Catholic diocese defines sex change surgery as 'mutilation' in new policy, report says

DES MOINES, Iowa (TND) — Catholic churches and schools in Des Moines, Iowa, are reportedly set to unveil new “gender identity policies” impacting their schools and churches, which will – among other things – label “the removal of healthy sexual and reproductive organs” as a type of “mutilation.”

Local news outlet KCCI reported Tuesday that it obtained documents shedding light on the Diocese of Des Moines’s new policies impacting all institutions it oversees.

According to the local outlet, the new policy documents quote verses from the Bible and argue the church’s reinforcement of an individual’s gender dysphoria is “not genuine compassion.”

Changes that will occur under the new policies, according to KCCI, include a ban on selecting “preferred pronouns” in speeches or writing while participating in diocese activity, as well as a mandate that everyone must wear clothes, use bathrooms and participate in athletics that correspond to their biological birth sex.

In an email to The National Desk (TND), the Diocese of Des Moines said the documents "are part of a lengthy process" meant to "address questions that have come forth by leaders in our parishes and schools." However, the diocese stopped short of confirming the policy would include the provisions laid out by KCCI.

The reported new policies also touch on so-called “gender-affirming treatment,” such as the use of hormones or puberty blockers to “affirm” an individual’s new gender identity.

They state these sorts of medications are no longer permissible on diocese property, adding “the disruption of normal sexual development ... or the removal of healthy sexual and reproductive organs, is a type of ‘mutilation,’” according to KCCI.

KCCI indicated the documents would be released to diocese staff later this month.