The next generation is leaving the Christian faith faster than parents realize, Lifeway Research’s Aaron Earls writes.

Religion cases are notably absent from the U.S. Supreme Court’s fall schedule, the Deseret News’ Kelsey Dallas notes. The question: Is that a good thing?

Surprisingly, state-level pandemic restrictions had no measurable, lasting impact on American churches, according to data cited by Christianity Today’s Daniel Silliman.

This is our weekly roundup of the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith. We start with major news we previewed last week: the Catholic Church’s Synod of Bishops on Synodality.

What To Know: The Big Story

Blessing same-sex unions: Even before the synod opened Wednesday, a doctrinal earthquake shook the Catholic world, as our own Clemente Lisi explains:

In a move that would signal a seismic shift for the Catholic Church, Pope Francis said he’s open to blessing same-sex unions and to studying the possibility of ordaining women to the priesthood.

The comments came in an eight-page letter Francis penned this past July — and released by the Vatican on Monday — in response to five cardinals who had written to the pope expressing concern about a number of issues that will be discussed at a meeting of bishops set to start Wednesday at the Vatican.

“Pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of blessing, requested by one or several people, that do not transmit a mistaken conception of marriage,” Francis wrote.

A welcome for “everyone” — Lisi, a veteran journalist who has reported on the Vatican for years — offers additional insight in his coverage of the synod’s opening day:

Pope Francis opened a meeting of bishops at the Vatican on Wednesday by warning that the Catholic church needs to put aside “political calculations or ideological battles” and welcome “everyone” to dialogue about the faith.

During the Mass at St. Peter’s Square, the pontiff said the church is a place of welcome for “everyone, everyone, everyone” ahead of a three-week series of meetings — part of a years-long process known as the Synod on Synodality — that has sparked hope of change among progressives and alarm by conservatives.

“We’re not here to create a parliament, but to walk together with the gaze of Jesus,” the pope added.

Everything you need to know: For those curious about the synod and the significance, check out this primer by Lisi.

Related coverage that caught my attention (I’ve provided gift links to the paywalled sites):

• ‘Two trains charging at each other’: A Texas bishop takes on the pope (Ruth Graham, New York Times)

• Pope Francis opens debate on LGBTQ inclusion, women’s ordination and celibacy (Francis X. Rocca, Wall Street Journal)

• In sequel to ‘green’ encyclical, pope urges rich to do their part to combat climate change (Claire Giangravé, Religion News Service)

• Conservative U.S. Catholics watch with dread as pope opens major meeting (Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post)

• German Cardinal Gerhard Muller defies pope's request for confidentiality at synod with EWTN interview (Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter)

* Here at GetReligion, tmatt offered this podcast and post: “Pope Francis tips his white hat on (location, location, location) same-sex blessing rites.” His national “On Religion” column for the Universal syndicate is on the five “dubia” letters at the heart of this week’s synod debates.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. The Nones: “In many countries around the world, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people who are nonbelievers or unaffiliated with any organized religion.

Yes, you may have noticed coverage of this issue in the past decade. These so-called ‘nones’ — atheists, agnostics, or nothing in particular — comprise 30% or more of the adult population in the United States and Canada, as well as numerous European countries. Japan, Israel and Uruguay are among other nations where large numbers of people are secular.”

That’s how The Associated Press boils down what it describes as “a sweeping package of stories, photos and video” on “how this phenomenon is playing out in several of these countries.”

AP journalists — including award-winning Godbeat pros such as Deepa Bharath, Giovanna Dell’Orto, Luis Andres Henao, Mariam Fam, Peter Smith and Jessie Wardarski — traveled around the world to report these stories.

2. Mark Driscoll’s safe space: In an in-depth story for ReligionUnplugged, veteran journalist Chris Moody — now a professor at Appalachian State University — details how the embattled pastor built a new ministry in Arizona after the fall of Seattle’s Mars Hills Church in 2014.

This is a deeply reported and nuanced piece by a journalist highly adept at his craft. Worth noting that Moody is also one of tmatt’s former students, both at Palm Beach Atlantic University and then the Washington Journalism Center.

3. Fight over Tibetan Buddhism: An 8-year-old boy “may have to defend the faith in Mongolia against pressure from China’s ruling Communist Party.”

New York Times China correspondent David Pierson reports on the conflict.

CONTINUE READING: “The Pope, The Nones And An Embattled Pastor: Top Religion Reads Around The World,” by Bobby Ross, Jr., at Religion Unplugged.