Gender Identity and the Truth of the Body - Auspice Maria Ep. 20
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Transcript:
Welcome back to the Auspice Maria podcast. I'm Bishop James Ruggieri of the Diocese of Portland in Maine.
And before beginning, I'd like to invoke the help of the Holy Spirit, as always, to lead us and to inspire us—but also, in a particular way considering our topic today, to open our minds and hearts.
So we pray: Holy Spirit, inspire us, move us, and move our hearts to love you more and to love your people. We ask all this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Today I want to reflect on a subject that is much discussed in our culture, and one that touches many families with real pain and confusion: gender identity and the truth of the body.
Please let me begin by saying what I offer is not an exhaustive treatment. My purpose here is pastoral. I want to speak truth in love, offering clarity and compassion.
If you would like a more detailed theological study, I commend to you two pastoral letters from my brother bishops. Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, published a letter in August of 2025 entitled The Body Reveals the Person: A Catholic Response to the Challenges of Gender Ideology.
And Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, published a pastoral letter entitled A Catechesis on the Human Person and Gender Ideology in August of 2021. Both letters are courageous and deeply pastoral, and worthy of careful reading. I will reference specific passages from them during this podcast.
Just a word about Maine. Here in Maine, the civil law is permissive with regard to gender transitioning. Maine law allows changes to gender markers on identification documents. And Maine law also allows access to what are called “gender-affirming services,” even for minors under some circumstances.
This legal environment means that in our state, young people and families are hearing voices every day that encourage a separation of gender identity from biological reality. It is against this backdrop that I offer my words with both clarity and compassion, reminding us that true understanding begins when truth is conveyed in love, and that every young person deserves a path guided by both wisdom and care.
I'd like to begin with Genesis, the book of Genesis, chapter one, verse 27. That verse tells us: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (NABRE)
This verse is foundational. To be created in the image and likeness of God means that each of us has a dignity that cannot be taken away. Notice that Scripture immediately identifies this dignity with the reality of being male and female. Sexual difference is not secondary or disposable. It is part of what it means to bear the image of God.
Another Scripture passage, Psalm 139, verses 13 and 14, proclaims: “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! My very self you know.” (NABRE)
This psalm reminds us that God is intimately involved in our creation. From the very beginning, he fashions our lives—body and soul—with care and love. Our bodies are not mistakes. They are not prisons to escape from. They are gifts that reveal who we are.
At times, people may feel deep dissonance between their inner sense of self and their body. That experience is real and painful. But even in that struggle, the body remains a sign of God’s love and design. To discover its meaning is to discover more of God’s plan for our lives.
The Catholic Church teaches that we are not spirits trapped in flesh. We are integrated beings—body and soul together.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church expresses this clearly, and I'd like to share with you three paragraphs.
Paragraph 2332 teaches: “Sexuality affects all aspects of the human person in the unity of his body and soul. It especially concerns affectivity, the capacity to love and to procreate, and in a more general way the aptitude for forming bonds of communion with others.”
Paragraph 2333 continues: “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.”
And then paragraph 2334 says: “In creating man ‘male and female,’ God gives man and woman an equal personal dignity. ‘Man is a person, man and woman equally so, since both were created in the image and likeness of the personal God.’”
These paragraphs from the Catechism of the Catholic Church present us with a vision. This Vision is a vision of harmony and integration. My body, my soul, my emotions, and my will all belong together as one person.
Bishop Daniel Thomas, in his pastoral letter, refers to this harmonization of the body, soul, emotions, and will of the human person as a “unitive anthropology,” or a "unitive understanding of the human person."
He writes: “According to this unitive anthropology, the body is not a mere tool or instrument of the person, nor is it other than the person. Rather, both body and soul are integral to the very constitution of the person. The body animated by the soul is a living human being.” (Thomas, p. 5)
Thus, to be, according to Bishop Thomas's reference, to be male or female is not an accessory to my life, it is part of the truth of who I am, a gift woven into me by God.
Why then does our culture so easily separate the body from the self?
René Descartes, the French philosopher who lived from 1596 to 1650, is often called the father of modern philosophy. He lived in an age of turmoil, wars of religion, scientific discoveries, and deep skepticism about knowledge. Searching for certainty, he declared his famous phrase: Cogito ergo sum—“I think, therefore I am.”
Descartes’ goal was not to deny the body, but his philosophy elevated the thinking self above the embodied self. This gave rise to what we call today Cartesian dualism, the idea that the mind and body are two distinct substances, with the mind being the true self and the body being secondary.
From this mindset flows today’s temptation to define ourselves purely by what we feel or think, even when those feelings contradict the body. If my mind says one thing and my body another, the Cartesian instinct is to side with the mind.
But feelings are not always reliable. They change. They are affected by wounds, traumas, and moods. A depressed person may feel worthless, though their life is precious. A lonely spouse may feel unloved, though they are cherished.
Feelings are real, but they cannot be the foundation of identity. The Catholic vision is different. Body and soul are one. The body reveals the person.
Again, referring to the Catholic understanding of the human person from a unitive anthropology, Bishop Thomas writes, “Indeed, because body and soul are not two natures but form a single human nature, the body necessarily reveals the person as a boy or a girl, a man or a woman. God did not add the body after creating the soul; rather, as Genesis 1:27 tells us, in creating Man, ‘male and female he made them.’” (Bishop Thomas, p. 6)
In other words, based on what Bishop Thomas is telling us, our bodies are not shells to be escaped. They are integral to who we are.
Bishop Michael Burbage, in his pastoral A Catechesis on the Human Person and Gender Ideology, he states:
"At the same time, in responding to this question justly and charitably, one cannot deny or obscure the truth of our created nature and human sexuality. Indeed, charity always requires the clear presentation of the truth."
Bishop Burbage here insists that truth and charity are inseparable. To hide the truth is not merciful. To proclaim the truth without love is not Christian. But together, truth and charity heal.
Many people who experience conflict between gender identity, and biological reality are not acting from ideology, but from suffering. Their experience of inner division is real. Truth is essential, but truth will not be received unless there is trust. And trust is born of being seen, heard, and loved.
To see a person is to look beyond the label and recognize their humanity. To hear a person is to allow them to share their pain without rushing to answer. To love a person is to remain present, even when their path is difficult.
This does not mean complicity in error. It means creating the ground on which truth can be received as gift, not as condemnation. Jesus himself met people where they were, called them by name, healed their wounds, and then led them to truth. So too must we.
Here I turn to Bishop Burbage's pastoral for guidance on how to accompany people who experience gender dysphoria. He writes:
"A disciple of Christ desires to love all people and to seek their good actively. Denigration or bullying of any person, including those struggling with gender dysphoria, is to be rejected as completely incompatible with the gospel.
In this sensitive area of identity, however, there is a great danger of a misguided charity and false compassion. In this regard, we must recall, only what is true can ultimately be pastoral. Christians must always speak and act with both clarity and truth. After the example of the apostle Paul, they are to seek to speak the truth in love."
"To claim to be transgender or the desire to seek transition rests on a mistaken view of the human person," Bishop Burbage goes on. "It rejects the body as a gift from God and leads to grave harm. To affirm someone in an identity at odds with biological sex, or to affirm a person's desired transition is to mislead that person. It involves speaking and interacting with that person in an untruthful manner. Although the law of gradualness might prompt us to discern the best time to communicate the fullness of the truth, in no circumstances can we confirm a person in error."
And that whole entire quote I just read is from Bishop Burbage's pastoral letter. Very insightful, and particularly about speaking the truth in love.
So here in Maine, what does this mean or what does it look like? Well, in parishes and schools, priests and lay leaders teaching the truth of the human person as a unitive whole and teaching that truth clearly. Again, referring back to Bishop Thomas' unitive anthropology.
For families, what does that mean? Offering pastoral support and guidance on how to navigate delicate situations that particularly parents may have with children who experience gender dysphoria or that dissonance between identity and biological sex.
In recognition of the irreplaceable role of the family in attaining an understanding of the experience of same-sex attractions, and embracing a life of chastity, I'd like to kind of add to this whole discussion by bringing in now something that is related, but also I think applies, I know applies to something else, and that is EnCourage.
These goals that I want to share with you about EnCourage I think are very appropriately applied as well to family members, siblings, friends of people who are accompanying others who are struggling with their gender identity. So to families, to friends, to those who truly want to accompany people and offer support, pastoral care, and love, these goals, again from EnCourage, I think, can help.
I'd like to share these goals with you. And again, I think as we hear them, we can apply them to this whole reality of the disconnect sometimes that people experience with gender identity and biological gender.
The five goals in EnCourage:
"To grow spiritually through spiritual reading, prayer, meditation, individual spiritual direction, frequent attendance at Mass, and the frequent reception of the sacraments of penance and Holy Eucharist."
So again, I'm giving goals for people who want to accompany others but who do not want to be complicit in encouraging people to transition, but want to encourage people to embrace really what the Church teaches, and that is a unitive anthropology and to help people who are suffering in these particular situations to find that peace through healing as opposed to seeking gender hormone therapy or even surgical procedures to assuage that dissonance that they feel deep within.
So to grow spiritually through spiritual reading — if you again desire to accompany, we have to be spiritually nourished ourselves because we cannot give something we don't have to others.
Another goal of EnCourage, which I think again is really helpful to those seeking to accompany people who are experiencing gender dysphoria:
To gain a deeper understanding of the needs, difficulties, and challenges experienced by men and women, young people who experience this dissonance, this disconnect.
To educate ourselves — so important. If we're going to share truth, we have to be educated.
Another goal of EnCourage again applied to helping, walking with, working with people with gender dysphoria:
To establish and maintain a healthy and wholesome relationship with their loved ones who are experiencing this.
Again, the last thing we want to do is close that door to others who are experiencing these sufferings or difficulties. But again, leaving that door open without being complicit.
And then lastly:
To assist other family members and friends to reach out with compassion and truth and not to reject their loved ones who may be experiencing this dissonance of gender and biological sex.
And finally, the other thing really that sort of puts it in perspective:
To witness to others by their own lives that fulfillment is found in Christ Jesus through his Body, the Church.
So important, I think, that we rejoice in our Catholic Christian faith and also our membership in the Church, and how the Church really nourishes us in so many ways — sacramentally, communally, through the Word.
As we're trying to help people, walk with people, be ones who speak the truth in love, I think it's important also to be advocates. Advocate respectfully for policies that protect our children, particularly in our schools, particularly our young children in our schools, from the promulgation of harmful ideologies, while affirming human dignity in body and soul. Again, a unitive anthropology.
Before concluding, I just want to ask — I would like to offer this for our own reflection because we've been talking a lot about, sort of, this experience that others may be having and maybe how can we accompany them. But I'd like to also just point out some things I think personally for ourselves:
How do I honor God's gift of my body and identity today?
Do I live in gratitude for my maleness or femaleness as God's gift?
Do I treat my body with respect?
Do I help others discover their dignity, even in confusion or pain?
So before concluding, I want to offer a prayer, if I may, then close with a Hail Mary.
But obviously, this topic is very difficult. But importantly, we must speak about it. And please know that if you and your families — a few who are listening — and your families who are struggling in any way, or someone in your family struggling in any way with this gender dysphoria or this dissonance or gender confusion, please know that you are in my prayers.
And I just encourage all of us to pray for each other.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, you created us in your image. Male and female, you created us. You knit us together in our mothers’ wombs.
In Christ your Son, you redeemed us, body and soul.
In your Spirit, you make us temples of your presence.
Look kindly on those who live in inner conflict and pain.
Help them to know they are seen, heard, and loved.
Strengthen families to accompany their children with patience and courage.
Guide your Church here in Maine to witness faithfully, speaking truth with love, so that all may find healing in Christ. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Works Cited
Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2nd ed. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997.
Holy Bible. New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011.
Bishop Daniel E. Thomas. “The Body Reveals the Person: A Catholic Response to the Challenges of Gender Ideology.” Diocese of Toledo, August 2025. PDF.
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge. “A Catechesis on the Human Person and Gender Ideology.” Diocese of Arlington, August 12, 2021. PDF.
