Another bad executive order

Richard A. Sokerka

Earlier this month, President Biden issued yet another one of his executive orders that should concern Catholics and all people of faith. This new executive order could promote gender ideology in public and some private schools while affecting both the privacy of women and the intellectual freedom of children.

The President’s executive order reinterprets federal civil rights law to include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. The order instructs Miguel Cardona, secretary of education, to begin reviewing actions taken by the Trump Administration, the first step toward reversing those actions.

The order states the Biden Adminis­tration’s policy, that “all students should be guaranteed an educational environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex … including discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.” This policy, the order said, applies to schools receiving federal aid. However, according to Mary Rice Hasson, the Kate O’Beirne Fellow in Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, the language about fighting “discrimination” against one’s sexual orientation or gender identity, is not about preventing “bullying,” but is rather a promotion of gender ideology.

“This sets the stage for massive indoctrination of America’s children in a worldview — gender ideology — that is fundamentally at odds with Christian beliefs,” she said.

“This Administration intends to use the force of law to transform every public school (and private schools that receive federal funds) across the country into a venue to promote LGBTQ identities and behaviors, regardless of what parents and local school boards want,” she opined.

Sadly, Biden’s executive order is an attempt to completely change the culture in schools receiving federal funding, she said. “All students will be taught the language and worldview of gender ideology, as if gender ideology were grounded in facts rather than ideological beliefs. Children will be taught that it is ‘discriminatory’ to refuse to affirm the ‘transgender identity’ asserted by a teacher or classmate,” she said. Furthermore, the policy could ostracize students who are in any way opposed to gender ideology at schools. Private schools that accept federal funding in some form may be affected. Hasson added that Catholic schools might have to stop receiving federal funding in order to uphold Church teaching in their curricula and policies. “The Church may well come to a crossroads where, to be faithful to the Gospel, she will have to spurn government money that comes with ideological strings attached,” Hasson said.

While President Biden continues to present himself as a “devout Catholic,” his actions and executive orders from his first day in office as our nation’s leader fly in the face of the moral teachings of the Catholic Church and are in direct conflict with the Catholic faith. His track record thus far in turning a blind eye to the tenets of his Church is a troubling development that needs to be addressed by Church leaders, lest Biden’s brand of “devout Catholicism” takes root in others who see it as the new normal.