Catholic Diocese of Cleveland changes policy on gender identity for schools, parishes

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland recently announced several anti-LGBTQ+ changes for all their parish schools, diocesan schools, parishes, and offices.

The new policy affects employees, personnel, volunteers, students, and youth participating in parish or institutional faith formation.

Bishop Edward C. Malesic and Chancellor Vincent Gardiner signed the policy on Aug. 30 and it went into effect on Sept. 1.

“In response to societal trends and at the request of church and school leadership, the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland has taken existing guidance and practice in matters of sex, sexuality, and gender identity and developed them into a formal policy, rooted in scripture and Church teaching, to help ensure that these matters are addressed in a consistent, pastorally sound, and authentically Catholic manner across our diocesan and parish institutions and schools,” said the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland in a news release.

Some of the changes are listed below:

• Only pronouns that accurately reflect a person’s “God-given biological sex” shall be used when addressing that person
• When using an institution’s bathrooms or facilities, all person must use the bathrooms or other facilities that “correspond to their God-given biological sex”
• A person may only be admitted to an institution that is designated as a single-sex consistent with “his or her God-given biological sex”
• A person may only participate in curricular or extracurricular activities, ministries, or other programs that are designated as single-sex, consistent with his or her “God-given biological sex”
• No person may attend a dance, mixer or similar event with a date of the same “God-given biological sex” or express and/or display public sexual attraction to members of the same sex at the event
• All institutional records shall reflect a person’s “God-given biological sex” and legal name
• No person may engage in so-called social transitions, surgeries, or medical treatments that seek to “transition” the person to a sex or gender inconsistent with his or her “God-given biological sex”
• Symbols such as LGBTQ price rainbows or LGBTQ pride flags are not allowed to be displayed

“I extend my heartfelt solidarity to our LGBTQ+ friends and students. Rest assured that this policy, along with any expressions of hatred, don’t go unnoticed,” said Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb.

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