U.S. Catholic bishops have voted to formally ban gender-affirming care for transgender patients in Catholic hospitals, approving revised ethical directives during their assembly in Baltimore - Gateway Hispanic

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The U.S. Catholic bishops have formalized an absolute ban on so-called “gender-affirming care” in Catholic healthcare institutions during their plenary assembly in Baltimore, Maryland, from November 10 to 12, 2025.

This decision, overwhelmingly approved in a hotel ballroom transformed into an episcopal venue, updates the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs), the guiding document for thousands of hospitals, clinics, and Church-affiliated medical providers.

The measure consolidates a practice already widespread in the Catholic network, which daily serves more than one in seven U.S. patients, according to data from the Catholic Health Association, and represents a resounding rejection of gender ideology that has infiltrated secular medicine for years under pressure from progressive agendas.

The vote, held on Wednesday, November 12, was not a passing whim but the culmination of a doctrinal process begun with prior Vatican documents in 2024 and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) itself in 2023.

In the doctrinal note “Moral Limits to Technological Manipulation of the Human Body,” the bishops had already warned that “Catholic health care services must not perform interventions, whether surgical or chemical, that aim to transform the sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex or take part in the development of such procedures.”

This update to the seventh edition of the ERDs fills a “lacuna” in the previous version, as explained by Auxiliary Bishop James Massa of Brooklyn, chair of the USCCB Doctrine Committee, who highlighted consultations with Catholic physicians, bioethicists, and health organizations to align the text with Christian anthropology.

“Morally legitimate medicine seeks to heal, repair, or preserve the body’s well-being, never to destroy natural functions in order to mimic the appearance of the opposite sex,” Massa emphasized during the presentation on November 11.

Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, intervened forcefully at the assembly to underscore the urgency of this “clear and firm” statement against “gender ideology.”

Barron, renowned for his public defense of the faith on digital platforms, argued that the Church must safeguard the integrity of the human body, created in God’s image as male and female, against what he described as cultural confusion driven by leftist lobbies that prioritize subjective self-perception over immutable biology.

This stance is not isolated: in recent years, at least six Catholic dioceses have issued similar restrictive directives, refusing to recognize self-declared gender identities in parishes, schools, and sacramental services.

The ban now extends to all levels, from puberty-blocking hormonal treatments to sex-reassignment surgeries, for both adults and minors, and even prohibits participation in the development of such procedures.

This decision is a necessary bulwark against the ideological drift that has turned hospitals into laboratories for social experimentation.

While medical associations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics endorse these “care” protocols as essential, Catholic bishops view them as mutilation that sacrifices healthy organs without true therapeutic basis, aligning with growing scientific critiques of irreversible risks such as infertility and bone problems in youth.

In a country where Catholic hospitals are the sole medical provider in many rural communities—especially in conservative states like Texas or Pennsylvania—this norm ensures that Christian charity is not lent to practices that contradict the Church’s moral teaching.

We previously reported this at Gateway Hispanic, highlighting how the infiltration of the trans agenda into Catholic institutions threatened doctrinal coherence.

The Catholic Health Association, for its part, reaffirmed that Catholic providers “will continue to treat these persons with dignity and respect,” prioritizing service to the marginalized without compromising ethical principles.

Ultimately, this ban strengthens Catholic identity in a healthcare system that fuses faith and medicine, reminding us that religious freedom is non-negotiable. Each diocesan bishop now has autonomy to implement the ERDs as local law, ensuring uniform application.

The bishops of the United States send an unequivocal message: the Church will not yield to cultural pressures that undermine the dignity inherent in God’s design.

About The Author Joana Campos

Joana Campos es abogada y editora con más de 10 años de experiencia en la gestión de proyectos de desarrollo internacional, enfocada en la sostenibilidad y el impacto social positivo. Anteriormente, trabajó como abogada corporativa. Egresada de la Universidad de Guadalajara.