December 7, 2022

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - A judge in Baltimore this week ordered all proceedings, filings, and communications related to the release of a major attorney general’s report on clerical sexual abuse to be made confidential. Judge Anthony Vittoria of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City issued a confidentiality ruling December 2 in response to a request from an anonymous group of people named in the report but who were not accused of abuse, the Baltimore Sun reported. At issue is a 456-page report compiled by the office of Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, consisting of information given by the Archdiocese of Baltimore along with information gathered from interviews that claims to identify more than 600 victims of clerical abuse in the archdiocese dating back eight decades. It is currently unclear whether the report will lead to any new criminal charges. The Archdiocese of Baltimore, which is paying the legal fees for the anonymous group of individuals, said it “does not and will not oppose the report’s release.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253002/baltimore-seals-documents-related-to-clerical-sexual-abuse-report The Catholic population in the United States has grown by about 2 million people in 10 years. With nearly 62 million people, it continues to constitute the largest religious denomination in 36 U.S. states, according to the latest religion-focused survey of America’s religious congregations. Over the last decade, many Catholics, the survey found, have moved to the South. The U.S. Religion Census’ 2020 survey reported that there were 61.9 million Catholics in the U.S., about 18.7% of the population. While Protestants collectively outnumber Catholics in the U.S, the researchers of the U.S. Religion Census viewed various Protestant bodies as their own denominational groups, not collectively. https://www.cat