"We will end the discrimination against people of faith. Our government will once again celebrate and protect religious freedom," Trump, a Presbyterian not known to be particularly religious, told more than 1,000 people in a hotel ballroom across town from the hearing.

In a step toward possible sainthood, the remains of a former slave have been moved to a Catholic cathedral in Denver, where people lined up Wednesday to honor her and pray for her help.

The vice president highlighted the administration's initiatives to promote religious freedom and protect human life.

In parts of the U.S. church 'Laudato Si'' has sparked creativity and innovation with impacts not so easily set aside. One such experiment is the Diocese of Monterey’s advocacy of Community Choice Energy.

"The Catholic Church remains committed to ensuring the fundamental right to medical care, a right which is in keeping with the God-given dignity of every person, and the corresponding obligation as a country to provide for this right."

The hospitals—two with Catholic affiliation and one with Lutheran ties—had argued that their pensions are "church plans" that are exempt from the law and have been treated as such for decades by federal officials.