April 27, 2024 Column Father De Celles News
May is Mary’s Month. The entire month of May is “Mary’s Month.” To commemorate this, next Sunday, May 4, we will have our annual “May Crowning” immediately after the 9am Mass. Please join us for this short but beautiful ceremony.
IMPORTANT: England Bans “Puberty Blockers”! Did you see the news out of England that because of the newly published Cass Review, the National Health Services has banned the use of puberty blockers in children except in clinical studies. Here is the BBC’s report (excerpts):
“The Cass Review, published on Wednesday [April 1] by paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, ….look[ing] at gender identity services for under-18s, was commissioned by NHS England in 2020…
“Dr Cass told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that clinicians were concerned about having ‘no guidance, no evidence, no training’.
“She said ‘we don’t have good evidence’ that puberty blockers are safe to use to ‘arrest puberty’…
“‘It is unusual for us to give a potentially life-changing treatment to young people and not know what happens to them in adulthood, and that’s been a particular problem that we haven’t had the follow-up into adulthood to know what the results of this are,’ she said.
“In the weeks leading up to the review’s publication, NHS England announced puberty blockers …would no longer be routinely prescribed, and should only be given to gender-distressed children as part of clinical trials.
“…Some private clinics will …continue to do so, with Dr Cass warning families need to be ‘made aware’ of the risks of ‘unregulated treatment’.
“The Cass Review’s conclusions are documented in a 388-page report, which makes 32 recommendations on how gender services for children and young people should operate.
“It calls for better research into the characteristics of children seeking treatment and to look at outcomes for every young person.
“In essence, Dr Cass says children have been ‘let down’ by a failure to base gender care on evidence-based research.
“‘The reality is we have no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress,’ she writes.
“…The report recommends that clinicians should address issues patients may have, that are not necessarily related to their gender identity, when they are referred to the new clinics.
“Dr Cass says these ‘holistic assessments’ should include screening for neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism, and a mental health assessment.
“She said the assessments would address what she called ‘diagnostic overshadowing’ – when patients’ other healthcare issues were overlooked in cases of patients questioning their gender.
“…’What’s unfortunately happened for these young people is that because of the toxicity of the debate…rather than doing the things that they would do for other young people with depression, or anxiety, or perhaps undiagnosed autistic spectrum disorder, they’ve tended to pass them straight on to the Gid service.’
“‘There are few other areas of healthcare where professionals are so afraid to openly discuss their views, where people are vilified on social media, and where name-calling echoes the worst bullying behaviour,’ she said…
“…The report also warns that younger children should be treated with a ‘more cautious approach’ than adolescents when considering whether to allow them to change their names, pronouns or clothing – known as socially transitioning.
“….Dr Cass repeats previous warnings there was no clear evidence on whether social transitioning had positive or negative mental health outcomes.
“She says those who have done so at an earlier age…were more likely to go down a medical pathway and that for most…’will not be the best way to manage their gender-related distress’.
Who is Hilary Cass? Dr. Cass is Pediatrician (an MD) and former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. In 2015 the Queen made her an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to child health. She was subsequently appointed chair of the British Academy of Childhood Disability. Since issuing her report she has been under constant attack from the Leftist activists, and told the Times of London she “had been advised not to use public transport for security reasons.”
Bill Maher Strikes Again! Last week I wrote about how media personality Bill Maher, a life-long ‘liberal’ called out the Left for its hypocrisy on abortion. This week he did it again, but this time for the double standard on child-abuse/pedophilia. As Catholic Vote reported:
“Comedian Bill Maher called out the entertainment industry for sexualizing children and hiring known pedophiles in a clip that has since gone viral over the past few days.
“‘As one of the few people in the public eye who has gone through life and never had kids, someone has to tell me why am I always having to defend them,’ Maher said on an episode of his HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher which aired Friday.
“‘I don’t even like kids,’ he added. ‘But I also think it’s every adult’s job to protect them.’
“‘Have you all been watching the Max documentary called ‘Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV?’’ he asked his viewer. ‘It’s just scene after scene, clip after clip of the child stars of their day being subjected to obviously inappropriate highly sexualized degradation…[I]t didn’t just expose a dangerous workplace, it also exposed hypocrisy.’
“‘It must be pointed out that when the ‘evil’ governor of Florida [Republican Ron DeSantis] was saying the exact same thing about kids and creepy stuff at Disney – that liberals now find intolerable at Nickelodeon, he was dismissed as a ‘hick’ and a ‘bigot,’’ the host emphasized.
“‘Why would a kid’s content factory at Disney be all that different from the one at Nickelodeon?’ Maher asked.
“He went on to cite stats and testimony from former Disney child stars: A 2014 CNN report discovered that at least 35 Disney employees had been arrested for sex crimes against children ….
“‘And get this,’ Maher added. ‘After Brian Peck who was one of the lead creeps at Nickelodeon served 16 months in prison for the molesting he did there, Disney hired him, naturally, to work on a children’s series.’
“‘For pedophiles in Hollywood, it’s a small world after all,’ he stated.
“…The comedian went on to satirize the hypocrisy on surrounding child exploitation that is prevalent on the left:
“People who believe in social justice have agreed this is wrong and this is bad and exposing kids to an adult world of lurid costumes and garish makeup borders on abuse. Now hurry up and get in the car, we’re late for Drag Queen Story Hour.
“…’At a certain point inclusion becomes promotion,’ he warned.
“He added that young impressionable children ‘don’t have any frame of reference so they normalize whatever’s happening….That’s why endlessly talking about gender to six-year-olds isn’t just inappropriate,’ Maher described. ‘It’s what the law would call ‘entrapment’ – which means enticing people into doing something they wouldn’t ordinarily do.’
Bishop’s Visit. Bishop Burbidge was enthusiastic in expressing his appreciation to me for the welcome he received here last week at the Parish. My thanks to him for celebrating Mass for us and spending so much time at the reception afterwards. And thanks to all who did so much to make him feel at home.
Oremus pro invicem. Fr. De Celles