- Welcome back to News Watch.

As a legal defender of religious liberty,

Luke Goodrich has had a busytime at the Supreme Court.

The Becket attorney seesthis most recent term

as one of tremendous victories,

but that includes one decisionthat forms a dark cloud

for people of faith in the years ahead.

Paul Strand spoke with himThursday about the cases

including the new rulingprotecting the Little Sisters

of the Poor.

- We went up to the Supreme Court once

and the Court basicallytold the government,

surely you can find a way toprovide access to contraception

without using Catholic nuns.

And then the Trumpadministration issued a good rule

that protected the LittleSisters of the Poor.

That should've been the end of the matter.

Unfortunately, the state ofPennsylvania then challenged

the religious protection for the Sisters.

And that went all the wayup to the Supreme Court.

And yesterday, the SupremeCourt in a 7-2 ruling

said that the government had authority

to exempt the LittleSisters and to protect them

from the contraception mandate.

- [Paul] What the LittleSisters now must consider

is how a change in the White House

could take them right back to court.

- Vice President Biden saidtoday he was contemplating

reverting back to theold Obamacare regulation.

But the good thing aboutyesterday's decision,

two justices argue that doing that

would be a clear violation ofreligious freedom protections.

And even in the majorityopinion, there were a number

of bread crumbs so tospeak or foreshadowings

that a new reimposing that old mandate

would probably be an uphill battle.

So maybe that we're notfully out of the woods yet,

but yesterday was a great, great victory

for the Little Sisters of the Poor.

- [Paul] On the flip side,June's ruling in the Bostock case

radically redefined what sex means.

Goodrich warns thatpresents potential problems

as the court has now made firinghomosexuals or transgenders

sex discrimination.

- There are tens of thousandsof religious organizations

across the country thatexpect their employees

to uphold their religiousteachings about human sexuality.

So in one sense, Bostock could green light

a lot more lawsuits by former employees

against religious employers.

So certainly Bostock opens thedoor to a number of lawsuits

that could be troubling toreligious organizations,

but there is still very strong protections

for religious organizations.

And I'm very optimistic

that the Supreme Courtwill recognize the right

and authority of religiousgroups to hire and fire

in accordance withtheir religious mission.

- [Paul] Paul Strand,CBN News, Washington.