Around New England

Transgenderism Critic Picketed At Talk At Catholic Church

April 20, 2018

A pediatrician who claimed that males and females are intrinsically different and that transgenderism is growing because of marketing to teen-agers drew more than 40 protesters during a talk at a Catholic church in Providence, Rhode Island.

Dr. Michelle Cretella spoke at St. Pius V Church, which is across the street from Providence College, which recently has been roiled by disputes over Catholic teaching that marriage is only between one man and one woman.

Her talk, titled “Creating Kind Schools and Transgenderism,” described the importance of discouraging bullying, but also argued that ignoring innate differences between boys and girls is harmful.

“Cretella talked about brain cells, asserting that every brain cell of a male fetus has an XY chromosome, making it intrinsically different from the brain of a female fetus,” reports The Providence Journal.

The doctor also argued against Rhode Island’s ban on so-called conversion therapy, which prohibits therapists from attempting to assist children in switching sexual orientation or gender identity.

According to the Providence Journal:  “She argues that all teenagers go through a phase known as ‘gender formation.’ During this time, she says, a certain number are susceptible to ‘marketing’ that they are ‘trapped in the wrong body’.”

The newspaper’s summation of the story said the pediatrician’s talk “put St. Pius V Church on the outer edge of a culture conflict on Thursday night.”