The guidance is intended to show “how schools can help Catholics withstand the cultural current that threatens to unmoor us from our foundations.” The Denver Archdiocese’s guidance contradicts the American Academy of Pediatrics, which states LGBTQ youth should not be considered abnormal and are not inherently engaged in “risk behaviors.” Rather, LGBTQ youth who encounter homophobia often experience psychological distress, the academy said, which can lead to health disparities such as depression, suicidality, substance abuse and other mental health issues.When asked if schools could expect consequences from the Archdiocese of Denver for not following the guidance in the document, Cynthia O’Neill, a spokesperson for the archdiocese, said: “If situations arise, they will be addressed individually depending on the unique circumstances.” Officials with the Archdiocese of Denver declined an interview request for this story.“I am Catholic, and I am gay” Johnny Hultzapple attended Denver Catholic schools for most of his academic life, but it wasn’t until he transferred to a public school his sophomore year that his mother felt like her son was surrounded by the spirit of Jesus Christ.But Johnny Hultzapple, now 21, could no longer stomach the Catholic school environment knowing the Denver Archdiocese viewed the teen as a problem to fix.No enrollment of trans students The document provided by the Archdiocese of Denver to its school administrators said a Catholic school cannot affirm a student’s identity as transgender, gender nonconforming, non-binary, gender-fluid, gender-queer “or any other term that rejects the reality of the student’s given male or female sexual identity.” “Accordingly, enrollment or re-enrollment of such a student at a Catholic school would not be appropriate,” the document reads."