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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Biden administration has filed an appeal April 20 of a Jan. 19 federal court's ruling to block an Affordable Care Act provision barring discrimination by health insurers and providers against transgender people.

Two Catholic bishops, six Catholic priests, the lay president of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and two Catholic organizations issued a statement April 1 calling for an end to violence against transgender individuals.

A March 22 online webinar on the Equality Act focused on criticism that the legislation is so vaguely worded it would harm religious liberty and obscure biological reality.

While the Catholic Church cannot bless unions that are not sacramental marriages, the church will always welcome and accompany everyone, no matter their situation in life, said the prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life.

TO THE QUESTION PROPOSED:  Does the Church have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex? RESPONSE: Negative.

Responding to efforts in some parts of the Catholic world to devise “blessings” of same-sex unions by the Church, the Vatican’s doctrinal watchdog released a statement Monday saying that such blessings are “not legitimate,” as homosexual unions are “not ordered to the Creator’s plan.”

While homosexual men and women must be respected, any form of blessing a same-sex union is "illicit," said the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The vice president of the German bishops’ conference has urged a debate on whether Catholic clergy should bless same-sex unions.

The Scottish government should withdraw parts of a hate crime bill because of the risk it will lead to the prosecution of people solely for disagreeing with gender ideology and same-sex marriage, said Catholic and Protestant leaders.

At least 10 U.S. Catholic bishops have signed a statement supporting the Tyler Clementi Foundation in standing up for at-risk LGBT youth in the United States and speaking out against bullying directed at them.

President Joe Biden's wide-ranging executive order to extend existing federal nondiscrimination protections to LGBTQ people exceeds the U.S. Supreme Court's June 2020 ruling on the issue in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, said the chairmen of five U.S. bishops' committees.

Pope Francis speaks with Valentina Alazraki of the Mexican television station Televisa during an interview that aired in May 2019. The Vatican Secretariat of State has sent a note to nuncios around the world explaining the pope's comments about civil unions in the documentary "Francesco" by Evgeny Afineevsky.

Released Oct. 21, the film gave some people the erroneous impression that Pope Francis approved civil union laws that would equate gay couples to married couples. Pope Francis consistently has said that gay people deserve love, respect and the protection of the law; however, he has insisted marriage can be only between a man and a woman.

A same-sex couple is pictured in a file photo exchanging rings during a ceremony in Salt Lake City. In a new documentary, Pope Francis expressed openness to the idea of laws recognizing civil unions, including for gay couples, to protect their rights.