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Each Wednesday and Saturday evening, Naomi Magel and her husband attend Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Elgin, Texas. After the service, the couple takes their pastor, the Rev. George Joseph, out for something to eat. Over the past year, one subject has come up in conversation again and again. “We talk about Pope […]
One year into his pontificate, Pope Francis remains immensely popular among American Catholics and is widely seen as a force for positive change within the Roman Catholic Church. More than 80% of U.S. Catholics say they have a favorable view of the pontiff.
The pope’s popularity hasn’t yet produced a Catholic resurgence in the U.S. in terms of the share of Americans who identify as Catholic, or the share of those who report attending Mass weekly.
After six eventful months, Pope Francis is rated favorably by eight-in-ten U.S. Catholics (79%), largely unchanged since the days immediately following his ascension to the papacy.
No religious group in the United States has released an official statement on radical life extension. However, here are brief summaries of how some clergy, bioethicists and other scholars from 18 major American religious groups say their traditions might approach this evolving issue.
