Says 60% of all Catholics support or strongly support.....huh?????
Due to surveys having secrecy and confidentiality being inherent within them, this may be the true attitude of Catholics on this matter - that is when they aren’t around other Catholics or at church.
Yes, that would be the socially liberal “Catholics” who attend the Novus Ordo mass (or not). Definitely not socially conservative Catholics or Traditional Catholics.
And that stat doesn’t surprise me.
Despite the denials on this thread by many, I actually believe that this is correct.
For my fellow Catholics who don't live in very socially conservative areas, survey the cars in your parish parking lot the next time you go to Mass:
Around here in the DC area, I see far too many of them. Even when I go to Mass at the Shrine (Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception).
And because I am asking you to survey your church's parking lot (and it isn't Easter or Christmas), I'm obviously talking about "faithful, practicing Catholics"
Consider these comments from Cardinal Dolan a couple of years ago:
The cardinal said he gave the Holy Father "a standing ovation" for criticizing an approach to the faith that focuses only on issues like abortion, "gay marriage" and contraception.
"I don't know if it's so much the Church is obsessed with that, it's the world that's obsessed with those things," Cardinal Dolan noted, adding that it is "rare" for him to preach on these issues. (emphasis added)
Or consider the rationale given for opposing Obamacare's mandate:
"Thus, to say it again, the wide ecumenical and inter-religious outrage over the HHS mandate is not about its coverage of chemical contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs -- in spite of the well-oiled mantra from our opponents -- but upon the raw presumption of a bureau of the federal government to define a church's minister, ministry, message, and meaning," (emphasis added)
Note that I'm not trying to beat up on Cardinal Dolan (even though he deserves it)...he is just in the position of being in the media a lot more than most other bishops. Your bishop may be different...your bishop may faithfully teach the whole gospel, including the tough parts, but think about how many simply don't.
Recall the disappointing statements made by the vast majority of bishops in the wake of the Supreme Court sodomite marriage decision. Sure, we found some good ones (e.g., Bishop Tobin, Jarrell, and Strickland), but they were in the distinct minority.
How many of you remember what happened to Archbishop Nienstedt back in 2010 when he mailed out DVDs espousing Church teaching on marriage to Catholics in Minnesota...over 3,000 of those DVDs were mailed back to him...most with obsene messages attached to the DVDs. Those DVDs weren't mailed to the population at large: they were married to currently practicing Catholics in his diocese. Of course, that wasn't the opening salvo. Earlier, he prohibited the "LGBT" Masses at the notorious St Joan of Arc parish in Minneapolis. And for that, he was utterly skewered. Not only by the media, but by Catholics in his own diocese. How did they get that way? One account says:
It wasn't always this way. Archbishop John Roach and his successor, Harry Flynn, led a notably progressive, inclusive, post-Vatican II archdiocese, one balanced on even-handed discussion.
In other words, his two predecessors were typical bishops and let things spin out of control. When Nienstedt came into town, he yanked back the reins, hard. And the horse bolted.
Here's the bottom line: for too many years (and including today), the majority of the shepherds in this country have had a "laissez-faire" attitude toward morality...and have taught that "laissez-faire" attitude to their flock -- either explicitly or through ommission. And the flock has reacted to those teachings (or lack thereof).
What the Church teaches on homosexuality and homosexual acts is very clear and unambiguous. If you want a refresher, glance through this document: CDF, Letter Homosexualitatis problema (1986). It hasn't changed since that time.
I say the above not out of a desire to tear down the Church, but because it can't be fixed unless it is diagnosed. Denial of the problem won't fix it...it will just allow it to further metastasize. (what do they say, "denial is not a river in Egypt"?)