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 - Religiously unaffiliated people, often referred to as “nones,” now make up the largest religious category in the US, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center. Pew’s new report, released January 24, shows that nones now account for 28% of the total U.S. population, outstripping the next largest group, Catholics, who make up 20%. The recent data is consistent with a long-term trend of Americans rejecting religious affiliation in growing numbers, with the percentage nearly doubling from 16% in 2007. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256646/nones-now-largest-religious-category-in-us-new-report-says The six Haitian religious sisters who were abducted on the morning of January 19 in Haiti’s capital city of Port-au-Prince were released Thursday morning. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256636/abducted-haitian-nuns-released-amid-ongoing-gang-violence Father Simon-Peter Engurait has been chosen as diocesan administrator of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in Louisiana following the unexpected death last week of Bishop Mario Dorsonville. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256647/ugandan-priest-named-diocesan-administrator-of-louisiana-diocese-following-death-of-bishop Father Thaddeus Wang Yuesheng was consecrated bishop of Zhengzhou, China, on Thursday, bringing an end to a 70-year-long vacancy. The Holy See Press Office announced on Thursday morning that Wang was appointed by Pope Francis as the bishop of Zhengzhou on December 16, 2023. The report noted that the decision took place “in the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256641/pope-appoints-new-bishop-in-china-bringing-a-70-year-vacancy-to-an-end Pope Francis signed a decree on January 24 allowing for the canonization of Canadian sister Blessed Marie-Léonie Paradis, founder of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family. Born Virginie Alodie on May 12, 1840, in L’Acadie, Quebec, the future foundress was the only daughter in a family of six children. At the age of 14, she entered the Marianite convent in Saint-Laurent, Montreal, the female branch of the Congregation of Holy Cross. She spent several years teaching in and around Montreal. In 1862 she was sent to Saint Vincent de Paul’s orphanage in New York for eight years. In 1870, Paradis moved to the community of the Holy Cross Sisters in Indiana. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256638/canadian-religious-sister-mother-marie-leonie-paradis-cleared-for-canonization Today, the Church celebrates Saints Timothy and Titus, close companions of the Apostle Paul and bishops of the Catholic Church in its earliest days. Both men received letters from Saint Paul, which are included in the New Testament. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/sts-timothy-and-titus-128