Top-left: St. Thomas Aquinas. Top-right: Person at funeral for trans.-person at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC, p/c Time Magazine.
Recently, someone asked me about the Catholic Church’s teaching on “transgenderism.” Before we get to theology, we must realize that certain members of society identify as “transvestite.” Transvestite means “one who has changed clothes.” It is obviously possible to change your clothes, whether this be for ordered reasons (like a certain male-martyr described in the ancient Roman Martyrology who dressed up as a woman to save a Christian woman in a Roman prison in order to replace her) or for disordered reasons, like a man erroneously believing he is a woman.
But to go transgender is biologically impossible. Here is why: There are between 36,000,000,000,000 and 100,000,000,000,000 cells in the human body. Each of 30+ trillion cells has a genome containing either an XY or XX chromosome, determining gender. (Even in extremely rare diversions from this pattern, one can not change one’s genome.) Thus, it’s always biologically impossible to change one’s gender, the very definition of the term “trans-gender.” Hence, transvestites exist, but transgender-people do not. We should stop using the latter term, as it’s a modern-myth. Even if you mutilate your genitalia, you are not “transgender.” This is just a biological and generic fact. Hence, I will only use the term “transvestite” for all such confused people.
Back to the question: Someone recently asked me on text message the Catholic Church’s teaching on transvestism. I explained to her that you do not need Divine Revelation to know that it is wrong to mutilate an adult, much less a child. This is the same in abortion: I always put the emphasis on biology (not theology) when people ask me as a priest what I think about abortion. That is, you do not need a Bible in your hand to know that you should not put a scissors into the back of a baby’s head before it is born. Thus, we talk biology before we talk theology. In classic terms, we discuss the Natural Law before we talk Divine Revelation. This is why in Roman Catholic seminaries, potential-priests first study two years of philosophy (Natural Law) before four years of theology (Divine Revelation.)
What is astonishing about the recent decisions of the modernist heretics attacking the Catholic Church from within is that they are not simply overturning Divine Revelation (the Bible and the Magisterium, including all that has validly come from the Chair of Peter—today’s feast in the ’62 calendar and last month in the pre-’55 calendar) but even the Natural Law (that which is written on everyone’s heart even before they be Jewish or Christian, cf. Jer 31, Rom 1.)
The recent mob of alphabet-soupers choosing to blaspheme the sanctuary and God’s saints in St. Patrick’s Cathedral (this February 2024 in NYC) for the funeral of a transvestite shows that the priest that presided over that non-Mass funeral failed not only in communicating Jesus’ Christ’s Divine Revelation, but even failed in communicating the Natural Law (something that even a “high-pagan” of the past knew how to maintain) as that part of God’s law is written on every man’s heart.
This brings me to a line in the Summa of St. Thomas Aquinas that I had misunderstood for a long time. It is found in the very beginning as he explains why all of humanity needed Jesus to appear on earth to enlighten our intellects and then save us by his Most Precious Blood. Notice St. Thomas first carefully threads the needle between the Natural Law and Divine Revelation in his first chapter:
I answer that, it was necessary for man’s salvation that there should be a knowledge revealed by God besides philosophical science built up by human reason. Firstly, indeed, because man is directed to God, as to an end that surpasses the grasp of his reason: “The eye hath not seen, O God, besides Thee, what things Thou hast prepared for them that wait for Thee” (Isaiah 64:4). But the end must first be known by men who are to direct their thoughts and actions to the end. Hence it was necessary for the salvation of man that certain truths which exceed human reason should be made known to him by divine revelation. Even as regards those truths about God which human reason could have discovered, it was necessary that man should be taught by a divine revelation; because the truth about God such as reason could discover, would only be known by a few, and that after a long time, and with the admixture of many errors. Whereas man’s whole salvation, which is in God, depends upon the knowledge of this truth. Therefore, in order that the salvation of men might be brought about more fitly and more surely, it was necessary that they should be taught divine truths by divine revelation. It was therefore necessary that besides philosophical science built up by reason, there should be a sacred science learned through revelation.—St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I, q. 1, a., respondeo.
St. Thomas Aquinas is therefore teaching that a few non-disordered pagans before Jesus came to the conclusion there was only one God (Natural Law.) And they were correct in this. But even a high-pagan could not have known that one God was also the Blessed Trinity (something found in Divine Revelation.) Notice two sentences up, I clearly said only “a few pagans” could see through the darkness of Original Sin to even come to decent conclusions on Natural Law. This is why St. Thomas just wrote on that topic of Natural Law that “the truth about God such as reason could discover, would only be known by a few, and that after a long time, and with the admixture of many errors.” That is, the saint is asserting that most pagans from Adam to Jesus failed not only at Divine Revelation, but even at Natural Law.
And so for the few ancient pagans who grasped Natural Law—was that enough for salvation? No. Even the best pagan philosophers or Jews could not be saved (except by the cross retroactively acting upon them if they were truly following their conscience or today receive the gift of perfect contrition, as seen here.) But theologically speaking, following Natural Law is not enough for salvation, even today. Put another way: To be saved by the divine revelation and the blood of Jesus, you cannot be rejecting matters of natural law, which includes abortion issues and all other sexual issues. This is because Christ’s revelation presupposes the Natural Law.
Put in terms of our modern crisis, simply recognizing that you don’t kill an unborn baby or you don’t mutilate a 12-year old boy who wants his genitals cut-off due to his own mental illness is not enough to be saved. It most certainly is an excellent start, considering how dark our culture has become. But it’s not enough to be saved. This is why St. Thomas Aquinas (in the long quote above) clearly states: “It was necessary for the salvation of man that certain truths which exceed human reason should be made known to him by divine revelation.” Thus, we need Divine Revelation (Jesus Christ, the Bible, the Magisterium, the Holy Popes and Fathers, the Seven Sacraments, and our own cooperation in works with free-grace) on top of just being a good-philosopher to be saved forever in heaven.
Considering how many people today promote sins against the Natural Law, you’re way ahead of the curve if you reject slaughter and mutilation of children. It’s actually a very good start on the way to salvation to accept the Natural Law in 2024, especially considering there are bishops who won’t preach against these sins. But to be saved, you need not only the blood of Jesus, but also that which His blood purchased (besides your soul) at such a high-price: The traditional Magisterium of the Catholic Church. That is Divine Revelation. And this is why St. Thomas Aquinas shows that what we know (not just how we “behave”) will indeed have bearing upon our eternal destination, as we have already read today:
“Man is directed to God, as to an end that surpasses the grasp of his reason: ‘The eye hath not seen, O God, besides Thee, what things Thou hast prepared for them that wait for Thee.’ (Isaiah 64:4)… Therefore, in order that the salvation of men might be brought about more fitly and more surely, it was necessary that they should be taught divine truths by divine revelation. It was therefore necessary that besides philosophical science built up by reason, there should be a sacred science learned through revelation.”—St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I, q. 1, a