Caribbean Bishops Release Pastoral Letter on Sexual and Gender Identity

The Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC) has released a new Pastoral Letter on Sexual and Gender Identity, launched on 26 July, the Feast of Saints Anne and Joachim, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and patrons of grandparents and families.

Titled after the question of the Psalmist — “What is man that You are mindful of him?” (Psalm 8:4) — the letter is a pastoral reflection prepared for the Church across the Caribbean by the Bishops of the English, French, and Dutch-speaking territories of the region.

A resource for families, schools, and pastoral leaders

The document addresses contemporary questions surrounding sexual and gender identity through the lens of the Catholic faith. Throughout, the Bishops return to a single conviction: that every human person possesses an intrinsic dignity that must be safeguarded, and that clarity and charity belong together rather than in competition.

It has been written as a practical pastoral resource for clergy, families, educators, catechists, pastoral leaders, policymakers, and all people of goodwill who wish to engage these questions thoughtfully.

The letter is organised in three chapters, moving from Christian anthropology and the vision of the human person as a unity of body and soul, to a discussion of the biological and scientific dimensions of sexual difference, and finally to a review of the language and definitions now shaping public conversation. It closes with a set of pastoral guidelines and directives, and an appendix of five case studies drawn from the kinds of situations teachers, parents, and pastoral workers encounter in Caribbean classrooms and homes.

The Bishops also situate the discussion within the region’s own history, noting that Caribbean understandings of the body and of personhood have been shaped by the long inheritance of conquest, enslavement, and colonial rule — a history they say must be taken seriously in any honest reflection on identity today.

An invitation to listen and to reflect

In circulating the document, the AEC has invited media houses and diocesan communications offices across the region to help make it accessible to the wider public, expressing the hope that it will encourage informed discussion and respectful dialogue throughout Caribbean communities, and create opportunities for listening, reflection, and mutual understanding.

The full Pastoral Letter is available for download below. Clergy, principals, catechists, and parish leaders in the Diocese of St. John’s–Basseterre are encouraged to read it in full and to consider how it might inform formation programmes, staff discussions, and parent engagement in the coming year.

[Download the Pastoral Letter on Sexual and Gender Identity (PDF)]