At the heart of the 16th Ministerial Conference of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the Holy See once again recalled a fundamental truth that the Church has never ceased to teach: gender is not an ideological construct, but a reality based on biological sexual identity, male or female.
While the conference was held under the theme "Shaping the Future: Driving Economic Transformation for Equitable, Inclusive, and Sustainable Development," many terms used in the official documents were problematic. The Holy See immediately warned of possible deviations, particularly around words like "equity" and "inclusion," often instrumentalized to advance gender ideology.
In its statement, the Vatican delegation specified that any mention of the word "gender" in the texts of this conference – or in any document adopted by the UNCTAD intergovernmental structure – must be understood exclusively in its sense based on biological reality: male or female. No ambiguity, no opening for ideologies contrary to natural law.
This reminder does not come by chance. In recent months, several internal discussions within UN security delegations have attempted to introduce vocabulary directly drawn from the transgender movement into resolutions. In October, certain delegations, particularly those from clearly progressive circles, pushed for a unilateral recognition of new terminologies: specific programs for transgender persons, so-called "intersectional" policies, and even a definition of woman encompassing "all their diversity," a formulation intended to weaken the natural and real meaning of the word woman.
Faced with these pressures, the Holy See's position remained unchanged: no support for resolutions containing elements pertaining to gender ideology, even if concealed behind appealing expressions like "inclusive development."
Nevertheless, the Vatican did not reject the text adopted by the conference outright. It welcomed what it contained that was just and in conformity with the Church's teaching, notably the openness granted to the most vulnerable persons and those living in situations of great fragility: the poor, migrants, and countries in delicate situations.
The Holy See's delegation emphasized that the final document correctly recognizes the centrality of the human person in all reflection on development, which remains an essential point of Catholic doctrine.
In an international context saturated with ideological pressures, where even bodies supposed to defend peace attempt to impose categories contrary to created nature, this intervention by the Holy See once again recalls the immutable mission of the Church: to speak the truth, defend human dignity, and refuse any deviation that would weaken creation as God intended it.