A guest column in the National Catholic Reporter that reinterprets several Catholic saints as transgender has ignited a fierce backlash from conservative Catholic commentators, who accuse the author of twisting history and church doctrine to fit a modern ideological agenda.
The column, written by Emma Cieslik—a self-described ‘museum specialist’ at the Smithsonian who also identifies as ‘queer, disabled and neurodiverse’ in her social media bios—appeared during what she calls ‘Transgender History Month.’ In it, she claims that ‘a rich history of saints whom medieval historians now identify as transgender’ has been largely ignored by scholars.
Claims about saints disputed
Cieslik names several saints she says ‘transgress and explode gender binaries,’ including St. Babylas of Perge, St. Eugenios, St. Euphordyne of Alexandria, St. Theodore, St. Marinos, St. Pelagius, and St. Hilarion—figures she describes as ‘people assigned female at birth who lived as men and entered monasteries.’ She also lists saints she claims ‘stated that God changed their gender,’ such as St. Onuphrius, St. Wilgefortis, St. Juana de la Cruz, and St. Perpetua, and includes St. Joan of Arc among those ‘persecuted for cross-dressing.’
But critics are pushing back hard. Monica Showalter, writing in the American Thinker, calls the column ‘garbage history, none of it true’ and a ‘sad bid to staple the transgender ideology of today onto people who lived in the past and can’t speak for themselves.’ Showalter, who chose St. Joan of Arc as her Confirmation saint, takes particular offense at the characterization of the French heroine.
According to Showalter, any serious study of St. Joan’s life shows that she cut her hair and wore men’s battle armor ‘solely to prevent rape,’ not out of any gender identity or ‘kinky-sexy-ironic fixation.’ She cites Mark Twain’s biography of St. Joan as ‘the most thorough and accurate scholarly study of her,’ noting that Twain’s research revealed the brutality of the French, British, and Burgundian armies of the era.
‘Try raping someone wearing knight’s armor,’ Showalter quips.
Church teaching on gender
Showalter further argues that Cieslik’s column runs directly counter to official Catholic teaching. She quotes the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire, which cites the Catechism of the Catholic Church (nos. 362-369) on the integral nature of male and female identity, as well as Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (no. 56), in which the pope wrote: ‘biological sex and the socio-cultural role of sex (gender) can be distinguished but not separated.’
The pope also cautioned against ‘ideologies that attempt to sunder what are inseparable aspects of reality,’ and warned: ‘Let us not fall into the sin of trying to replace the Creator. We are creatures and not omnipotent.’
Showalter also points to recent actions by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). According to OSV News, the bishops overwhelmingly approved updated versions of their ‘Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services’ (ERDs) during their fall 2025 plenary assembly in Baltimore. The revisions include explicit prohibitions against so-called ‘gender-affirming care,’ which the bishops called a ‘grave’ violation of ‘human dignity.’
Smithsonian connection and further controversy
Showalter suggests it should come as no surprise that Cieslik works at the Smithsonian, an institution she claims has a history of ‘wokester history’ so distorted that President Trump reportedly ordered warning labels placed in front of the building.
Beyond the saints column, Showalter highlights other controversial statements and artwork from Cieslik’s social media. Cieslik reportedly describes the wearing of the Miraculous Medal of the Virgin Mary—a traditional Catholic sacramental—as mere jewelry that is part of what she calls the ‘Goddess Worship Movement.’ Her Instagram allegedly features art depicting a topless Virgin Mary, an effeminate Christ figure, drugs, syringes, and vials of what appear to be hormone-altering serums, alongside her remark that trans bodies are ‘at and of the crux of Christian divinity.’
Showalter calls Cieslik ‘a lost soul, in some ways worthy of pity,’ who has put her ‘transgender politico-religion way above her Catholic one.’ She also questions why the National Catholic Reporter would publish ‘clearly heretic rubbish that insults a lot of saints.’
The controversy highlights ongoing tensions within American Catholicism over gender ideology, historical interpretation, and the limits of doctrinal dissent—a debate that shows no signs of cooling.
Source: www.americanthinker.com — https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/smithsonian-employee-advises-catholics-in-ncr-column-to-pray-to-transgender-saints-smears-joan-of-arc-as-a-cross-dresser/