Controversial Dutch bill would allow assisted suicide for healthy people over 75

José Masip, co-director of the Congress on Catholics and Public Life. / Credit: Catholic Association of Propagandists

Madrid, Spain, Sep 19, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
The Congress of Catholics and Public Life, which is scheduled to celebrate its X… […]

Rome, Italy, Mar 2, 2017 / 11:47 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis met Thursday with priests of the Diocese of Rome, delivering a lengthy meditation on St. Peter and his example of faith – which, though imperfect, grows and develops throughout his discipleship.

Looking at the Gospels, “we see that the faith of Simon Peter has a special character: it is a proven faith, and with it he has a mission to confirm and strengthen the faith of his brothers, our faith,” he said March 2.

St. Peter had moments of both weakness and greatness in his faith, the Bishop of Rome pointed out.

But in the end, if we follow his example and have the same “awareness of having ‘little faith,’ along with the humility to let ourselves be helped … this is the point of healthy self-esteem in which is rooted the seed of that faith ‘to confirm others,’” he said.

As well as to ability to follow the command “‘to build upon this rock’ which is what Jesus wants from Simon Peter and from us who participate in the ministry” of priesthood, the Pope explained.

The meeting between Pope Francis and priests of the Diocese of Rome takes place annually at the start of Lent at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral church of Rome.

After hearing the confessions of 15 priests, the Pope said he would give a slightly abbreviated version of the lengthy meditation he had prepared, although printed versions of the full text were handed out to the clergy to read during “these days of Lent.”

He concluded the meeting by leading the Angelus.

His meditation reflected on the theme of faith in general, and how the priests can help it grow and mature within themselves in order to better lead others to grow in their faith, and focused, in-depth, on scenes between Christ and St. Peter in the Gospels.

Because if we priests don’t have the habit of growing and maturing our faith, Francis asked, how can we expect to help grow and develop the faith of others?

“The faith of Simon Peter is less than that of many of the small faithful people of God,” he said. “There are even the pagans, like the centurion, who have greater faith in time to ask for the healing of a sufferer of their family.”

“Simon’s faith is slower than that of Mary Magdalene and John. John believes just seeing the sign of the shroud and recognizes the Lord on the shore of the lake just listening to his words.”

But St. Peter’s faith “has moments of greatness” as well, the Pope said, such as when he confesses that Jesus is the Messiah.

“I would say that is a sharable faith, perhaps because it is not so admirable. The faith of one who had learned to walk on water without tribulations would be fascinating, but maybe push us away,” he said.

“Instead, this faith from a good friend, aware of his smallness and who fully trusts in Jesus, raises our sympathy and – this is his grace – confirms us!”

The Pope’s meditation also emphasized the importance of prayer in a priest’s life, pointing out how Christ himself says he has prayed for St. Peter in Luke 22:31-32: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers.”

“The fact that the Lord expressly says that he prays for Simon is extremely important, because the most insidious temptation of the devil is that, along with some special test, we feel that Jesus has abandoned us, that somehow he has left us alone and he did not help us as he should have,” Francis said.

“The Lord himself has experienced and overcome this temptation, first in the garden and then on the cross, trusting in the Father’s hands when he felt abandoned.”

“It is in this point of the faith that we need to be specially and carefully strengthened and confirmed,” he said. But in the Lord’s care “we find the strength we need.”

“The Lord asks us to pray continually and persistently,” he continued.

“As priests who take part in the Petrine ministry, in what he is to us, we take part in the same mission: not only do we have to wash the feet of our brothers, as we do on Holy Thursday, but we have to confirm them in their faith, showing how the Lord prayed for ours.”

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London, England, Jul 18, 2019 / 05:30 pm (CNA).- A new study suggests a link between autism, autistic traits, and identifying as transgender or non-binary, raising new questions about the growing use of so-called “gender transition” procedures as a treatment for gender dysphoria.

The study, which was released July 14 and will appear in the September issue of the academic journal European Psychiatry, was led by Dr. Steven Stagg of Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom. The study examined 177 people who identify as transgender, non-binary, or as the gender of their biological sex. 

A person who identifies as “non-binary,” which is also referred to as “genderqueer,” identifies as neither male nor female or on the male/female binary. A person who identifies as transgender identifies as the opposite sex than their biological sex. A transgender person may opt to undergo cross-sex hormonal or surgical treatments in order to better resemble the gender with which they identify.

Of the 177 people studied, four percent of those identifying their gender with their biological sex were diagnosed with autism. For the transgender or non-binary group, that figure rose to 14%. An additional 28% of the transgender or non-binary group exhibited traits that would result in an autism diagnosis, which the authors of the study say could mean that autism is potentially being underdiagnosed, particularly among girls.

Among the autistic traits identified by Stagg were a difficulty in empathizing, as well as “an overreliance on systematic, rule-based reasoning.”

“One of the striking findings was the number of individuals born female who met the cut off for autism spectrum disorder. This is particularly important given that individuals born female are twice as likely to be referred to gender identity clinics,” said Stagg. 

In England, girls make up 74% patients at the country’s only gender clinic for minors, Tavistock. In 2019, more than half the patients referred to Tavistock were under the age of 14. Data has shown that 2.8 girls are referred to Tavistock for every boy.

“People with autism are also more likely to seek unequivocal answers to the complex issues surrounding gender identity,” said Stagg. Given that the study also suggested that autism is underdiagnosed in girls, this could be contributed to the percentage of girls seeking gender reassignment.

The number of minor girls who have been referred to Tavistock has jumped from 32 in 2008-2009 to 1,740 in 2018-2019. In July, the UK government announced an inquiry into why so many young girls were seeking to change their gender. 

“The statistics we have been made aware of show that more and more young people, particularly girls, are using health services to explore changing their gender,” said Penny Mordaunt, Minister for Women & Equalities. 

“It is vitally important that we prioritize finding out why this is the case, making sure we gain an understanding of the driving factors behind this whilst doing everything we can to support these individuals and their families,” she said. 

Stagg suggested that gender clinics screen for autism before performing any sort of treatment, and then adapt their approach as necessary. 

While the Stagg study was small, it is not the first time that a link between autism and identifying as transgendered has been identified. A 2018 report from Slate noted that researchers began in the 1990s to study the co-occurence between gender dysphoria and autism spectrum disorder.

Slate reported a “growing consensus” in the medical community that there is a disproprortionate correlation between the two.

Ryan Anderson, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and the author of “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment” told CNA that this study is further proof of how little understanding there is about the best means of treating cases of gender dysphoria.

“This is another in an ever-growing list of studies which reveal just how little we know about the underlying causes of gender dysphoria,” said Anderson. 

“It should prompt people to exercise great caution before making any life-altering medical interventions on the bodies of young people,” he added.

In June, the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education released a document warning against the “radical separation between gender and sex, with the former having priority over the later,” and the damage it was doing to society and individuals. 

“In all such [gender] theories, from the most moderate to the most radical, there is agreement that one’s gender ends up being viewed as more important than being of male or female sex,” the document stated.

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