk is that behind the invention of the category of “gender” is the attempt to abstract the human being from the constitutive dimension of sexual difference—namely, the rhythm of generations, both those that have gone before and those that will follow—and ultimately from the human (creaturely) condition itself. The talk will endeavor to offer a way to face this new challenge. Dr. McCarthy is an Assistant Professor of Theological Anthropology at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America, in Washington, DC. She is the editor of its online quarterly review, Humanum, and also publishes regularly in the international Catholic review Communio. Her book Recovering Origins: Adult Children of Divorce is forthcoming. Dr. McCarthy is a member of the Catholic Women’s Forum.

Mary Rice Hasson, JD The Cultural Impact of Gender Ideology: What Happened and How Did It Happen So Fast? This talk provides an overview of gender ideology's impact on the culture, both globally and in the U.S., with particular attention to the ideology's inroads into education, health care and business. It suggests important ways individuals and institutions can respond, with compassion and conviction.

A fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. where she directs the Catholic Women’s Forum, Mrs. Hasson leads the CWF’s Gender Project, which provides workshops and presentations on gender ideology, transgender issues, feminism, and Catholic anthropology to Catholic clergy, diocesan and parish staff, educators, apostolic leaders, and parents. An attorney and writer, Mary is the editor of Promise and Challenge: Catholic Women Reflect on Feminism, Complementarity, and the Church (Our Sunday Visitor: 2015) and co-author of the report What Catholic Women Think About Faith, Conscience, and Contraception (EPPC, 2012). Her work has appeared in The Federalist, Our Sunday Visitor, The Washington Examiner, and First Things, as well as in policy journals and scholarly publications.

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