U.S. Catholic bishops on Wednesday formalized a ban on gender-affirming care for transgenderpatients at the denominations hospitals across the country.The prohibition, approved overwhelmingly at a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Baltimore, Maryland came in the form of revisions to the ethical and religious directives that guide thousands of Catholic hospitals, clinics, and providers across the nation. Related Pope Leo will bless people in same-sex unions despite having once decried the homosexual lifestyle The updated guidance was based on previous doctrine issued by the Vatican in 2024 and U.S. bishops in 2023.In a 2023 doctrinal note titled Moral Limits to the Technological Manipulation of the Human Body, U.S. church leaders told dioceses that Catholic health care services must not perform interventions, whether surgical or chemical, that aim to transform the sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex, or take part in the development of such procedures. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The revised guidelines formalize that directive.While Pope Francis expressed support for transgender faithful, and Pope Leo has indicated hell follow his predecessors lead on the LGBTQ+ community, the church remains formally opposed to the act of transition and the concept of gender fluidity.With regard to the gender ideology, I think its very important the church makes a strong statement here, Bishop Robert Barron of Minnesota told his colleagues during public discussion of the revised directives, the Associated Press reports.More than one in seven patients are treated each day at Catholic hospitals in the U.S., according to the Catholic Health Association. Catholic providers will continue to welcome those who seek medical care from us and identify as transgender, the association said in a statement following the bishops vote. We will continue to treat these individuals with dignity and respect, which is consistent with Catholic social teaching and our moral obligation to serve everyone, particularly those who are marginalized. Progressive Catholics expressed regret over the move.Catholic teaching upholds the invaluable dignity of every human life, and for many trans people, gender-affirming care is what makes life livable, Michael Sennett, a trans man with LGBTQ+ advocacy group New Ways Ministry, told the Associated Press.Sennett was among a group of trans Catholics who met with Pope Francis at the Vatican in 2024.I really wanted to share with Pope Francis about the joy that I have being a transgender Catholic person,Sennett said then. New Ways executive director Francis DeBernardo said that for many transgender Catholics he knows, the transition process was not just a biological necessity, but a spiritual imperative. That if they were going to be living as authentic people in the way that they believe God made them, then transition becomes a necessary thing.The bishops vote on Wednesday coincided with an affirmation of support for trans people issued by other religious denominations in the U.S., including the Unitarian Universalist Association, the Episcopal Church, the Union for Reform Judaism and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).The group said of transgender Americans, During a time when our country is placing their lives under increasingly serious threat, there is a disgraceful misconception that all people of faith do not affirm the full spectrum of gender a great many of us do. Let it be known instead that our beloveds are created in the image of God Holy and whole, the groups statement read.Our scriptures vary, but they share a common conviction, church leaders said. We raise our voices in solidarity to unequivocally proclaim the holiness of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people, as well as the recognition of the entire spectrum of gender identity and expression. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.