!chasers !cuteandinvalid

I am a pediatric endocrinologist who works in a gender clinic at a major U.S. teaching hospital. I am writing this article anonymously because medical providers who take care of transgender youth are being targeted by those who oppose what we do. My safety and that of my colleagues is at risk. Unfortunately, many of us have received vicious emails and we have experienced a few incidents of individuals coming to our clinics to disrupt our work. Many gender programs in this country have been forced to close due to laws that ban transgender care of persons under 18 years of age.

Because I am a Catholic physician, I spent many hours discerning whether it was morally acceptable to treat these children. I view relieving suffering as my duty as a physician. These children are clearly suffering. They have an extremely high incidence of depression, suicide, and self-harm. Eighty-two percent of transgender individuals have considered killing themselves and 40% have attempted suicide, with suicidality highest among transgender youth. This risk is significantly reduced with supportive care and medical/mental health intervention. I have seen this turnaround repeatedly in my practice. The work that I do is affirmed by prominent medical societies including the Endocrine Society, the Pediatric Endocrine Society and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.

Many misconceptions circulate about caring for youth with gender dysphoria, which is defined as distress due to a mismatch of the person's assigned gender and the gender identity they affirm. For example, despite a common rumor that floats around these discussions, prepubertal children are never treated with puberty blockers or hormones. Those who propagate these rumors need to know that these children and their parents are supported by mental health professionals. The children often continue to socially transition by dressing in the clothing of the gender they affirm and changing their pronouns and names. To support these children, it is important that home and school situations enable them to feel comfortable with their clothing and pronouns.

When pubertal changes are first noted, generally at age 10 to 11 years of age, puberty blockers can be started after a thorough mental health assessment. By blocking puberty for a few years, these children have the time they need to consider their gender identity without the stress of allowing puberty to progress. Puberty blockers are reversible so the child can stop them at any time and continue with biological puberty if they decide that their gender identity aligns with their biological s*x.

Many people may not know that irreversible hormone therapy (estrogen or testosterone) is only offered after another complete mental health assessment and no earlier than 14 years of age. Children are carefully monitored for side effects of the hormone therapy and are supported with mental health services throughout their gender journey. Parental consent is always required for any treatment in youth under age 18.

The possibility of detransitioning (i.e., affirming the biological gender after having been treated) is often stated as a reason to withhold treatment. This possibility should not prevent treatment. The use of reversible puberty blockers until at least age 14 is specifically prescribed to allow teens to be confident in their gender identity. Moreover, prior to starting on gender affirming hormone therapy, the teen must pass a full mental health assessment that confirms a persistent and consistent gender identity. Regrets after treatment are rare. An extensive literature review from Cornell University's Public Policy Research Center found a regret rate ranging from 0.3 to 3.8 percent with regrets most likely resulting from a lack of social support after transitioning, such as family rejection, lack of affirmation of gender identity in school, stigmatization, violence, and sexual assault. Ninety-three percent of treated individuals reported an increase in overall well-being.

It is important to know that detransitioning and regret are not synonymous since most individuals who detransition do not regret their treatment but are either pressured to detransition or over time reconsider their gender identity. In a large study from the Netherlands, most participants who started gender-affirming hormones in adolescence continued this treatment into adulthood, thus diminishing the possibility of detransition as an area of concern.

Another concern regarding the treatment of gender dysphoria in children is the concept “rapid onset of gender dysphoria” or what is called transgender social contagion. It is unlikely that this phenomenon exists to any significant degree. Children generally have gender dysphoria for years before they divulge this to their parents and the “rapid onset” may represent the perceptions or experiences of their parents rather than social contagion. Since all children will have thorough mental health evaluations prior to treatment, those without true gender dysphoria will be offered supportive care only.

Treating gender dysphoria in children in our society has unfortunately become political. However, treatment of these children does not “groom” them to affirm a gender identity contrary to their biological s*x. Instead, this treatment is a support for them through an exceedingly difficult period in the path to affirming their authentic selves.

I consider the work that I do essential for the health and well-being of children who are struggling with their gender identity. Children should be evaluated and treated in centers that have medical staff and behavioral health providers who are trained in providing gender care. Long term studies of treated children are underway and are necessary to ensure proper treatment and monitoring. For now, treating these children alleviates the suffering they experience when their gender identity is not affirmed.

!catholics !christians happy Third Sunday of Lent!

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First Reading

In those days, God delivered all these commandments:

“I, the LORD, am your God,

who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.

You shall not have other gods besides me.

You shall not carve idols for yourselves

in the shape of anything in the sky above

or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;

you shall not bow down before them or worship them.

For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God,

inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness

on the children of those who hate me,

down to the third and fourth generation;

but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation

on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.

“You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.

For the LORD will not leave unpunished

the one who takes his name in vain.

“Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.

Six days you may labor and do all your work,

but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God.

No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter,

or your male or female slave, or your beast,

or by the alien who lives with you.

In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth,

the sea and all that is in them;

but on the seventh day he rested.

That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

“Honor your father and your mother,

that you may have a long life in the land

which the LORD, your God, is giving you.

You shall not kill.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor's house.

You shall not covet your neighbor's wife,

nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass,

nor anything else that belongs to him.”

-Exodus 20:1-17

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Responsorial Psalm

R. (John 6:68c) Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

The law of the LORD is perfect,

refreshing the soul;

The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,

giving wisdom to the simple.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

The precepts of the LORD are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the command of the LORD is clear,

enlightening the eye.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever;

the ordinances of the LORD are true,

all of them just.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

They are more precious than gold,

than a heap of purest gold;

sweeter also than syrup

or honey from the comb.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

-Psalms 19:8, 9, 10, 11

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Second Reading

Brothers and sisters:

Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,

but we proclaim Christ crucified,

a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike,

Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,

and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

-1 Corinthians 1:22-25

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Verse Before the Gospel

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.

-John 3:16

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Gospel

Since the Passover of the Jews was near,

Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,

as well as the money changers seated there.

He made a whip out of cords

and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,

and spilled the coins of the money changers

and overturned their tables,

and to those who sold doves he said,

“Take these out of here,

and stop making my Father's house a marketplace.”

His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,

Zeal for your house will consume me.

At this the Jews answered and said to him,

“What sign can you show us for doing this?”

Jesus answered and said to them,

“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”

The Jews said,

“This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,

and you will raise it up in three days?”

But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

Therefore, when he was raised from the dead,

his disciples remembered that he had said this,

and they came to believe the Scripture

and the word Jesus had spoken.

While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,

many began to believe in his name

when they saw the signs he was doing.

But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all,

and did not need anyone to testify about human nature.

He himself understood it well.

-John 2:13-25

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We've got some classic verses this week. The 10 Commandments need no introduction. The epistle brings up an interesting point; Christian morality goes against human nature, and doesn't truly fit any non-Christian culture. And the gospel is one of the most-ignored stories in Christianity. I'm looking at you, Protestants.

bottom text lmao

Posted by a woman who is:

trying to lose weight

stained her new couch with period blood and denied it

claims the abortion she had as a teenager was the "best choice in her life" that "saved her" and allowed her to "become the woman she is today" (obese FO76 player)

https://old.reddit.com/user/Queenhotsnakes/submitted/

GM frens I hate satan and pagans

Friends, today's Gospel exposes the pride of the Pharisees and concludes with the prescription of humility. I want to reflect on this virtue.

St. Augustine said that all of us, made from nothing, tend toward nothing. We can see this in our frailty and sin and mortality. St. Paul said, “What do you possess that you have not received? But if you have received it, why are you boasting as if you did not receive it?”

To believe in God is to know these truths. To live them out is to live in the attitude of humility. Thomas Aquinas said humilitas veritas, meaning humility is truth. It is living out the deepest truth of things: God is God, and we are not.

Now, all of this sounds very clear when it's stated in this abstract manner, but man is it hard to live out! In our fallen world, we forget so readily that we are creatures. We start to assume that we are gods, the center of the universe.

The ego becomes a massive monkey on our backs, and it has to be fed and pampered constantly. What a liberation it is to let go of the ego! Do you see why humility is not a degradation, but an elevation?

https://www.wordonfire.org/reflections/lent/

!catholics !christians I hope you all had a good day, I spent mine innawoods with my brother.

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First Reading

God put Abraham to the test.

He called to him, "Abraham!"

"Here I am!" he replied.

Then God said:

"Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,

and go to the land of Moriah.

There you shall offer him up as a holocaust

on a height that I will point out to you."

When they came to the place of which God had told him,

Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.

Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.

But the LORD's messenger called to him from heaven,

"Abraham, Abraham!"

"Here I am!" he answered.

"Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger.

"Do not do the least thing to him.

I know now how devoted you are to God,

since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son."

As Abraham looked about,

he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.

So he went and took the ram

and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.

Again the LORD's messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:

"I swear by myself, declares the LORD,

that because you acted as you did

in not withholding from me your beloved son,

I will bless you abundantly

and make your descendants as countless

as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;

your descendants shall take possession

of the gates of their enemies,

and in your descendants all the nations of the earth

shall find blessing—

all this because you obeyed my command."

-Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18

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Responsorial Psalm

R. (116:9) I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.

I believed, even when I said,

"I am greatly afflicted."

Precious in the eyes of the LORD

is the death of his faithful ones.

R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.

O LORD, I am your servant;

I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;

you have loosed my bonds.

To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,

and I will call upon the name of the LORD.

R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.

My vows to the LORD I will pay

in the presence of all his people,

In the courts of the house of the LORD,

in your midst, O Jerusalem.

R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.

-Psalms 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19

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Second Reading

Brothers and sisters:

If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own Son

but handed him over for us all,

how will he not also give us everything else along with him?

Who will bring a charge against God's chosen ones?

It is God who acquits us, who will condemn?

Christ Jesus it is who died—or, rather, was raised—

who also is at the right hand of God,

who indeed intercedes for us.

-Romans 8:31b-34

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Verse Before the Gospel

From the shining cloud the Father's voice is heard:

This is my beloved Son, listen to him.

-Matthew 17:5

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Gospel

Jesus took Peter, James, and John

and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.

And he was transfigured before them,

and his clothes became dazzling white,

such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.

Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,

and they were conversing with Jesus.

Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,

"Rabbi, it is good that we are here!

Let us make three tents:

one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.

Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;

from the cloud came a voice,

"This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."

Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone

but Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain,

he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,

except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

So they kept the matter to themselves,

questioning what rising from the dead meant.

Mark 9:2-10

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The Binding of Isaac is awesome because it inspired a giga-awesome edgelord kino Christian game. I notice there was a verse before the Gospel as well last week, I wonder if it's a Lent thing.

Context: Bong churches are now so low on attendance that they're running out of money. Obviously the solution is to start hosting raves where everyone wears headphones.

This has made the ladies of Conservative Woman very angry.

Jesus spent 40 days in the desert and he can't make it a week without watching porn.

Tell us, what other minorities do you not want in your religion?

What do you consider a minority. I want everyone in my religion.

Apart from gay people

No? I want them to turn from there false beliefs

I bet this guy eats shrimp

I actually hate shrimp

Related: Being gay is not a sin. Being trans is not a sin. Being queer is not a sin. Period.

Catholic cathedral held a funeral service for a trans atheist s*x worker activist. The cathedral will held Mass of Reparation' to atone for hosting ‘sacrilegious' trans activist's funeral

!catholics !christians Lent has begun! I didn't make a thread on Ash Wednesday since it's not a holy day of obligation.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

First Reading

God said to Noah and to his sons with him:

"See, I am now establishing my covenant with you

and your descendants after you

and with every living creature that was with you:

all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals

that were with you and came out of the ark.

I will establish my covenant with you,

that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed

by the waters of a flood;

there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth."

God added:

"This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come,

of the covenant between me and you

and every living creature with you:

I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign

of the covenant between me and the earth.

When I bring clouds over the earth,

and the bow appears in the clouds,

I will recall the covenant I have made

between me and you and all living beings,

so that the waters shall never again become a flood

to destroy all mortal beings."

-Genesis 9:8-15

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Responsorial Psalm

R. (cf. 10) Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;

teach me your paths,

Guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my savior.

R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.

Remember that your compassion, O LORD,

and your love are from of old.

In your kindness remember me,

because of your goodness, O LORD.

R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.

Good and upright is the LORD,

thus he shows sinners the way.

He guides the humble to justice,

and he teaches the humble his way.

R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.

-Psalms 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

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Second Reading

Beloved:

Christ suffered for sins once,

the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,

that he might lead you to God.

Put to death in the flesh,

he was brought to life in the Spirit.

In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison,

who had once been disobedient

while God patiently waited in the days of Noah

during the building of the ark,

in which a few persons, eight in all,

were saved through water.

This prefigured baptism, which saves you now.

It is not a removal of dirt from the body

but an appeal to God for a clear conscience,

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

who has gone into heaven

and is at the right hand of God,

with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

-1 Peter 3:18-22

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Verse Before the Gospel

One does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

Matthew 4:4b

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Gospel

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert,

and he remained in the desert for forty days,

tempted by Satan.

He was among wild beasts,

and the angels ministered to him.

After John had been arrested,

Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:

"This is the time of fulfillment.

The kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent, and believe in the gospel."

-Mark 1:12-25

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Today my priest spoke about how Lent is a time for healing the wounds caused by sin. While Jesus is famous for healing ailments of the body, his true work was healing ailments of the soul. On an unrelated note, I think God's covenant with Noah proves that global warming won't lead to apocalyptic flooding.

Yes, Redditors are usually wrong, but this is exceptional doubling down even when firmly reprimanded by fellow soys.

Jesus isn't saying it any of those times.

Oh lord

It's his book. The whole thing is his words. Whether they're “direct quotes” or not is irrelevant.

It's extremely disingenuous to take a bunch of quotes from Jesus, put them in the same book as quotes from a bunch of other guys, and then say all of it was Jesus. The Bible is a bunch of different books written at different times. You can't attribute all of it to Jesus retroactively. You're silly. You have no point.

The Bible is the inerrant word of God, no?

No. It's not. It's different books put together that directly contradict each other. And we're talking about the person Jesus. Now you're trying to defend being wrong about that by equating the Bible with God and Jesus with God so Jesus wrote the Bible? Stop.

Are you confused about your religion? Jesus = God so yeah, it's his book. I never said he wrote it. I said it's his word. Which you just said it's not. If the Bible isn't the inerrant word of God, then there's no reason to pay it any mind whatsoever. Thanks!

Lol. MY religion? I'm not Christian. Am I talking to a literal 10-year-old?

That isn't my sacrifice, though; no, my presence is what rDrama is giving up for Lent. There's a No Man's Sky update due out either later today or tomorrow morning. New space stations and stuff. You're going to miss out on my tismposting over it. You'll miss my review of the new Godzilla movie at the end of March. You'll miss countless hot take threads with the cute girls love the blahaj image.

You'll miss a huge number of carp's curated funny family man moments volumes.

It will hurt, and it will hurt badly, but you will all be spiritually richer for it.

Similarly, though to a much lesser extent, I will miss bringing joy with these things to our dozens of users. I've also got some other stuff I'll be doing for Lent but that's not the sort of thing one broadcasts. That said, remember to sacrifice something yourself. rDrama's collective carp sacrifice is not your own, nor is it something you have control over. The convict does not give up his freedom for Lent. It's also not supposed to be a bad habit; you shouldn't be doing bad things anyway. Give up something good and that you enjoy but distracts you from God. That can even be time. Commit to just a rosary per day even, that's an excellent habit to be in.

Remember that Fridays aren't meant to be an excuse to binge on nice seafood. It's not a sacrifice at all if you're having a big fish feast or eating lobster or whatever on Friday, that's a treat. The fast is meant to be solemn and bring you closer to God, it's not a fancy fish party.

Bye rDrama don't bother engaging the small-souled wicked who are sure to appear below see you in April x

Forgive me Marsey for I have sinned. I've never been to confession before.

I've gazed up /r/christianity and I've wished death and despair on my fellow believer, or at the very least, fellow human

I've shitpost and called people "cute twinks" and told them to "kill themselves"

I've relentlessly trolled children on the internet until they've deleted their accounts

I've gazed upon a beautiful woman lustfully

I've coveted my neighbor's car

I repent of these sins, please forgive me, amen.

Rome🇻🇦

…..Satan’s house 👹 pic.twitter.com/iPEdvKr40e

— ♛𝟏𝟒𝟒,𝟎𝟎𝟎🎟 (@FrmNGGStoGODs) February 12, 2024

Priest Alexey Laushkin answers whether Orthodox Christians can watch Japanese anime. pic.twitter.com/ufKMmsJheF

— Bishoy Saxon (@golgothapravda) February 11, 2024

!badgemaxxers

!catholics