Genders, sexualities, and Catholic schools: towards a theological anthropology of adolescent flourishing

Good religious education needs to be rooted in a robust theological anthropology. The Roman Catholic Church's gender complementarity approach is inadequate for accompanying adolescents in Catholic schools as they engage in questions of gender and sexuality; instead, educators need a theological anthropology oriented towards adolescent flourishing. To construct a more capacious theological anthropological approach, one that is still authentically Catholic and rooted in the Church's official documents, this essay turns to Pope Francis' Christus Vivit and Fratelli Tutti. From Francis' concern for mercy and accompaniment, a theological approach to the goodness of adolescence is described, which can ground theological reflection on gender and sexuality in love and human dignity, rather than shame and exclusion.