Attendance at masses across the diocese's region has fallen since the early 2010s, meaning less participation in the sacraments and lower Catholic school enrollment. We are also at an all-time low of priests assigned to our 80 parishes, and the average age of our priests continues to climb.
Many of the remaining churches across Gaza either scaled back or cancelled Christmas activities altogether. Gaza's Christian community has marked a subdued Christmas as the sound of Israeli bombardment and hum of drones from the east of the enclave carried through the night and into the early hours of this morning, according to Al Jazeera's team on the ground in Gaza City.
By the numbers: In the latest Gallup Poll released Thursday, only 49% of U.S. adults say religion is essential to their daily life, down from 66% in 2015. That decline is among the biggest measured globally since 2007. Among 38 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations, a median of 36% of adults call religion important - a figure the U.S. is rapidly approaching.