VATICAN CITY — The Vatican issued an official document Monday rejecting the idea that people can choose or change genders.

The document was immediately denounced by LGBT Catholics as contributing to bigotry and violence against gay and transgender people.

The text, “Male and Female He Created Them,” was intended to help Catholic teachers, parents, students and clergy address what the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education called an “educational crisis” in the field of sex education.

It called for a “path of dialogue” and listening on the issue of “gender theory” in education.

Pope Francis has repeatedly argued the position that people cannot choose their genders. The document represents the first attempt to put the Vatican’s position, first articulated fully by Pope Benedict XVI in a 2012 speech, into a comprehensive, official text.