The number of questions from Catholic organizations to N.C.B.C.’s ethicists about transgender issues “has increased radically and surprisingly” in recent years.

In boarding school, Mr. Gorsuch participated in the informal debates, where he was routinely teased, accused of being “a conservative fascist.”

"The fight will continue to go state by state. There's a strategy by proponents to get more states on board before they bring a case to the court."

Mr. Gorsuch, who attended the Jesuit-run Georgetown Preparatory School in Washington, appeals to conservatives because of his views on religious liberty and life issues.

The U.S. bishops have published statements condemning three executive orders in President Trump's first week.

"The bond between Christians and Muslims is founded on the unbreakable strength of charity and justice."

Cardinal Dolan: "We come together this sacred evening in a church we claim as a sanctuary...to reclaim the belief that a mother's womb is the primal sanctuary, where a helpless, innocent, fragile, tiny baby must be safe, secure, nurtured and protected."

Cardinal Tobin: "Closing borders and building walls are not rational acts.... Mass detentions and wholesale deportation benefit no one; such inhuman policies destroy families and communities."

Francis wrote, "our human family is beset by grave humanitarian crises demanding farsighted and united political responses."