The Archdiocese of St. Louis rebuked comments made by Fr. Mitchell Doyen, who publicly opposed legislation that seeks to make permanent a ban on sex-change surgeries and related experimental procedures for minors in Missouri.
In a statement last week, the archdiocese clarified that Doyen’s views don’t align with the official Church teaching on the matter, National Catholic Register reported.
Doyen, a pastor from St. Josephine Bakhita parish in north St. Louis City, had spoken out against legislative efforts to permanently ban gender transition procedures, including surgeries, puberty blockers and opposite-sex hormones for minors in Missouri.
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The archdiocese said Doyen’s statements, made during a Missouri House committee hearing last week, were his own opinion and did not reflect the Catholic Church’s teachings.
The controversy centers around proposed Missouri legislation that would solidify existing restrictions on trans procedures for minors. The restrictions include the prohibition of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries such as castration and mastectomies.
The existing law, enacted last summer and upheld in court in the fall, is set to expire in August 2027. However, ongoing legislative debates could lead to these provisions becoming permanent.
At the hearing, Doyen expressed a “compassionate” viewpoint, advocating for a larger understanding of gender issues. He shared personal experiences of befriending trans-identified individuals and listening to their challenges and aspirations.
Doyen said it was important to acknowledge the human dignity and the complex lives of trans-identified youth and adults, advocating for decisions to be left to families and medical professionals rather than legislators.
The Archdiocese of St. Louis says the Catholic Church does not support so-called “medical interventions” designed to alter an individual’s sexual characteristics. The Catholic Church believes such procedures conflict with the fundamental understanding of the human body’s sexual differentiation.
The archdiocese’s statement sought to clarify that while they advocate for compassion and dignity for all, including those experiencing gender dysphoria, they do not endorse surgical or hormonal treatments.
The legislative hearing also featured arguments from Guillermo Villa Trueba, a lobbyist for the Missouri Catholic Conference.
Trueba supported the bills, stating that minors cannot give true informed consent for medical procedures that might cause irreversible changes and potential lifelong consequences. He then cited biblical scriptures on accepting and caring for one’s body.
Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to crack down on government funding, coverage and promotion of sex-change procedures on minors as concerns persist about their long-term impacts on patients’ mental, physical and emotional health.
When he signed the order, Trump stated that he commits to “protecting children from chemical and surgical mutilation,” referring to body-mutilating procedures performed on minors younger than 18, as well as the prescription of puberty-blocking and cross-sex hormone drugs.
“It is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit these destructive and life-altering procedures,” the order declared.
