LAKE CHARLES, Louisiana — The Ruth Institute grieves with the community of the Annunciation School and Church in Minneapolis. We pray for healing and trust that God can redeem even the worst things that human beings can do.
As we mourn the lives lost and the innocence shattered, our hearts are with the families, teachers, and students whose lives will never be the same.
A moral catastrophe of this magnitude has multiple contributing factors. Although new information continues to emerge, we can say with confidence that family breakdown, mental illness, and the transgender ideology all played a role.
The Ruth Institute has a long history of speaking out on each of these issues. We believe the following:
- Children need their parents. Divorce can shatter a child’s sense of security and their understanding of their identity, with long-lasting negative effects.
- Personal autonomy is, of course, an important value, but it is not the ultimate good. Serious mental illness can impair people’s rational function so greatly that they cannot use autonomy without harm to themselves and others.
- We affirm the dignity of every person but reject the harmful ideology that claims anyone could be born in the wrong body. The transgender ideology, which claims the contrary, has created enormous confusion and done incalculable harm.
As we continue to pray for healing, we implore the public to enter into a serious conversation about these important issues in the days and weeks ahead. Let us not compound this tragedy by neglecting the opportunity to learn from it.
We invite the public to explore our resources—not only to learn, but to heal, understand, and respond with clarity and compassion.
On Divorce: The Ruth Institute’s video playlist, ”The Negative Impact of Divorce” and Ruth Institute Founder, Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse’s book, Love and Economics: It Takes a Family to Raise a Village.
On Transgenderism: The Ruth Institute’s Transgender Resource Center with numerous videos and articles.
On Mental Illness: Dr. Morse’s article, “Making Room at the Inn: Why We Need the Needy,” or the longer-form book chapter, “Making Room in the Inn: Why the Modern World Needs the Needy.”
See also her 2007 article after the Virginia Tech shooting, “Waiting Until It’s Too Late.”
