I want to offer a brief teaching on the ideology of gender and self-harm. Often now the press focuses on polls showing that youth questioning their gender are more likely to suffer bullying and hurt themselves. Relating the story in this way employs a rhetorical device to frame opponents of gender ideology as promoting abuse. True wisdom, studying human nature, which shapes Catholic teaching, helps us understand that accepting gender confusion is not healthy. It was common sense throughout history that young people struggle to understand their identity, many about their femininity and masculinity, but they work through it with advice from parents about how to identify properly with men or women. An extremely small minority have continuing identity problems. Now the ideology of gender promotes acceptance of gender confusion, even to the point that it is considered “cool”, and widely accepted, providing positive pressure for youth to “come out” as something besides male or female. Such is the influence of the ideology that we are now seeing bullying, harassing, and discrimination of those, with common sense, who reject this ideology. Sadly, even in catholic schools and institutions we are seeing “religious” discrimination against those who reject this ideology based on their “false” perception of Catholic teaching and the words of Jesus. Long-term studies and the increasingly large testimony of those who regret their gender surgeries, such as Walt Heyer, indicate these radical surgeries do not solve people’s problems and can be harmful. I fear we are promoting a “Romeo and Juliet syndrome” such that we are filling young people with unreal expectations of how their life will be “fulfilled” with new gender lifestyles and they end up hurting themselves when their false dreams are not realized. For the good of our children Catholics should reject this ideology, while helping youth to work through their identities in healthy ways in this confusing time. Fr. Joseph LoJacono, IVE.