President Joe Biden’s Department of Education issued new regulations on Friday, April 19, that prohibit discrimination based on a person’s “gender identity.”
The new rules, which will go into effect on Aug. 1, redefine the prohibition on sex discrimination for schools and education programs that receive federal funding — including K-12 schools and colleges and universities. Under the new interpretation of the Title IX protections, those rules now apply to any form of discrimination that is based on a person’s self-purported “gender identity.”
According to the executive summary of the Title IX revision, the changes are meant to “clarify that sex discrimination includes discrimination on the basis of sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.”
The summary further states that, except in certain situations, education institutions receiving federal funding cannot carry out “different treatment or separation on the basis of sex,” which includes a prohibition on any policy or practice that “prevents a person from participating in an education program or activity consistent with their gender identity.”
The new Title IX rules, however, do not have any direct rules related to transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports. About two dozen states have restricted participation in high school and college women’s sports to only biological women. It’s unclear whether these rules would violate the new interpretation of violations based on sex discrimination.
It’s also unclear how these rules would affect state laws that restrict bathroom and locker room access to a person based on his or her biological sex rather than gender identity or whether it would jeopardize free speech in relation to the use of a person’s preferred gender pronouns when those pronouns do not align with the person’s biological sex. The new rules did not clearly explain how the new definition would apply to such situations.
Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Rachel Rouleau expressed concerns that the Biden administration’s new definition of sex discrimination would negatively impact the rights of girls and women in education institutions.
“The Biden administration’s radical redefinition of sex turns back the clock on equal opportunity for women, threatens student safety and privacy, and undermines fairness in women’s sports,” Rouleau said in a statement on Friday.
“It is a slap in the face to women and girls who have fought long and hard for equal opportunities,” she added. “The administration continues to ignore biological reality, science, and common sense, and women are suffering as a result. The administration’s new regulation will have devastating consequences on the future of women’s sports, student privacy, and parental rights.”
Sarah Parshall Perry, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation and former senior counsel at the United States Department of Education, said in a statement that Title IX is being “manipulated” by “gender activists and woke politicos” through these actions.
“Under the new rule, girls and women will no longer have any sex-separated bathrooms, locker rooms, housing accommodations, or other educational programs,” Perry said. “Women’s sports are likely endangered too. Any education institution, including many private schools that receive even nominal federal funding, will be affected by this rule.”
Perry suggested that federal lawmakers should challenge the department’s actions “by clearly defining men and women” in legislation.
When Congress first added Title IX’s sex discrimination provisions into federal law in the 1970s, the goal was to give girls and women equal access to education. The law itself does not make reference to “gender identity.”
Other changes included in the administration’s rules related to Title IX include the prohibition on discriminating against a girl or a woman based on her being pregnant, her choosing to have an abortion, or her recovery from pregnancy. The revision also changes the process by which sexual assault allegations are handled.
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The opening of the Synod for the Family at the Vatican on Oct. 5, 2015. / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Feb 7, 2022 / 13:00 pm (CNA).
The Vatican acknowledged on Monday that the Church’s effort to listen to the 1.34 billion Catholics worldwide t… […]
Fr. Richard Cassidy, professor of Sacred Scripture at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, dresses in Roman prisoner garb as he holds a copy of his newest book, “A Roman Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians.” Fr. Cassidy’s eighth scholarly work, the book explores the subversive nature of St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, which the apostle wrote from behind bars in a Roman prison cell. / Valaurian Waller | Detroit Catholic
Detroit, Mich., Apr 30, 2022 / 08:00 am (CNA).
It was a tough decision for Rick Cassidy as he began graduate studies at the University of Michigan in mid-1960s. Would he take the course on Imperial Rome, because of his love of history, or the course History of Slavery, because of his deep concern for social justice?
The Dearborn native chose the course on slavery. The insights he acquired have helped to guide Fr. Richard Cassidy’s scholarly work for three decades, including his latest work, “A Roman Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians“ (Herder & Herder, 2020).
Paul’s letter, composed in chains and secreted out of his Roman jail cell, is intentionally “counter-slavery” argues Father Cassidy, professor of Sacred Scripture at Sacred Heart Major Seminary since 2004, as well as “counter-emperor.” At its core, Philippians is an underground epistle that subverts the Roman power structure and the “lordship pretensions of Nero.” Reviewers praise the “distinctive thesis” of Father’s groundbreaking work as “fresh and illuminating,” making for “fascinating reading.”
This is Father Cassidy’s seventh book that examines the influence of Roman rule on the writers of the New Testament, and his eighth book overall. He returned to Ann Arbor on a rainy afternoon in late June to discuss his newest work.
Dan Gallio: St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians is most known for its soaring declaration of the divinity Christ, before whom one day “every knee must bend,” and “every tongue proclaim” his universal lordship (2:6-11).
Your new book presents a unique argument: Paul’s letter is primarily a “subversive” document of resistance against the Roman Empire—particularly against emperor worship and slavery. How did you arrive at this against-the-grain interpretation?
“A Roman Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians” (Herder & Herder, 2020) is Fr. Cassidy’s eighth book and a follow-up on his 2001 work, “Paul in Chains: Roman Imprisonment and the Letters of St. Paul”. Valaurian Waller | Detroit Catholic
Father Cassidy: These insights were the result of long hours with the text, spending a lot of prayer time for guidance, as to Paul’s situation.
The issue of slavery came into play strongly. I now saw that Jesus was executed as a violator of Roman sovereignty, condemned by Pilate, executed under Emperor Tiberius—and that this was the slave’s form of death. This is a crucial point.
In regards to the two topics you mention, I had the intuition that the Letter to the Philippians was “counter-emperor cult” and “counter-slavery.” First, the self emptying of Christ from on high—descending downward into human form, downward, downward to the point of the slave’s death on a Roman cross—and then you have St. Paul’s wonderful words in chapter 2, verses 9-11.
My insight was that there is going to be a redressing of what has happened. Because of the great faithfulness of Jesus Christ, the Father intervenes and begins the lifting up, the ascending of Christ, where the Father exalts Jesus and bestows upon him “the name above every other name.”
So I can now speak about this famous passage in terms of a kind of “drama”: four scenes that represent the descent of Jesus, and four scenes that represent his ascent, akin to a medieval passion play. The Father intervenes on Christ’s behalf, conferring upon him the name of “Lord.” Now all of creation, including the emperor, the governor, the imperial personnel, are all subject to Jesus. They have to prostrate themselves before the name of Jesus.
DG: So, essentially, Philippians is subversive because it makes a political statement as much as a theological one.
FC: Yes, but for some, it is a great privilege to genuflect at the name of Jesus. This includes slaves! Paul had integrated slaves into his community in Philippi. They were empowered now to proclaim the name of Jesus, standing alongside free men and women. They are standing alongside the Roman imperial power structure, all involved in the same process of bowing before Christ and proclaiming his name.
A security guard at Sacred Heart Major Seminary helps Fr. Cassidy don his “prisoner’s clothing” for a photo shoot promoting Fr. Cassidy’s latest book, “A Roman Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians,” which details Paul’s experience behind bars and the conditions under which he wrote his Letter to the Philippians. Valaurian Waller | Detroit Catholic
And that name is “Lord.” Jesus is being acclaimed as Lord, and not the emperor, to the glory of God the Father. This is the decisive element of Philippians 2:6-11, blended together in this one passage.
DG: You provide a forty-four-page introduction to the social situation of the Roman colony of Philippi. Why did you feel such an informative but lengthy introduction was necessary to support your thesis?
FC: I had to establish that conditions at Philippi mirror conditions at Rome. This is important. Philippi was like “Little Rome.” When Paul is speaking of conditions at Philippi, his is also experiencing the same oppressive conditions at Rome as a chained prisoner. I had to establish that emperor worship was everywhere, in Philippi’s renowned amphitheater, in the streets, in public artifacts. That is why I had to go into an extensive introduction to set the stage of what Paul is doing in his letter.
DG: Your appendices are extensive, too, like bookends to the introduction, driving the thesis home again using illustrations.
FC: There is one illustration of a monument where slaves are chained, and a slave trader is proclaiming his prowess as a slave trader. This monument to the degradation of slavery was at a city adjacent to Philippi. Paul almost certainly passed by it on his way to and from Philippi. It was discovered back in the 1930s and almost destroyed in the war by Nazi bombings.
DG: Paul is sometimes criticized by revisionist commentators for not rejecting the institution of slavery in his letters. Is your book an answer to these critics?
FC: Paul’s approach to slavery is complicated. There are some letters where he seems to envision the imminent return of Christ. Possibly he minimized the importance of slaves being freed in these letters. However, in Philippians, his final letter before his death, he addresses the issue definitively. It is very undermining of slavery.
I intended to de-establish the idea that Paul acquiesced to slavery. He did not acquiesce. The laudatory prepublication comments by scholars make me think the book will have a decisive role in re-imaging Paul.
Against a prevailing notion that St. Paul “acquiesced” to the idea of slavery in his writings, Fr. Cassidy’s book aims to counter the idea by showing how St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians actually served a subversive purpose in a Roman empire dominated by emperor worship and tight controls. Valaurian Waller | Detroit Catholic
DG: Back to Philippians 2:6-11. Why do you maintain this passage is not a hymn or baptismal catechesis, as is customarily believed, but is an original composition of Paul? Is this position another example of your counter exegesis?
FC: This is not some other preexisting hymn. No! This is fresh imaging. Visceral imaging. This is intensity from identifying with Christ as the “slave crucified.” No one else could have composed this passage. And Paul could not have composed this passage until he was in Roman chains and could see the threat posed against Jesus by the counterfeit claims that Emperor Nero is Lord.
DG: It’s almost like the passage is “supra-inspired,” that he would get such an original insight while in such dreadful circumstances.
FC: Correct. And there is a real question as to how this letter could be transmitted from prison, with the security and censorship. In garments? In pottery? It is possible the original written letter was confiscated. So how is Paul is getting his subversive thoughts past the Roman guards?
I suggest in my book that Paul was drilling his associates, Timothy and Epaphroditus, to memorize his letter, given the role of memory in early Christian life.
DG: With your busy teaching and pastoral duties, where to you find the motivation and energy to produce such a thoroughly researched, and beautifully written, work of scholarship?
FC: It’s Spirit driven!
DG: Is the Spirit driving you to another book?
FC: I would say so. After a book comes to publication, there is always a kind of mellowing period. So right now I have not identified the next project. I am appreciating the graces I have received from this book, and trusting that the same Spirit who has shepherded me through this sequence will still stand by me, guiding me forward.
President Gabriel Bóric of Chile votes in a Sept. 4, 2022, election for proposed changes to the country’s constitution. / Photo credit: Press Presidency of Chile
How sad for women’s sports. And for men’s sports as well. How will other men react to men (yes, they are biological men even if they decide to change their sex) who decide to “join the women’s team” or “compete against women” instead of striving to compete against their fellow men? And how many women will stick with a sport in which a biological man almost always prevails against them?
Why not create “co-ed” sports, in which men, women and any other “variety” of human compete TOGETHER as a team? This is what children often do–everyone plays!
There is a such a sport that’s been around since the 1950s. This sport is called synchronized skating, and it is done on ice. (It was formerly known as “precision team skating.) It was created in Ann Arbor, Michigan by Dr. Richard Porter, who noticed that female figure skaters often quit singles skating once they started growing too tall and “womanly” to achieve the double (and eventually triple and quad) jumps. Over the decades, synchronized skating (synchro) has evolved from a “marching band” style, to a “formation” sport that featured lines, blocks, circles, intersections, and wheels (pinwheels), to the current synchronized skating which features almost every element of figure skating including the “historical elements” (lines, blocks, etc.) along with ice dance elements, jumps (including double jumps!) and spins, lifts, and lots of speed and power! One skating official describes the sport as “beautiful danger”–collisions often result in serious injuries. And both MEN and WOMEN (or boys and girls at the younger levels) have always been allowed to compete together in synchronized skating!
Sadly, very few Americans have ever heard of, let alone seen the sport, as for some reason, the International Skating Union keeps hemming and hawing about giving it any genuine publicity or working to see it included in the Olympics, which provides the best visibility of all the sports. The IOC claims that there is not enough space for the teams in the hotels, and that the ice is already in use 24/7–oh, c’mon!– Cities build temporary hotels and venues for almost all the Olympic sports, and they could do the same for synchronized skating! The IOC admitted the immensely popular (at least in other countries than the U.S.A) sport of CURLING into the Olympics, which is also COED, and features a lot of older athletes who are hardly slim and trim or “the youth of the world”, as the IOC always says during the Olympic Opening Ceremonies!
I just think that if men want to compete with women, there are already opportunities that don’t pit men against women but instead, allow them to compete WITH women.
How sad for women’s sports. And for men’s sports as well. How will other men react to men (yes, they are biological men even if they decide to change their sex) who decide to “join the women’s team” or “compete against women” instead of striving to compete against their fellow men? And how many women will stick with a sport in which a biological man almost always prevails against them?
Why not create “co-ed” sports, in which men, women and any other “variety” of human compete TOGETHER as a team? This is what children often do–everyone plays!
There is a such a sport that’s been around since the 1950s. This sport is called synchronized skating, and it is done on ice. (It was formerly known as “precision team skating.) It was created in Ann Arbor, Michigan by Dr. Richard Porter, who noticed that female figure skaters often quit singles skating once they started growing too tall and “womanly” to achieve the double (and eventually triple and quad) jumps. Over the decades, synchronized skating (synchro) has evolved from a “marching band” style, to a “formation” sport that featured lines, blocks, circles, intersections, and wheels (pinwheels), to the current synchronized skating which features almost every element of figure skating including the “historical elements” (lines, blocks, etc.) along with ice dance elements, jumps (including double jumps!) and spins, lifts, and lots of speed and power! One skating official describes the sport as “beautiful danger”–collisions often result in serious injuries. And both MEN and WOMEN (or boys and girls at the younger levels) have always been allowed to compete together in synchronized skating!
Sadly, very few Americans have ever heard of, let alone seen the sport, as for some reason, the International Skating Union keeps hemming and hawing about giving it any genuine publicity or working to see it included in the Olympics, which provides the best visibility of all the sports. The IOC claims that there is not enough space for the teams in the hotels, and that the ice is already in use 24/7–oh, c’mon!– Cities build temporary hotels and venues for almost all the Olympic sports, and they could do the same for synchronized skating! The IOC admitted the immensely popular (at least in other countries than the U.S.A) sport of CURLING into the Olympics, which is also COED, and features a lot of older athletes who are hardly slim and trim or “the youth of the world”, as the IOC always says during the Olympic Opening Ceremonies!
I just think that if men want to compete with women, there are already opportunities that don’t pit men against women but instead, allow them to compete WITH women.