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Two aspects of U.S. religious life today, according to the report, have not changed: the increasing average age of women religious and their declining numbers. “Only 9 percent of religious sisters are younger than 60; more than two-thirds of women and men vowed religious are older than 65,” the report said.

With the government of President Bashar Assad controlling perhaps one-quarter of Syria but two-thirds of the population, and Kurdish separatists controlling two northern slivers of the country, most of Syria’s eastern half is controlled by Islamic State, with collections of so-called “moderate” rebels — i.e., anyone not named Islamic State that wants Assad gone — hunkered down in the rest. There is little incentive for Syrians to stay in their homeland.

“We want human rights, indigenous rights, food security and gender equality in Article 2” of the accord’s text, said Bernd Nilles, head of CIDSE, an alliance of Catholic development agencies present at the conference site in Le Bourget on the outskirts of Paris.

“We need funding, we are small-scale farmers (and) we don’t have much resources. How do we adapt,” she asked, from inside an antiquated and ornate room belonging to a Paris syndicate. She sat surrounded by other, mostly African women farmers and their advocates who, like Chidararume, had traveled thousands of miles to France in an attempt to sway U.N. negotiators.

“The Argentine Catholic Church will get along much better with Macri than with the Kirchners,” said Fernando Farias, a journalist and analyst with Argentine public radio in Buenos Aires. “I think that the Catholic Church, with a friendlier government in office, is going to try to advance conservative policies.”

Group believes Middle East Christians should be included in any listing of genocide victims based on their treatment by the Islamic State.

“A great deal is at stake for every country. Progress has too long been based on fossil energy, to the detriment of the environment. This is the moment to take action,” Cardinal Peter Turkson told a high-level segment of the U.N. climate change conference taking place on the outskirts of Paris.

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development group, Jubilee USA Network, said, “Puerto Rico needs a solution to the debt crisis that prevents austerity and protects the vulnerable,” said , “With Congress unwilling to act, courts in Puerto Rico could be a part of that solution.”

“For the past decade, Muslims have been seen through the prism of terrorism, fundamentalism and jihadism,” said Nizarr Bourchada, who heads the UDMF’s regional ticket. “We want to show that Muslims today participate socially and economically and will also participate politically.”