Angelus News | February 9, 2024 | Vol. 9 No

NATION
■ Still trending: Spiritual
but not religious
The religiously unaffiliated, or “nones,” now are the largest
religious category in the U.S. at 28% of the population,
according to a Jan. 24 Pew Research Center report.
The majority of nones point to bad experiences with religious
organizations or religious people for their lack of affiliation,
and 43% say they believe organized religion does more
harm than good. Forty-four percent say they either don’t need
religion or don’t have time for it.
But among those who identify with no religion, 70% still
say they believe in God or a higher power, with roughly half
describing themselves as “spiritual.”
A sudden passing — Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, the fifth bishop of
Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, passed away at age 63. He died Jan. 19 from
complications related to recent health problems. Originally from Colombia,
Dorsonville was named an auxiliary bishop for Washington, D.C., in 2015, before
being named to lead the Louisiana diocese last February. From 2019 to 2022, he
was the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ conference migration committee. A funeral
Mass for the bishop was set for Feb. 1 at St. Joseph Co-Cathedral in Thibodauxe.
| OSV NEWS/CNS FILE, BOB ROLLER
■ Group of bishops to government:
Fight poverty, not wars
Eighteen U.S. bishops have joined a call to cut military
spending and instead invest in fighting poverty.
In an open letter from Pax Christi USA, a Catholic peace
organization led by Lexington Bishop John Stowe, the
bishops called for the diversion of military funds, which were
authorized at a record $886 billion a year in December, to
fight food insecurity, which has risen to 12.8% of all U.S.
households.
“Pax Christi USA sees the U.S. military budget, especially
the part earmarked for weapons development, as offering
stones when so many social programs in the U.S. are underfunded,
resulting in poor nutrition and hunger in our country,”
Stowe said in a statement to National Catholic Reporter.
The letter is part of a “Bread Not Stones” campaign, in
reference to Matthew 7:9. The signatories included Cardinal
Robert McElroy of San Diego and Cardinal Joseph Tobin of
Newark.
■ HHS doubles down on abortion,
contraception access
The Biden administration announced new rules aimed
at expanding contraception and abortion access Jan. 22,
the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
The Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) declared its intention to expand no-cost contraceptives
under the Affordable Care Act and for federal
employees, issuing a letter to insurers instructing them of
an obligation to provide these services.
The HHS also announced a team that will enforce its
interpretation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and
Labor Act, which they say requires hospitals to provide
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a “Reproductive Freedom Campaign
Rally” Jan. 23 in Manassas, Virginia. | ANNA MONEYMAKER/GETTY IMAGES
emergency abortions even in states that limit or abolish abortion.
The changes are part of a push from the Biden administration to focus on abortion access as part of the president’s 2024
reelection campaign.
“Where abortion has been on the ballot, the American people have overwhelmingly voted to protect reproductive freedom,”
Jennifer Klein, director of the White House’s Gender Policy Council, told reporters last week.
February 9, 2024 • ANGELUS • 5