The US Catholic Bishops have described as ‘misguided’ an executive order of President Biden giving ‘gender identity’ and ‘sexual orientation’ a protected status equal to sex or race.

The order would allow boys and men, who identify as women, to access female only spaces, and compete in women’s sports.

The order is based in part on a Supreme Court ruling from last year which the Bishops’ say “needlessly ignored the integrity of God’s creation of the two complementary sexes, male and female, with reasoning that treated them as devoid of meaning”.

However, they say the executive order goes further than the Court and threatens “to infringe the rights of people who recognize the truth of sexual difference or who uphold the institution of lifelong marriage between one man and one woman. This may manifest in mandates that, for example, erode health care conscience rights or needed and time-honored sex-specific spaces and activities”.