(ZENIT News / Rome, 05.08.2025).- As debates surrounding artificial intelligence and end-of-life issues increasingly dominate bioethical discourse, Cardinal Willem Eijk is calling attention to another front he believes the Church must not ignore: the ethics of gender medicine.
Speaking at a high-level bioethics conference in Rome on May 30, the Dutch cardinal and trained medical doctor urged the Pontifical Academy for Life to prioritize reflection and guidance on gender transition therapies, especially in light of their growing use and normalization in various parts of the world.
The annual symposium, hosted by the Jérôme Lejeune International Chair in Bioethics, was themed this year around «The Splendor of Truth in Science and Bioethics.» In that context, Eijk used his opening address—and a subsequent interview with EWTN Vatican News Director Andreas Thonhauser—to issue a pointed appeal for greater Catholic engagement with the ethical complexities of gender identity treatments.
“Gender-affirming therapies are not only widely accepted but often promoted in Western societies,” Eijk noted. “But we are beginning to see the cultural pendulum swing, especially in the United States, and that shift is creating new space for public questioning.”
While he acknowledged that the concept of gender fluidity once seemed to gain uncontested ground in educational systems and policy circles, Eijk believes there is now broader skepticism—particularly regarding its application to children and adolescents. “More people are beginning to ask whether this is the right thing to do,” he said.
The cardinal, who serves as Archbishop of Utrecht and is a long-standing member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, emphasized that the Church has a critical opportunity to clarify and promote its vision of the human person—rooted in the inseparable unity of body and soul. He expressed concern that much of the modern scientific and medical establishment has become shaped by what he calls “dualistic philosophies,” which regard the body as a malleable instrument rather than an integral part of personal identity.
“According to Catholic anthropology, biological sex is not incidental. It is an essential aspect of being human, something given, not chosen,” Eijk said. “We must reaffirm that the truth about the human body is part of God’s creation and deserves reverence, not reconstruction.”
The cardinal lamented what he described as a growing tendency to view the body merely as a vehicle for self-expression or even a target for technological reshaping. “That mindset is deeply rooted in a loss of metaphysical grounding,” he warned. “It separates the self from the body in ways that are ultimately dehumanizing.”
Nevertheless, Eijk struck a hopeful tone. He believes the Catholic Church can help anchor the bioethical conversation in more stable ground—if it speaks clearly and with unity. “When we articulate these truths without hesitation, they serve not only the faithful but all those seeking meaning amid confusion,” he said. “Clarity leads to reawakening. It reopens the door to Christ and to a moral vision that affirms human dignity in its fullest form.”
His remarks come at a moment of transition for the Vatican’s own bioethical leadership. Pope Leo XIV appointed Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro as the new president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, succeeding Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia. Pegoraro, who has served as the academy’s chancellor since 2011 and holds a medical degree, brings a scientific rigor that many hope will reinvigorate the academy’s standing amid rising ethical challenges—from biotech and AI to transgender medicine.
While the academy’s recent focus has leaned heavily into emerging technologies and aging-related issues, Eijk’s intervention signals a desire for a broader, more integrated bioethical vision—one that does not shy away from the controversial but pressing issues shaping real lives, especially those of youth.
“If the Church avoids these questions, we leave the faithful to navigate them alone,” he said. “But if we engage with courage, we can offer both truth and mercy to a world searching for both.”
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