Care prompts bishops to criticize transgender ideology
The Catholic bishops of the Scandinavian countries presented an open five-page letter criticizing transgender ideology on March 21, just before Easter. The document primarily expresses care and advice and was read aloud in Catholic churches in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. Cardinal Anders Arborelius, Bishop of Stockholm, is one of the signatories of the document.
Published: May 17, 2023, 10:32 pm
Publications of this kind are known as pastoral letters because their purpose is to show care and provide advice based on Christian conviction. The thoughts in the “Letter on Human Sexuality”, which is the official title, can hardly be doubted, but the Swedish expressing them is linguistically somewhat intricate. The letter was originally written in Norwegian and has now been published in eight languages: three Scandinavian and five European. No other church institution in Scandinavia has published a similar statement to date. Some of the thoughts expressed are recognizable from papal statements.
Initially, it is stated that the perceptions of what it means to be a human, and thus a sexual being, are changing. “What is taken for granted today may be rejected tomorrow.” Because of this, they claim to feel a responsibility towards “the Lord, ourselves, and our world to explain what we believe and why we believe it is true”.
The bishops see their task as showing care by “pointing towards the peaceful, life-giving way of Christ’s commandments,” which may seem narrow at first for those who want to follow it but “widens as we advance”.
The purpose of the manifesto is therefore to present the fundamental principles of Christian anthropology (view of humanity) and do so in a spirit of friendly dialogue readiness and respect for different thinking.
The problem situation discussed today
Already at the beginning, the letter refers to the rainbow, which in our time is alleged to be the symbol of a movement that is both political and cultural. To the extent that the rainbow flag is perceived as a message about the equal value of all people and their longing to be seen, the church shares and agrees with this message, according to the statement.
In a way that is customary when the church enters into dialogue, they recognize at the beginning “all that is noble in the aspirations of this movement”. It is further stated that “the Church condemns unjust discrimination of all kinds, including in terms of gender and orientation”.
Once this has been established, the bishops move on to critical views of the modern rainbow movement and transgender ideology. They argue that it “promotes a view of human nature that removes the embodied integrity of the person, as if physical sex were irrelevant”.
They particularly protest against the perception that gender is irrelevant being forced upon children as something they have to decide for themselves. According to the letter, this becomes a heavy burden, something minors are not prepared for.
The bishops find it strange that our society, which is so intensely body-conscious, in fact takes the body lightly and refuses to perceive bodily sex as important for identity. They protest against the idea that “the only ‘I’ that matters is the one produced through a self-constructed subjective self-perception”. Against this, they posit that according to Christian faith, the human being is created in the image of God, something that not only refers to the soul. The body also essentially belongs to the person. The unity of soul and body in creation is eternal.
Identity conflicts are also part of the life of faith
After these fundamental beliefs have been established, the letter addresses the issue of identity conflicts. The bishops recognize that human self-perception often involves contradictions and wounds, as well as a focus on what we are not, “on gifts that we have not received, on feelings or affirmations that are missing in our lives”. Many are forced to struggle with themselves. The integration of masculine and feminine traits within ourselves can be difficult. The Church wishes to encompass and comfort all who experience such difficulties. Those who seek personal integrity are said to be “worthy of respect, and deserve encouragement”.
The Apostle Paul’s statement “By the grace of God I am what I am” becomes a guiding star in the letter. They assert that the Bible and the lives of the saints show “that our wounds, through grace, become sources of healing for ourselves and others”. The bishops remind that the path to self-acceptance goes through engagement in what is real, i.e., the order that God has given creation.
The rainbow is a biblical symbol of wholeness and blessing
In the biblical story of Noah in Genesis chapters 6-9, a flood is described that drowned all living beings that did not fit in Noah’s ark. After the flood, the rainbow appeared as a sign of the first covenant established between God and all living creatures of the earth. No devastating flood would ever strike again, according to God’s promise. The promise corresponds to demands. God demands righteousness: Humans are called to live in righteousness as a blessing for the earth, to bring joy to one another, revere God, and establish peace.
The letter highlights that God’s image in human nature is revealed in the reciprocity and complementarity between man and woman. Man and woman are created for each other. They have been commanded to be fruitful and have a “longing for love and seek sexual wholeness”. In Holy Scripture, the marriage between man and wife is portrayed as an allegory of God’s communion with humanity. It is emphasized that the point of the church’s teaching is not to restrict love but to enable it.
“The joy of friendship allows us to see that great, liberating intimacy can also exist in non-sexual relationships.”
So far, not many reactions to the open letter have been heard.
All rights reserved. You have permission to quote freely from the articles provided that the source (www.freewestmedia.com) is given. Photos may not be used without our consent.
Consider donating to support our work
Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.
Keep your language polite. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in, for example, Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.
If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violations of any law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.
If your comments are subject to preview by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.
We reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.

The Ursula von der Leyen Affair
After a criminal complaint in Belgium against the President of the European Commission, the so-called SMS-case, now takes a new turn. The judge responsible for the investigation will likely gain access to the secret messages exchanged between Ursula von der Leyen and Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, at least if they haven't been deleted.

Publisher of Unique Literature Worldwide Blocked by International Distributor
Arktos has distinguished itself by publishing groundbreaking philosophers and social critics. Now, the publisher's international distributor has abruptly terminated the cooperation, and more than 400 already printed titles cannot reach their audience. There is strong evidence that the distributor has been under pressure, something that has also happened in Sweden. We have spoken with Arktos founder Daniel Friberg about the ongoing struggle for freedom of speech in a shrinking cultural corridor.

Brits Forced to Live in Darkness and Cold
Food prices are rising at a furious pace, fastest in Scotland in almost half a century. At the same time, energy prices are at record highs. People are forced to choose between freezing or going hungry, and a majority of Scots are forced to live in cold and darkness to cope with bills. Old generations' tricks for saving and keeping warm are returning. Nevertheless, it is feared that 10,000 Brits will die of cold homes this winter. We present the Swedish Public Health Agency's guidelines on indoor temperature. Governments in Europe are introducing rationing and monitoring of food purchases. Net-zero emissions are a lie that, in practice, de-industrializes the West and dramatically lowers our standard of living.

Thousands of Flemish farmers block roads in Brussels against nitrogen policy
BrusselsMore than 2500 farmers from Belgium's Dutch-speaking Flanders region gathered at Brussels' central Arts-Loi street and blocked roads with tractors toward Brussels to protest the regional government's plan to limit nitrogen emissions.

Orban: EU energy sanctions costing citizens billions
BudapestHungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned that some western states could soon send troops to Ukraine. He also criticized the fact that the EU sanctions against Russia had cost Hungarian taxpayers tens of billions of euros.

Italy: New leader of the Social Democrats is one of Soros’ ‘preferred politicians’
RomeDuring the election campaign, Elly Schlein presented herself as the standard-bearer of the poorest. However, her background and previous work raise doubts about her honesty.

UK greenhouses shut down due to high energy costs
LondonIn Great Britain, a particularly depressing facet of the crisis is now showing its first contours - and thus anticipating what is likely to happen in other European countries in the near future: because of the exploding energy prices, agriculture is being strangled and fresh produce has to be rationed.

Lisbon opens borders to all Portuguese speakers
LisbonNot only the German and Italian governments keep opening new paths for immigration. Portugal, too, has opened a Pandora's box and is paving the way for possibly millions of non-European immigrants to the EU – something which is not mentioned by the mainstream media.

Illegal immigration to Italy has reached its highest level ever
RomeIn Italy, despite the overwhelming right-wing electoral success in September, there is still nothing to be seen of the promised asylum turnaround – on the contrary. Giorgia Meloni has been in office for five months, but the arrivals of migrants in Italy have doubled compared to the previous year.

Dismantling diplomacy with ‘feminist foreign policy’
BudapestGerman Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) wants to counter German security issues abroad with feminist politics. Gender training, LGBTQ events and quotas are now part of their new guidelines, which are intended to bring about "cultural change". The German ambassador to Hungary, Julia Gross, provided an embarrassing example.