A Catholic couple in Massachusetts is fighting to regain custody of their teenage daughter while challenging efforts by state authorities to provide her with gender-transition treatment, in a case involving parental rights, religious freedom and the authority of the state over medical decisions involving minors.
Joseph and Arlene Kutzko say their daughter, Sophie, was removed from their home by the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families in December 2024, when she was 15. The parents say they later learned that staff at Algonquin Regional High School had been counseling their daughter regarding gender identity without their knowledge.
According to Fox News Radio’s “Lighthouse Faith”, the Kutzkos say they were told Sophie was remaining after school for additional help with mathematics when she was actually meeting with a school counselor. The parents maintain that they did not learn the extent of the situation until after DCF became involved.
“We didn’t find out until after she was removed,” Joseph Kutzko said. “It came on like a tornado.”
The Kutzkos say their refusal to use a male name and pronouns for their daughter was based upon their Catholic faith and the Church’s understanding of the human person as created male or female.
“The Northborough-Southborough public schools and their counseling practices exposed our daughter to teachings on LGBTQ [ideology] and topics that conflict with our Catholic beliefs about human dignity, creation as male and female in Catholic teaching,” Joseph told The Washington Stand.
The school district strongly disputes the family’s account. In a statement reported by WCVB, Superintendent Gregory L. Martineau said the district “unequivocally denies the claims made about the school district in a recent national media podcast as not merely baseless but grossly insensitive, intrusive and dangerous toward the child who was named in the media report.”
The circumstances surrounding Sophie’s removal are also disputed.
According to Fox News Radio, allegations of physical abuse against Joseph were determined to be unfounded, although a restraining order remained in place. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey offered a different account of the state’s initial intervention when questioned by WCVB.
“This child was not removed for a gender-affirming care issue; the child was removed by DCF following the presentation of criminal charges against the parents,” Healey said.
The Kutzkos and their attorney, Vernadette Broyles, maintain that the parents have never been found unfit.
“There has never been a finding of unfitness against these parents,” Broyles told WCVB.
The family says the separation has now continued for nearly two years and that their relationship with Sophie has been severely damaged.
According to LifeSiteNews and Fox News Radio, the parents also allege that while under state supervision Sophie has been housed in a boys’ dormitory and prescribed birth control and psychiatric medication. They further allege that she has been prevented from attending Sunday Mass.
The religious dimension is particularly painful for the family. According to The Washington Stand, the Kutzkos said Sophie had previously led the Rosary before Mass at their parish and was permitted to receive Confirmation a year early.
“She led the parish in rosary before mass, and she was so faithful — everybody in the church knew it — that she was given a special dispensation to be confirmed early,” the parents said.
The immediate legal battle now centers in part on testosterone.
The family’s attorney says DCF sought authority to provide Sophie with testosterone treatment over her parents’ objections. The Kutzkos have challenged that effort in court, arguing that such treatment should not be considered ordinary medical care.
For now, the treatment has been stopped by court order.
“The court is not going to allow giving testosterone, because DCF took the position that giving testosterone at high doses to a female is ‘ordinary care,’” Broyles told WCVB.
The parents say their ultimate goal remains bringing their daughter home.
“The most important thing is to bring her back to our family,” Joseph said, according to The Washington Stand. “But a shorter-term goal is to prevent them from giving her testosterone.”
The case touches on questions increasingly confronting Catholic families and public institutions: the rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their children, the ability of parents to act according to their religious convictions, and the circumstances under which government agencies may intervene in disputes involving a minor’s gender identity and medical care.
For Joseph and Arlene Kutzko, however, the dispute is not merely a national debate over policy or ideology. It is a fight over their relationship with their daughter.
“We love her. We love her. We miss her,” Joseph said.
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