Pope Francis: 'Terrible' for children to be taught gender theory in schools

Pope Francis blasted the idea of teaching young children about gender theory in school, saying that it is "terrible" while more Americans accept the idea of changing one's gender as morally alright.

According to the Catholic Herald, the Vatican released a transcript last Tuesday on the pope's meeting with Polish bishops during last week's five-day celebration of World Youth Day. The 79-year-old leader of the Roman Catholic Church criticized gender theory or changing one's gender as "terrible" and accused some "very influential countries" of "ideological colonisation" and of funding the spread of the gender ideology.

"Today, children are taught this at school: that everyone can choose their own sex," Catholic Herald quoted the pope as saying. "And why do they teach this? Because the books come from those people and institutions who give money," he then added.

He considered gender theory as an exploitation of God's creation and of God's image reflected on mankind.

"God created man and woman; God created the world like this and we are doing the exact opposite," continued Pope Francis.

The pontiff also shared that he discussed this subject with his predecessor Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI who told him, "Your Holiness, we are living in an age of sin against God the Creator."

The transgender movement began to sweep the U.S. earlier this year when President Barack Obama gave a mandate to allow students to access bathrooms and changing facilities according to their gender preference instead of their biological sex.

According to the latest survey by LifeWay Research released a couple of weeks ago, more than half of American respondents or six in 10 Americans surveyed considered it morally acceptable to change one's gender and thought there's nothing morally wrong about it.

Only 35 percent of Americans surveyed thought it's morally wrong, six percent remain unsure on the matter while 14 percent thought the choice to change one's gender shouldn't be a moral issue, to begin with.

"A majority of Americans reject the view of a Creator giving them a gender that shouldn't be changed," said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research.