Posted on 05/28/2009 10:55:25 PM PDT by bdeaner
Americans overall and American Catholics in particular hold Pope Benedict XVI in high regard, according to a Marist College poll conducted in partnership with the Knights of Columbus.
Sixty percent of Americans reported they have either a favorable or very favorable impression of the pontiff while 76 percent of Catholics hold the same view, the telephone poll of 2,078 people found.
At the same time, 20 percent of Americans and 11 percent of Catholics told interviewers they have an unfavorable or very unfavorable view of Pope Benedict.
The results of the poll were released May 19. It was conducted March 24-31 by the Marist College Institute of Public Opinion, which is in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Results for Americans overall have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. For Catholics, the margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
By a margin of more than 4 to 1 -- 73 percent to 17 percent -- Catholics said the pope was good for the Catholic Church. Another 10 percent were unsure.
A majority of Americans -- 57 percent to 21 percent -- held the same opinion while 22 percent were unsure.
"That Benedict XVI remains so respected by Americans, in spite of a 24-hour news cycle often hostile to him and his message, is a great testament to the pope's ability to communicate the Gospel directly to people," said Carl Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus.
"It also says something about the American people's desire for the message of hope and love that Benedict XVI preaches in calling us to say 'yes' to Jesus Christ," he wrote May 19 on the Web site of the fraternal organization, based in New Haven.
The poll also looked at how people perceived the pope on matters of spirituality, his place as a world religious leader and issues they would like to hear him address.
Poll findings include:
-- Eighty-four percent of Catholics and 74 percent of Americans overall said they see Pope Benedict as one of the world's important religious leaders; 11 percent of Catholics and 13 percent of Americans said he is not.
-- By a margin of 59 percent to 19 percent Catholics said the pontiff is sensitive to Muslims; among Americans, the margin was 46 percent to 23 percent.
-- By a margin of 61 percent to 19 percent Catholics said the pope is sensitive to Jewish people; among Americans, the margin was 48 percent to 20 percent.
-- Sixty-eight percent of Catholics and 57 percent of Americans want to hear what Pope Benedict has to say about marriage and family; 14 percent of Catholics and 22 percent of Americans do not.
-- Sixty percent of Catholics and 50 percent of Americans want to hear him address life issues including abortion and stem-cell research; 21 percent of Catholics and 29 percent of Americans do not.
-- On issues of spirituality, 72 percent of Catholics and 64 percent of Americans said they want to hear the pontiff speak about allowing God to be part of daily life.
-- Catholics by a 78 percent to 6 percent margin said they want to hear the pope address poverty and hunger; among Americans the margin was 70 percent to 12 percent.
The survey also asked respondents about their views of the Catholic Church and its contributions to the world. Catholics overwhelmingly -- 84 percent to 14 percent -- said the church has distinguished itself through its contributions in U.S. society. Meanwhile, Americans by a 69 percent to 24 percent margin agreed with American Catholics.
Lord, source of eternal life and truth, give to Your shepherd, the Pope, a spirit of courage and right judgement, a spirit of knowledge and love.
By governing with fidelity those entrusted to his care may he, as successor to the apostle Peter and vicar of Christ, build Your church into a sacrament of unity, love, and peace for all the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Countdown to a poll with much different results “magically” getting released and reported on by the MSM...
(Note-its a trend some fellow freepers and I have noticed whenever a poll comes out showing Obamas bad approval numbers,etc, comes out)
It was going to be tough for whomever would be walking in the very long shadow of Pope John Paul II. But, I think Benedict XVI has acquitted himself very well thus far in his tenure.
That would be because its a completely seamless transition. He was pulling the strings behind JP2 for years.
OK, but this is pseudo news. A small poll says that catholics approve of the pope?
This was not that clearly a written article. This poll is the latest in a series of polls commissioned by the Knights of Columbus.
The results (in pdf form) are here.
John Paul II was a puppet? Gee, thanks for enlightening us. Who pulls your strings?
Ok fair enough, but polls commissioned by the Knights of St Columba show that Catholics support the Pope?
In other news, polls commissioned by the “Teetollaer association” show that alcohol is bad for you, while a whole raft of polls commissioned by the Democrat party show that most democrats support 0bama...
Who pulls my strings? Well not Ratzinger for sure..
I will admit JP2 did some great things at the start of his office - all this globetrotting and reconciliation to every nation on the planet was really good - I commend him thoroughly for that. It raised the profile of the Church enormously. But come on, the old boy was gaga towards the end. And he did away with Vatican II. Or rather Ratzinger advised him too.
I think the better news line is that 57% of non-Catholics do, as well.
Also, if you want some perspective, I would bet that the percentage would have been significantly lower back in the late 60s and early 70s when Paul VI made his proclamation confirming traditional teaching that artificial birth control was off-limits. (Note: not that he cut off the use of the same, but he confirmed that he wasn't going to change Church doctrine. Liberal theologians on both sides of the Atlantic were teaching that he was going to change doctrine on this matter and, thus, people had abandoned that teaching in their practice and in their hearts. They were crushed when the Pope didn't do as they had hoped and expected)
It sort of depends on what the level of “support” actually is. Most non-catholics don’t really care too much what the Pope does or pronounces, because it doesn’t directly affect them. So unless something particularly controversial crops up, the default line may very well be mere passive acceptance. If that is the case, it would be more significant that 43% disapprove, especially as, since the misquoted statement about Islam last year, Ratzinger has been keeping his head down.
True.
The actual question was, Please tell me whether you view each of the following as very favorable, favorable, unfavorable or very unfavorable. If you have never heard of the person or institution, please just say so.
The results:
Non-Catholics
Catholics
Favorable / Very Favorable
59%
76%
Unfavorable / Very Unfavorable
20%
11%
Unsure / Never heard
21%
13%
I think the 20% unfavorable and 21% "meh" answers account for just what you're discussing in your comment.
As to Ratzinger keeping his head down, I haven't seen that one bit. Remember his "condoms" comment recently that was blasted across the MSM?
I too didn’t see eye to eye with JPII all along the way (but then I’m not Catholic so that isn’t a surprise) but I think it’s presumptive to think he was being manipulated at any point. I give JPII credit for being a significant part of what I call the “Holy Triad” of Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and JPII that eventually brought down the USSR.
A lot of Catholics didnt see eye to eye with him!
It may be presumptive, but them most value judgements are. Most people presume all manner of things most of the time, because they don’t know all the facts. This is not unusual and in fact not a bad thing, as long as you are prepared to change your judgement in the light of new information. I think Ratzinger had an awful lot of influence with JP2 and that influence increased as the old popes health deteriorated.
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