Culture and Social Issues

Catholic College Leader Denounces Diocese Policy Requiring Students To Use Pronouns That Align With Biological Sex

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The president of a Massachusetts Catholic college denounced the Diocese of Worcester’s K-12 school guidelines that reject gender ideology, according to The College Fix.

The Diocese of Worcester announced a new policy on gender, sexuality and sexual identity for its 21 schools on Aug. 15 that requires students to conform to their biological sex, according to NBC 10 News, a Boston-based outlet. President Vincent Rougeau of the College of the Holy Cross said the policy “does not apply to Holy Cross” and said that it is not consistent with the school’s “values,” according to The Fix.

It “not only challenges our deeply held values, it targets specific identities and people in our community and surrounding county,” Rougeau told The Fix.

The US national flag and flag of Vatican City are hung on the outside of a Catholic Conference building. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

The policy states that order is brought about by the marriage of a man and a woman and that people should accept their sexual identity. Rougeau supports LGBTQ groups and affirmation at the school, according to The Fix.

“The recent nationwide efforts to demonize, terrorize and scapegoat LGBTQIA+ people are shameful and frightening,” Rougeau wrote in a press release in April.

The policy also requires chastity in educational environments and says students should “conduct themselves at school in a manner consistent with their biological sex.”

The Catholic Church released a document in June saying that the group should be more accepting of LGBTQ individuals by thinking of ways to include groups that may feel judged by the church, though as recently as March 2021 the church said it would not bless gay marriages.

“It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin,” Pope Francis said in response to a question about being gay in an interview with the Associated Press.

Catholic schools around the country have been split on gender ideology.

One archdiocese barred the use of preferred pronouns and gender identity in the classroom, leading staff at Catholic schools in Oregon to resign in protest in June. Another Catholic school in Michigan sued the state in December 2022 over civil rights laws protecting gender identity, saying it would go against the Catholic faith to promote LGBTQ lifestyles.

The College of the Holy Cross did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.