Are mental illnesses being missed behind the mask of gender dysphoria?

Zelda Caldwell, Catholic News Agency

Thursday, September 11, 2025

The shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis — carried out by a biological male who identified as female – raises serious questions, according to experts, about whether struggling young people are being given “gender-affirming care” while their real psychological needs remain unaddressed. Says Mary Rice Hasson, a scholar with the Ethics and Public Policy Center, mental illness is often left untreated with gender-affirming care. “Once an adolescent is on the sex-rejecting or ‘gender-transition’ pathway, ‘gender-affirming’ mental health professionals stop exploring any other underlying psychological issues.”