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Panel: 'Nones' now account for close to a quarter of the U.S. population

NEW YORK — "None of the above" is the fastest-growing religious identifier in the United States and now approximates the percentage of Catholics in the country.
U.S. bishops speak at synod for the Amazon

VATICAN CITY — The Synod of Bishops for the Amazon is not a "referendum" on priestly celibacy; it is looking for ways to provide for the sacramental life and formation of the people there, U.S. Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston said.
Caritas works to help Syrians displaced by Turkish bombings

AMMAN, Jordan — Church bells have been ringing in Qamishli and elsewhere in northeastern Syria, signaling the alarm to Christians and others of the ongoing Turkish military operation that is having a devastating humanitarian impact on civilians.
Turkish planes bomb Syria, causing panic among Christians, others

AMMAN, Jordan — Turkish warplanes have begun attacking northeastern Syria, causing widespread panic among Christian and other religious communities caught up in the aerial bombardments.
Impeachment? Add it to the list of reasons bills are sidetracked

WASHINGTON — So an impeachment query in the House, and a potential trial in the Senate, want to get in the way of legislation being considered in Congress? Take a number.
Dallas' Bishop Burns says forgiveness in court was act of Christian love

WASHINGTON — A Dallas bishop said that the public forgiveness offered by the brother of a murder victim toward the person who killed him was "an incredible example of Christian love."
Cardinal Newman's canonization: Chance for campus groups to 'reclaim' name

WASHINGTON — The upcoming canonization of Blessed John Henry Newman begs the question: Do Catholic college students today even know who Cardinal Newman is?
Stress of fighting for land takes toll on indigenous peoples in Brazil

SAO PAULO — Pressure from land conflicts and decline of expectations and perspectives have led the indigenous populations in Brazil to register some of the highest suicide rates in the country, said the Indigenous Missionary Council, linked to the Brazilian bishops' conference.
Northern Ireland Christian leaders: People weren't consulted on abortion

MANCHESTER, England — Church leaders in Northern Ireland encouraged their political parties to quickly re-establish their self-governing institutions to stop the British government from imposing a liberal abortion law on the province.
Advocates decry plan to cut refugee cap

WASHINGTON — Refugee advocates are opposed to the decision announced by the Trump administration Sept. 26 that it plans to admit no more than 18,000 refugees in the next fiscal year, the lowest number since the resettlement program was created in 1980.
China-Vatican accord promotes church's pastoral work, speakers say

ROME — The provisional agreement signed in 2018 by the Holy See and the Chinese government has "opened the way to the two most important things: pastoral activity and dialogue," said Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli.
Religious shareholders press their case with gun makers, retailers

WASHINGTON — The desire for action on preventing more gun violence may face hurdles in Congress, but those pressing for change are having an effect in the corporate boardroom.
Vatican temporarily suspends decree on Indianapolis Jesuit high school

WASHINGTON — The Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education temporarily lifted a decree that had taken away the Catholic status of Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis.
Indiana launches investigation after discovery of aborted fetal remains

INDIANAPOLIS — The story of 2,246 aborted fetal remains found at the Illinois home of late abortion doctor Ulrich Klopfer continues to unfold, with the new focal point being on neighboring Indiana, where Klopfer had once operated three abortion clinics.
Amazon inhabitants hope synod will address lack of priests

QUITO, Ecuador — The upcoming Synod of Bishops for the Amazon will focus on the devastating effects of climate change on the environment and on indigenous communities, but it also will look at ways to meet the spiritual needs of the region's people.
Polls show big support for conscience protections for health care workers

WASHINGTON — An overwhelming majority of Americans — 83% — said they support conscience protection rights for health care professionals because they should not be forced to perform procedures against their moral beliefs.
Journalist Cokie Roberts, lifelong Catholic, dies at 75

WASHINGTON — Cokie Roberts, a broadcast journalist and political commentator who spoke publicly about her Catholic faith and her admiration for the Sacred Heart sisters who taught her, died Sept. 17 due to complications from breast cancer. She was 75.
Religion has 'valuable role' in forming culture of peace, says U.N. nuncio

UNITED NATIONS — Religion can make an important contribution "to forming a culture of peace," both to "empower and transform individuals" and "humanity as a whole," the Vatican's nuncio to the United Nations said Sept. 13.
Irish abuse survivor disappointed with global reforms, accountability

BALTIMORE — Clergy sexual abuse survivor Marie Collins kicked off a five-city U.S. speaking tour on "The Catholic Tipping Point" in Baltimore Sept. 10, noting that she is disappointed with the results of the Vatican summit on child protection and efforts toward accountability and transparency.
Central Americans want to stay home; development programs help that happen

WASHINGTON — Vanessa Urbina understands how young people in Central America, not seeing an opportunity for work or a good education, could be attracted to make the dangerous trip north in the hope of a better future in the United States.
El Paso Diocese uses new fund to help migrants near border

WASHINGTON — During the summer of 2019, the bishop of El Paso, Texas, decided his diocese would open a fund to help a growing number of immigrants piling into shelters on the other side of the U.S. border in the sister city of Ciudad Juarez in Mexico.
Memories of 9/11 attacks linger for fire department chaplain

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Msgr. John Delendick, a longtime New York Fire Department chaplain who is currently pastor of St. Jude Church in Brooklyn, remembers Sept. 11, 2001 — vividly.
Archbishop will not live in mansion: 'I am a pastor, not a prince'

SEATTLE — Seattle Archbishop Paul Etienne said he will not live in the 9,000-square-foot mansion that many of his predecessors called home. "I am a pastor, not a prince," he said, "and I want to live in a manner that's more reflective of how my people live."
Nassau archbishop assesses post-hurricane challenges in Bahamas

MIAMI — Archbishop Patrick C. Pinder of Nassua, Bahamas, celebrated Mass Sept. 8 for evacuee families and Catholic school staff members a week after Hurricane Dorian slammed into the islands.
Catholic organizations in Florida marshaling aid for Dorian victims

MIAMI — In the wake of Hurricane Dorian's brutal blasting of the Bahamas, Catholic organizations in Florida continued to raise funds to aid victims there.
'You have to have faith,' Bahamian resident says of Dorian recovery

WASHINGTON — Cathy Nottage, a resident of Elbow Cay -- an 8-mile-long stretch in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas -- has had to take a lot of things by faith in the days since Hurricane Dorian slammed into the Bahamas and left much of the islands in rubble or underwater.
Irish church confirms 1989 miraculous cure of woman at Knock shrine

DUBLIN — The Catholic Church in Ireland has confirmed that a woman who was seriously ill with multiple sclerosis experienced a complete healing of all her symptoms at Knock shrine in September 1989.
Archbishop Etienne succeeds Archbishop Sartain in Seattle

WASHINGTON — Pope Francis has appointed Seattle Coadjutor Archbishop Paul D. Etienne as the archbishop of Seattle and accepted the resignation of Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain.
Seattle archdiocese affirms priest did not condone parishioner's suicide

WASHINGTON — The Archdiocese of Seattle has issued a second statement confirming that a priest did not bless the medically assisted suicide of a parishioner. The Aug. 29 statement attempts to clear up confusion and misinformation that ensued following a story by The Associated Press about Robert Fuller, who died May 10 after injecting himself with a lethal dose of liquids designed to end his life.
Texas bishop calls reported Marian apparitions a 'fabrication'

FORT WORTH, Texas — In an Aug. 26 letter to local Catholics, Bishop Michael F. Olson of Fort Worth said recent "purported apparitions, messages and miracles" of Mary that he had cautioned Catholics about weeks before "are, in fact, a fabrication."
English bishop finds concrete ways to encourage eco-friendly practices

MANCHESTER, England — An English bishop is creating a green oasis in the grounds of his residence in the hope of inspiring visitors to heed the call of Pope Francis to "care for our common home."
Shining a light in the darkness is New Orleans man's day job

NEW ORLEANS — From his elevated perch on the sho