In his encyclical, Laudato Si, Pope Francis writes, “Acceptance of our bodies . . . is vital for welcoming and accepting the entire world as a gift. . . , whereas thinking that we enjoy absolute power over our own bodies turns, often subtly, into thinking that we enjoy absolute power over creation. Learning to accept our body, to care for it and to respect its fullest meaning, is an essential element of any genuine human ecology.” The Pope’s words speak to one of the key ways the human person can live out the universal call to Holiness and discover how to be good stewards.
How does this lesson help inoculate students against gender ideology?
Gender ideology asserts that we own our bodies, and that they are ours to do with as we wish. But the truth is that being good stewards of creation begins with accepting the gift of our own bodies and taking care of them. Our bodies, like all of creation, should be received as a gift and not manipulated, dominated and controlled.
Connection to the Catechism of the Catholic Church
- CCC 339
- CCC 358
- CCC 373
Christian Anthropology Standards
- 7.8.1 TOB
- 7.1.1 TOB
