Issue link: http://archden.uberflip.com/i/1379468
4 The Splendor of the Human Person: A Catholic Vision of the Person and Sexuality This new sexual ideology harms people by denying the common sense, sci- entifically verified understanding of the human person as male and female with unique, yet complementary, sexual characteristics. Instead, it emphasizes un- restrained "freedom" for people to live as they please and not be bound by any limitations. Even if moved by a desire to be loving and compassionate toward those experiencing confusion with their sexual identity, the ideology of the hu- man person that now prevails is ultimately uncharitable because it distorts our relationship with God as Creator (refusing to accept the body as God's gift), denies the truth about who we are, and destroys the ability to experience the authentic human fulfillment and freedom that comes from embracing, express- ing, and loving through our true and natural humanity as male or female. Today, we see many schools, government officials, medical and psychological practitioners, and parents who have been drawn into a largescale social exper- iment at the expense of children. We already have evidence of the damaging effects of attempts at "gender transition," many of which are permanent. These outcomes confirm the truth that God has both revealed and instilled into nature and the human person. The Church has the paramount obligation to commu- nicate the truth in service of others, for, as Pope Benedict XVI said: "Only in truth does charity shine forth, only in truth can charity be authentically lived." 4 Although gender ideology presents itself as the compassionate response, it does not truly respect the dignity of the human person as made in the image and likeness of God and leads people to live contrary to their truth of their own being and supernatural calling. Furthermore, this ideology has created a new form of intolerance, trying to silence voices and any opposition in a way that Pope Benedict has described as the "dictatorship of relativism," and which Pope Francis calls "ideological colonization." Many Catholics do not know how to respond to these very recent challenges and may even feel embarrassed or intimidated to communicate truths so out of step with the current cultural climate. Because much of the current climate is inherently atheistic, it poses dangers to our mission of evangelizing for the sake of leading people to embrace God's gift of eternal life. Under these circum- 4 Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (2009), ยง3.