Among the plaintiffs are the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Archdiocese of Washington, Priests for Life and Texas Baptist University.

The president said that America is now a global leader in taking serious action to fight climate change. “And frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership. And that’s the biggest risk we face—not acting.”

"We would never allow this to happen if this were any other physical illness," said Kennedy, who represented a congressional district in Rhode Island for 16 years before stepping down in 2011.

This is the first time the U.S. public has been able to read the fine print of a deal that will govern issues related to commerce, intellectual property and human and labor rights for 40 percent of the global economy—if it clears substantial hurdles being erected in Washington.

While Francis has hoped to set an example, rejecting the pomp of a papal palace for modest living quarters, Curia cardinals are said to live in “princely dwellings” around 10 times the size of the pope’s residence. One Italian monsignor allegedly expanded his own apartment by breaking down a wall into the home of his neighbor, an elderly priest who was in the hospital at the time.

The bishops did not downplay those issues which still divide Lutherans and Catholics, but wanted to “work from the vantage point of where we agree rather than those things which divide us.”