Male and female: Using human dignity to explain the Catholic Church’s teachings on the sexes and gender to non-Catholics
- CofComCat
- Nov 9
- 13 min read
Introduction
This piece, adapted from my graduate work at the University of Toronto and St. Augustine's Seminary, provides a reflection on the theme of men and women both being created in the image and likeness of God. My interest in this theme stems from my experience encountering the Catholic Church’s teachings on the sexes in 2022 during my conversion to Catholicism. These teachings are antithetical to the secular values I embraced before my conversion. More specifically, my interest stems from an event in 2023 when I publicly affirmed the Church’s teachings against gender ideology. This resulted in what is commonly described as “being cancelled” whereby my employer put me on a leave of absence, partners in a business venture stopped doing business with me and multiple friendships ended. This experience forced me to grapple with the reality that many in the West, and even many within the Church herself, oppose the Church’s teachings on the sexes, which include per the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“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.”[1]
It is important for Catholics today to be able to articulate the Church’s teachings on the sexes. Many do not feel equipped to do so. Thus, the threefold question to be addressed here is: What is the Church’s teaching on the sexes and gender, why does the Church teach this and how might a lay Catholic start to explain the Church’s teachings to non-Catholics? The “what” and “why” of the Church’s teaching will be explored before a reflection on grounding those teachings in human dignity and explaining them to non-Catholics is offered.
The Catholic Church’s Teaching on the Sexes and Gender
First, in the Genesis account of creation the sacred writer explains how “God created mankind in his image; in the image of God, he created them; male and female he created them.”[2] Christianity accepts two sexes, distinct but equal, as a matter of God’s will, His creation and biological fact. Pope John Paul II referred in Mulieris Dignitatem to “the Creator’s decision that the human being should always and only exist as a woman or a man”[3] and Paul O’Callaghan explains that humans, “the only creatures to be made ‘in the image and likeness of God,’ are presented in a clearly differentiated way, as male and female”[4] and that “the sexual distinction between humans and its social meaning are integral parts of their being made in the image of God.”[5] The Church affirms that every human being is willed by God as either a man or a woman, and the Bible provides sufficient bases for recognizing the essential equality of man and woman.[6]
Second, the sexual difference is integral to the human person and the body’s sexed condition shares in human dignity. As the Dicastery (then Congregation) for the Doctrine of the Faith explains in Dignitas Infinita when addressing so-called “sex changes”:
“The dignity of the body cannot be considered inferior to that of the person as such…. Such a truth deserves to be remembered… for humans are inseparably composed of both body and soul…. Constituting the person’s being, the soul and the body both participate in the dignity that characterizes every human. Moreover, the body participates in that dignity…, particularly in its sexed condition.”[7]
God’s willed distinction between a man and a woman is part of the very dignity of the person.
Third, sexual difference is a matter of a natural order that precedes human decisions. It can be known by human reason and reflects God’s design. The sexual difference is how the sexual complementarity of man and woman finds its fullest expression in marriage, via the unitive and procreative marital act which leads to new life and the continuity of humanity. As explained by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1975’s Persona Humana:
“According to contemporary scientific research, the human person is so profoundly affected by sexuality that it must be considered as one of the factors which give to each individual’s life the principal traits that distinguish it. In fact it is from sex that the human person receives the characteristics which, on the biological, psychological and spiritual levels, make that person a man or a woman….”[8]
Further, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine notes:
“Just as bodiliness is a fundamental aspect of human existence, so is either ‘being a man’ or ‘being a woman’ a fundamental aspect of existence as a human being….”[9]
Thus, the Church teaches that God has instilled a universal moral code (i.e., the natural law) within us, accessible through reason, guiding us to do good and avoid evil and establishing fundamental rights and duties, and part of this natural law is God’s will for man and woman.
Finally, the Church teaches gender must be rooted in sex. While as O’Callaghan notes, “there is a certain tension between sex and gender,”[10] and the Church acknowledges that biological sex and the socio‑cultural role of gender can be distinguished, they cannot be separated.[11] The Church rejects “all attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference”[12] as gender ideology does, and Pope Francis made clear why in Amoris Lætitia:
“It is one thing to be understanding of human weakness and the complexities of life, and another to accept ideologies that attempt to sunder what are inseparable aspects of reality. Let us not fall into the sin of trying to replace the Creator. We are creatures, and not omnipotent. Creation is prior to us and must be received as a gift…. [We must] protect our humanity, and this means… accepting it… as it was created.”[13]
The Church holds that gender must be understood in unity with rather than in opposition to created reality including the gift of our sexed bodies. As explained by Fr. James McTavish:
“Many voices today remind us to take care of nature and creation. Our bodies are part of this created reality. Proponents of gender ideology [often] promote surgery which radically alters and even mutilates the body. Our increasing ecological awareness can help us… value the gift of the nature and body given to each one of us.”[14]
In summary, we can say the Church teaches that sex is a permanent, unchangeable and God‑given biological aspect of the human person and gender must be understood considering that reality and never separated from it. The complementary differences of the sexes are oriented towards marriage, family life and the common good, and any ideology that denies or dissolves these differences is contrary to divine design. Finally, the Church teaches not only the obvious differences of man and woman but also their fundamental equality.[15]
How to Explain the Church’s Teachings on the Sexes to non-Catholics
Having outlined the Church’s teachings, I argue that a strategy on sharing these teachings with non-Catholics in a culture sympathetic to views at odds with Church teachings is a narrative approach rooted in human dignity. It first and critically seeks a common appreciation for human dignity, secondly grounds Church teaching in Scripture, thirdly explains the ontological reality of biological sex and shows how natural law confirms it, fourthly explains the Church’s view of the equality of the sexes, and finally establishes gender as necessarily rooted in sex. Each step is addressed in turn below.
First, it is essential to begin by identifying human dignity as a shared value with non-Catholics. Everything hinges on this first step. As explained by Reginald Alva:
“The Catholic Church maintains that the Imago Dei is the ground for human dignity. The secular world, too, endorses human dignity as the foundation for human rights without referring to Imago Dei. The Catholic Church and the secular world both agree on [its importance], even though they differ on… the source of human dignity.”[16]
David G. Kirchhoffer explains human dignity through a Catholic lens as “the worth of human persons as members of the species with capacities of reason and free choice that enable the realisation of dignity as self-worth through morally good behaviour.”[17] Even if articulated differently, most other religions acknowledge human dignity in some sense. For instance, SeyedAmirHossein Asghari delves into its nuanced understanding in Shia Islam, exploring the compatibility of Islamic human dignity with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[18] and showing that while some Shia Muslims view human dignity as contingent upon faith, others assert dignity without limitations.[19] The challenge however is that, as John Loughlin explains, “the very concept [of human dignity] itself is sometimes deemed to be worthless,”[20] and “human dignity can only be adequately justified and understood in the broader and deeper framework that Catholicism and some other Christian traditions, such as Orthodoxy, provide.”[21] Thus while Dr. Ján Figeľ, former European Union commissioner, has written that “[r]espect for human dignity is a meeting point for religious and secular humanists”[22] the reality is that not everyone respects it. The Christian explanation of the sexes depends upon it however, so the Catholic must establish common ground on human dignity as a starting point.
Assuming common ground can be found, the next step is to point to the Bible which dates back thousands of years, beginning with Genesis 1:27. One can then explain how this is not a sociological observation but rather a divine ordinance framing Christian anthropology. Pope St. John Paul II’s statement in Mulieris Dignitatem and the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s assertion previously stated can be used to support the Biblical basis for the understanding of the sexes as created by God. In short, noting how Scripture affirms the Church’s teachings is essential to ensure the teachings do not appear random or recent.
Next, one might continue by noting that this distinction between male and female (i.e., the body’s sexed condition) is seen as intentional and essential rather than unintentional and accidental to a person’s dignity. This is why the first step of establishing human dignity as a shared value is so important. The ontological reality of biological sex is immutable as a God-given characteristic (even a gift) and not a personal choice. Pointing to Dignitas Infinita’s teaching that sex‑change interventions “risk threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception”[23] can tie ontological reality back to human dignity which is essential to the Church’s teachings on the sexes and gender. This can be complemented by emphasizing natural law which essentially posits a non-chaotic order to nature. Human reason can recognize the natural order of sexual differentiation and see how, for example, the propagation of humans is evidence of the essentialness of the sexual difference. Pope St. John Paul II, in 1993’s Veritatis Splendor, writes the natural law “refers to man’s proper and primordial nature, the ‘nature of the human person’”[24] Thus, natural law confirms the Catholic worldview that male and female bodies, which cannot be separated from the immutable ontological reality of biological sex, are part of our very nature.
Next, explaining the Church’s view of equality of the sexes is essential. By equality, the Church means men and women share the same fundamental dignity because they are created in the image and likeness of God[25] and this equal dignity is expressed through distinct but complementary gifts and vocations. As explained by the Pontifical Council for the Family, “[e]qual dignity does not mean undifferentiated uniformity… [but rather] men and women contribute in an original way to the family and to society.”[26] Basically, the Church holds that men and women are equally created in God’s image sharing the same fundamental worth, but each sex possesses distinct gifts that enrich the Church and society. Yet again, this element of the Church’s teaching requires a common appreciation for human dignity.
Finally, it is important to affirm that gender is acknowledged by the Church and, if necessary, note how the Church offers pastoral care to those who feel gender incongruent. Yet one must also explain that gender cannot be separated from or substitute for sex. There can be no equivocation on this point for the Catholic. As explained by John Grabowski:
“The Catholic theological tradition, nourished by Scripture, offers resources for a deep and positive portrayal of sexual difference and its meaning…. Catholic theology has the resources to account for both the unity of the human race and the difference of male and female who are together the image of God”.[27]
Thus, it is no exaggeration to state that defending the Church’s teaching on sex and gender is ultimately a defense of the divine imprint (i.e., the imago Dei) on every person. Church teaching on gender takes we humans as made in the image and likeness of God, and we do not want to disregard or disrespect the divine imprint each of us have been created with.
Conclusion
I have learned much more about the Church’s teachings on sex and gender since my experience in 2023, and about the Church’s necessary, unparalleled and irreplaceable role in contentious cultural debates on these themes. As explained by Juan Marco Vaggione:
“The Catholic Church has led a defense of the legal and moral standpoint which upholds the unitive and procreative purpose of sexuality. For the Church, or at least for a vast part of its hierarchy, the confrontation with [both feminist and LGBTQI movements] holds a place of importance not only within its internal community but also in the national and international arenas where laws to broaden [“sexual and reproductive rights”] are being debated.”[28]
The Church offers a profound view of man and woman: they are equally created in God’s image and likeness, and their distinct gifts are meant to complement one another for the good of the couple, the family and society. This truth is grounded in Scripture, confirmed by natural law, expressed in the Church’s magisterial teaching and conveyed in the Church’s pastoral approach. The Church affirms the unchangeable biological reality of the sexes which participates in the inherent dignity of every person, walking with those who struggle, and her teachings rest on the conviction that every human is made in the image and likeness of God and that “the human body shares in the dignity of ‘the image of God.’”[29] As has been shown, drawing on human dignity is critical to explaining Church teachings on sex and gender to non-Catholics in our complex cultural environment.
Please share this with someone who might benefit from it!
God bless,
Travis
Citations
[1] Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd edition (Vatican, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2012), 2333.
[2] Genesis 1:27.
[3] The Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, Mulieris Dignitatem, 1, released 15 August 1988.
[4] O’Callaghan, Paul, Children of God in the World: An Introduction to Theological Anthropology (Washington, DC, The Catholic University of America Press, 2016), 519.
[5] O’Callaghan, Children, 534.
[6] John Paul II, Mulieris Dignitatem, 6.
[7] Dicastery (then Congregation) for the Doctrine of the Faith (hereafter “DDF”), Declaration “Dignitas Infinita” on Human Dignity, 60, released 2 April 2024.
[8] Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Persona Humana: Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics, I, released 29 December 1975.
[9] Committee on Doctrine, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Doctrinal Note on the Moral Limits to Technological Manipulation of the Human Body, 5, released 20 March 2023.
[10] O’Callaghan, Children, 517.
[11] DDF, Dignitas Infinita, 59.
[12] DDF, Dignitas Infinita, 59.
[13] The Supreme Pontiff Francis, Amoris Lætitia, 56, released 8 April 2016.
[14] James McTavish, “Caring for Our Human Nature,” The Linacre Quarterly 90, no. 3 (August 2023), 256, https://doi.org/10.1177/ 00243639221097943
[15] O’Callaghan, Children, 515.
[16] Reginald Alva, “The Catholic Church’s Perspective of Human Dignity as the Basis of Dialogue with the Secular World,” Stellenbosch Theological Journal 3, no. 2 (2017), 221,
[17] David G. Kirchhoffer, “Dignity, Conscience and Religious Pluralism in Healthcare: An Argument for a Presumption in Favour of Respect for Religious Belief,” Bioethics 37, no. 1 (November 2022), 88, https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.13110.
[18] SeyedAmirHossein Asghari, “Understanding Human Dignity in Shi’i Islam: Debates, Challenges, and Solutions for Contemporary Issues,” Religions 14, no. 4 (April 2023), 505, https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14040505.
[19] Asghari, “Understanding Human Dignity,” 515.
[20] John Loughlin, “Human Dignity: The Foundation of Human Rights and Religious Freedom,” Memoria y Civilización 19, no. 1 (2016), 315, https://doi.org/10.15581/001.19.313-343.
[21] John Loughlin, “Human Dignity”, 315.
[22] Ján Figeľ, “The Strong and Deep Nexus Between Human Dignity and Religious Freedom,” Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of The International Center for Law and Religion Studies (19 January 2024), https://talkabout.iclrs.org/2024/01/19/the-strong-and-deep-nexus-between-human-dignity-and-religious-freedom%EF%BF%BC/.
[23] DDF, Dignitas Infinita, 60.
[24] The Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor (Boston: St. Paul Books and Media, 1993), 50.
[25] The Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation: Ecclesia in Europa, 43, released 28 June 2003.
[26] Pontifical Council for the Family, The Family and Human Rights, 60, released 15 November 2000.
[27] John Grabowski, “Sexual Difference and the Catholic Tradition: Challenges and Resources,” Nova et Vetera 19, no. 1 (Winter 2021), 114,
[28] Juan Marco Vaggione, “The Conservative Uses of Law: The Catholic Mobilization Against Gender Ideology,” Social Compass 67, no. 2 (2020), 253. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 0037768620907561.
[29] Catholic Church, Catechism, 2393.
Reference List
Alva, Reginald. “The Catholic Church’s Perspective of Human Dignity as the Basis of Dialogue with the Secular World.” Stellenbosch Theological Journal 3, no. 2 (2017): 221-241. https://doi.org/10.17570/stj.2017.v3n2.a10.
Asghari, SeyedAmirHossein. “Understanding Human Dignity in Shi’i Islam: Debates, Challenges, and Solutions for Contemporary Issues.” Religions 14, no. 4 (April 2023), 505; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14040505.
Catholic Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd edition. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2012.
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Persona Humana: Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics. 29 December 1975. Papal Archive. The Holy See. https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19751229_persona-humana_en.html.
Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Declaration “Dignitas Infinita” on Human Dignity. 2 April 2024. Papal Archive. The Holy See. https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/ congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20240402_dignitas-infinita_en.html.
Figeľ, Ján. “The Strong and Deep Nexus Between Human Dignity and Religious Freedom.” Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of The International Center for Law and Religion Studies. 19 January 2024. https://talkabout.iclrs.org/2024/01/19/the-strong-and-deep-nexus-between-human-dignity-and-religious-freedom%EF%BF%BC/.
Grabowski, John. “Sexual Difference and the Catholic Tradition: Challenges and Resources.” Nova et Vetera 19, no. 1 (Winter 2021): 111-134. https://archive.stpaulcenter.com/07-nv-19-1-grabowski/.
Kirchhoffer, David G. “Dignity, Conscience and Religious Pluralism in Healthcare: An Argument for a Presumption in Favour of Respect for Religious Belief.” Bioethics 37, no. 1 (November 2022): 88-97. https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.13110.
Loughlin, John. “Human Dignity: The Foundation of Human Rights and Religious Freedom.” Memoria y Civilización 19, no. 1 (2016): 313-343. https://doi.org/10.15581/001.19.313-343.
McTavish, James. “Caring for Our Human Nature.” The Linacre Quarterly 90, no. 3 (August 2023): 256-259. https://doi.org/10.1177/00243639221097943.
O’Callaghan, Paul. Children of God in the World: An Introduction to Theological Anthropology. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2016.
Pontifical Council for the Family. The Family and Human Rights. 15 November 2000. Papal Archive. The Holy See. https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/family/ documents/rc_pc_family_doc_20001115_family-human-rights_en.html.
The Supreme Pontiff Francis. Amoris Lætitia. 8 April 2016. Papal Archive. The Holy See. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20160319_amoris-laetitia.html.
The Supreme Pontiff John Paul II. Mulieris Dignitatem. 15 August 1988. Papal Archive. The Holy See. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1988/documents/hf_jp -ii_apl_19880815_mulieris-dignitatem.html.
The Supreme Pontiff John Paul II. Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation: Ecclesia in Europa. 28 June 2003. Papal Archive. The Holy See. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_20030628_ecclesia-in-europa.html.
The Supreme Pontiff John Paul II. Veritatis Splendor. Boston: St. Paul Books and Media, 1993.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Committee On Doctrine. Doctrinal Note on the Moral Limits to Technological Manipulation of the Human Body. 20 March 2023. https://www.usccb.org/resources/doctrinal-note-moral-limits-technological-manipulation-human-body.
Vaggione, Juan Marco. “The Conservative Uses of Law: The Catholic Mobilization Against Gender Ideology.” Social Compass 67, no. 2 (2020): 252-266. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 0037768620907561.
