About that Christian trans teen report -- Washington Post ignored all the inconvenient voices

A lot of folks in the religious world don’t know quite what to do with the trans movement. The holy writings of the monotheistic religions have nothing that directly address transsexuality, so it’s been a rough go for many clergy. However, Pope Francis has made some strong statements, which journalists seem to have forgotten.

When in doubt, religious authorities have likened it to homosexuality -– about which there is plenty of commentary in biblical writings and the Quran — but the shoe doesn’t completely fit. Nevertheless, media coverage has engaged transexuals as another sexual minority about whom traditional religious believers will eventually see the light and change their doctrines.

What’s ignored are deep questions on the nature of the creation and male- and femaleness being at the basis of one’s being, as opposed to the current “assigned at birth” term that implies that sex is more a social construct than a biological fact. DNA? That isn’t relevant for many.

If you’re going to write a story on religion and the gender wars, you need the theological chops to understand that for the major world religions the division of humanity into two sexes: male and female, goes to the beginning of creation and how this is a non-negotiable for several religions.

A story in the Washington Post that ran several weeks ago — “Transgender or devoutly Christian? An Iowa teen refuses to choose” — ignores that fact and debates about it. It’s also appropriate to ask: Is this a “news story,” a work of “analysis” or an editorial that openly argues one point of view, while ignoring others?

It is about an 18-year-old girl who now calls herself “Sid,” and presents as a boy. As the story opens, Sid and her family are listening to a sermon on YouTube.

People misgendered Sid at work, and teenagers posted mean comments on the TikTok page where he lip-syncs to “Pumped Up Kicks” and other pop songs. Even some of his fellow Christians were becoming more intolerant. Nearly 70 percent of White evangelicals think society has gone too far in accepting trans people, according to data the Pew Research Center released in the summer. That’s up from 61 percent five years ago.
“But Jesus was determined,” the pastor said. “He loves these people that will end up rejecting him. … Let’s have a prayer, shall we?”
Sid closed his eyes. He knew people thought you couldn’t be both Christian and trans, but as the country grew more divided, he found himself growing deeper in his faith. Maybe, he thought, he could do what Jesus had. He could move forward bravely in the face of danger, refuse to stop loving and spread a message of hope.

The story continues in that vein, chronicling the brave teenager who decides she’s trans at the age of 12.

Her family joins a Methodist church a year later. This is where the topic of sexuality, scripture and Christian tradition is openly addressed.

Believe it or not: A story that gives decent coverage to a Catholic crisis pregnancy center

I’ve been so used to reading snide MSM articles about pro-lifers in Texas who are reveling in the state’s new anti-abortion regs — and the lengths women in that state are going to have abortions.

So, when I saw a positive take on the head of a crisis pregnancy clinic, I did a double take.

On Saturday, the Washington Post profiled Tere Haring’s crisis pregnancy clinic in San Antonio and her assertion that: Give a woman some diapers and you’ll save a baby.

The best quote in the piece:

“I always tell people, ‘Diapers save a lot more babies than ultrasounds.’ ” Haring said. “I don’t want an ultrasound machine. I want tons of diapers. Buy me $20,000, $40,000, $50,000 worth of diapers because if you have a woman who comes in with four kids — yeah, looking at the baby, she realizes it’s a human being. But if you tell her, ‘I’m going to give you diapers for all four kids,’ believe me, the diapers for all four kids is going to save that baby a lot quicker than a little pennant on the screen.”

Wow — a piece about a Catholic woman doing the unglamorous work of helping the pregnant and poor through a crisis pregnancy center — written with no snark whatsoever.

That’s historic. And against the grain, judging from the horrible comments appended to the piece, many written by some really demented people who can’t conceive of someone out of the goodness of her heart doing such a work.

It’s been my position that there are tons of religious folks all over the globe who do valiant work for unpopular causes. It just takes a little digging to find them. And reporter Casey Parks, who worked for the Oregonian 11 years before coming to the Post this past September, found one.

SAN ANTONIO — Tere Haring worked the math. Already, the antiabortion nonprofit she runs had given away a record number of baby items during the pandemic. She’d helped five women a day in 2020, and she’d handed out 71 car seats, 45,569 diapers, and $71,000 in rent assistance. Then, in September, a state law banning abortions after six weeks went into effect. By late October, Haring was seeing seven or eight clients a day. The phone rang, then rang again.
That uptick was just the beginning, Haring figured.