Archbishop of Denver Samuel J. Aquila said on Wednesday that he would pray for President Joe Biden and the country, while also echoing warnings of Catholic leadership about reproductive, marriage and “gender” policies.

“My prayer is that when his party seeks to advance ‘moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender,'” Aquila wrote in a statement, “he will have the courage to stand up for the truth of God’s love and plan revealed to us by Jesus.”

Aquila quoted in part the related remarks from Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, who is the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. While Gomez reiterated the church’s opposition to abortion, he also praised Biden’s “piety and personal story.” The president is himself Catholic.

Denver’s archbishop said he hoped church leaders could work with the Biden Administration on policies to address immigration, racism and capital punishment, which are “rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the social teachings” of the Catholic Church. However, Aquila, in hoping Biden would shy away from progressive social policies, explained that to “have a personal belief that is in direct contradiction with one’s public stance, especially on issue that involve the taking of life or the distortion of God’s plan for sexuality,” requires a “conversion of heart.”

Biden, who supports same-sex marriage and reproductive rights, and who also nominated the first openly-gay Cabinet secretary, signed an executive order on Wednesday prohibiting federal workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.