Vatican doctrine chief warns against 'claim to omnipotence' of gender ideology
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Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, presides over a press conference on Friday, May 17, 2024, on the Vatican's new document on Marian apparitions. / Credit: Rudolf Gehrig/EWTN NewsCNA Newsroom, Feb 18, 2025 / 09:50 am (CNA).The Vatican's doctrine chief delivered a pointed critique of gender ideology at a theological conference in Germany on Monday.Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, addressed scholars at the Cologne School of Catholic Theology (KHKT) about gender ideology's "claim to omnipotence."Speaking via video link in German, the cardinal rejected the notion that gender and bodily identity could be subject to radical change based on individual wishes and claims to freedom. Transgender surgery, he argued, goes beyond mere external changes like cosmetic surgery, as it involves "the claim to a change of identity, to the desire to be a different person."Fe...
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, presides over a press conference on Friday, May 17, 2024, on the Vatican's new document on Marian apparitions. / Credit: Rudolf Gehrig/EWTN News
CNA Newsroom, Feb 18, 2025 / 09:50 am (CNA).
The Vatican's doctrine chief delivered a pointed critique of gender ideology at a theological conference in Germany on Monday.
Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, addressed scholars at the Cologne School of Catholic Theology (KHKT) about gender ideology's "claim to omnipotence."
Speaking via video link in German, the cardinal rejected the notion that gender and bodily identity could be subject to radical change based on individual wishes and claims to freedom.
Transgender surgery, he argued, goes beyond mere external changes like cosmetic surgery, as it involves "the claim to a change of identity, to the desire to be a different person."
Fernández criticized using technical means to "create an alternative reality at will." While acknowledging the existence of severe cases of dysphoria that could lead to "an unbearable life," he emphasized that such exceptional situations require careful evaluation.
"No anthropology regarding the human person equals that of the Church," Fernández stated during the KHKT conference.
The Argentine cardinal referenced the dicastery's recent document Dignitas Infinita on human dignity, explaining the concept inspired by Pope John Paul II's words in 1980 in Osnabrück, Germany.
"God has shown us in an insurmountable way in Jesus Christ how much he loves each man and how immense is the dignity that he has conferred on him through him. Precisely those who must suffer from some physical or spiritual impediment must recognize themselves as friends of Jesus, as loved especially by him," Fernández said, quoting St. John Paul II.
The conference, titled "The Catholic Foundation of Human Dignity," aims to engage Catholic theology with other sciences and worldviews, KHKT Rector Christoph Ohly told Vatican News.
"With the topic of human dignity and human rights, we have a theme that concerns not just Christians but every human being," Ohly said.
The multi-day gathering examines the nature of human dignity, its relationship to human rights, and current discussions about their expansion.
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The Catholic Church in the Córdoba province of Spain is helping victims and their families after a high-speed train accident on Jan. 18, 2026, left at least 42 people dead and dozens injured. | Credit: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty ImagesJan 20, 2026 / 17:07 pm (CNA).Following a tragic train accident that occurred on Sunday evening, Jan. 18, in the Spanish town of Adamuz in the Córdoba province, the Catholic Church is providing pastoral care for those affected.In addition to the help offered immediately after the accident by the local parish priest and the provision of diocesan resources by Bishop Jesús Fernández of Córdoba after he visited the scene of the accident on Monday morning, the diocese has assigned a team of three priests to the area.The priests, Leopoldo Rivero, Francisco J. Granados, and Manuel Sánchez, will remain at the Poniente Sur Civic Center in Córdoba, the support center for the families of the victims, for as long as needed.In a statement, the diocese emph...
