Pontifical university in Spain asks alumni in survey if they are male, female, or ‘other’

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 2, 2023 / 17:00 pm

The Pontifical University of Comillas in Spain has sent a survey to its former students asking them to specify their “gender” as male, female, or “other,” in contradiction with Christian anthropology.

The alumni department of the Comillas Pontifical University sent out the survey in order to improve its service.

The survey collects information on different aspects such as age, place of residence, degree, employment situation, or areas of interest of Comillas alumni.

The second question asks: “What is your gender?” Three response options are then offered: male, female, or “other.”

The use of this language appears to be a statement contradicting Christian anthropology and the institution’s Identity and Mission Declaration, which says that it is “a university established by the Holy See, whose governance has been entrusted to the Society of Jesus. This reality is essential to our mission and confers on it a specific profile.”

The institution “assumes, with all its consequences, the Christian conception” of the human being. Thus “there can be no university formation that succeeds in being integral and establishes authentic values, if it is not governed by a certain conception of man.”

Pope Francis has affirmed that gender ideology “presents a society without gender differences and voids the anthropological foundation of the family.”

In his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, the pope states in section 286 that the biological nature of the human being cannot be evaded. “It is true that we cannot separate the masculine and the feminine from God’s work of creation, which is prior to all our decisions and experiences, and where biological elements exist which are impossible to ignore,” the pope asserted.

In a written request, ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, asked the Pontifical University of Comillas yesterday afternoon local time if it is an official position of the university to accept that there is a plurality of “genders.”

Information has also been requested on whether they consider the “other” category incorrect or inappropriate and if the form in question will be changed.

As of press time, no response had been received from the university.

Comillas University

The Pontifical University of Comillas has its origins in the seminary erected in 1890 by Leo XIII in that town, which is located on Spain’s northern coast.

It was entrusted to the Jesuits and its initial purpose was the formation of candidates for the priesthood from Spanish, Latin American, and Filipino dioceses. The Philippines were under Spanish rule at that time.

In 1904, St. Pius X conferred on the institution the power to grant academic degrees in philosophy, theology, and canon law.

In the late 1960s, the institution was transferred to Madrid, authorized by St. Paul VI. Then their classrooms were also opened to the laity. Since the 1970s, both ecclesiastical and secular courses have been available there.

The Catholic Institute of Arts and Industries, also run by the Jesuits, underwent a similar process. Both institutions merged canonically in 1978. 

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.