Posted on 04/04/2005 8:00:34 AM PDT by SmithL
WASHINGTON - Most Americans want the next pope to work for changes in Roman Catholic Church policies to allow priests to marry and women to join the priesthood. And they want more done to combat sexual abuse by priests, an AP-Ipsos poll found.
A solid majority of Americans, and Catholics in the country, are calling for the changes even while saying they widely admire Pope John Paul II, who supported traditional policies against priest marriage and against allowing women into the priesthood.
"He crossed so many boundaries, opened doors to many governments," said Joseph Riess, a Catholic businessman from Vienna, Va. "But I think it's time for changes."
Just over half of Americans, 51 percent, and almost three-fourths of Catholics say John Paul, who died Saturday, will be remembered as one of the greatest popes, according to the poll conducted for The Associated Press by Ipsos-Public Affairs.
The U.S. Catholic church is struggling with a variety of problems, including a dramatically shrinking U.S. priesthood, disagreement over the proper role for lay leaders, and a conservative-liberal divide over sexuality, women's ordination and clergy celibacy.
About two-thirds of those polled said priests should be allowed to marry and almost that many said they want women in the priesthood. A majority of Catholics supported both steps.
More than four in five Americans - and about the same number of Catholics - said they want to see the next pope do more to address the problem of priests sexually abusing children.
The church has been trying to deal with an abuse crisis that bubbled to the surface in January 2002 in the Archdiocese of Boston, then spread throughout the country. Since then, the church has adopted a toughened discipline policy, enacted child protection and victim outreach plans in dioceses, and removed hundreds of accused priests from church work.
Americans were divided when asked from where the next pope should come. Just over a third said he should be from Europe, while a similar number said he should be from a part of the world where Catholicism is growing fastest, like Africa or Latin America. The rest weren't sure.
"I don't think it matters where they're from," said Heather Schramko, a clinical researcher and a Catholic from Perrysburg, Ohio. "But they need to modernize the church."
The AP-Ipsos poll of 1,001 adults was taken Friday to Sunday and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Some of the interviews were conducted before news broke Saturday about the pope's death, but most people knew he was gravely ill.
They (liberals) have been trying for years to bring down the Catholic Church
Has anyone ever taken a poll to find out what people think of polls ??
I remember an experiment in college where two lines of the same length are drawn on a chalk board.
The group in the class all pretend to think that line "A" is a little longer than line "B".
About 25 percent of the individual students brought in to examine the two lines agreed with the group when subjected to peer pressure.
I believe that polls can be considered a "brain washing technique".
By constantly bombarding the individual with "polls" of what other people purportedly believe then individuals who are easily lead or who don't have time to examine some issues in detail will accept the results of the polls.
I believe that the public is being subjected to "behavior modification" by the MSM and pollsters and their contrived polls.
....the hard-core evangelists for sin....
What a true phrase...
It is worthwhile to track the prevailing opinions of Catholics in the nation and around the world, but really only as a means of highlighting the areas in which the clergy and laypersons of a certain region need to focus their efforts in education. One, it is folly to assume that all Catholics around the world think as American Catholics do. In addition, the Church should not lower its moral standards simply because many American Catholics don't want to have to live up to those standards. If that many Catholics in the U.S. want the Church to so drastically change itself, it says more about the nature of Americans than that of the Church.
So I do think there is some value in polling the opinions of American Catholics, but likely not in the way you mean for me to do so.
Though the practice is traced back to Christ and His desire that His apostles give up all for Him, celibacy had a very uneven acceptance until the 11th century, when it was finally decreed that an ordained cleric contracts marriage invalidly.
Vatican II introduced the Permanent Diaconate (actually, it reintroduced an ancient practice) and allowed married men to be ordained to that Order.
The Anglican dispensation, in 1980, granted Anglican, Lutheran, and even Methodist ministers who converted to be ordained and retain their families.
Eastern Rite priests are often married, though bishops are chosen from among the celibate.
Given ancient tradition, even among the Orthodox, priests will likely never be allowed to marry, but there is no theological barrier to opening the priesthood to married men.
There will be people trying to bring down the Church until the day Christ returns...goes with the territory...
That process has been in motion ever since Christ ascended into the Heavens.
Actually, Bishop Robert Lynch never came out against the Church's stand. He did not particularly distinguish himself in promoting the Church's stance, but he was a signatory to the Florida bishops letter which condemned the starvation of Terri Schiavo.
Plus I think the Vatican had to tiptoe around being misinterpreted. Any support by them for war or removing Saddam and Muslims could have taken it to be another "holy war" or "crusade" and it would have inflamed more than just the Muslim extremists (driving the whole thing out of proportion and out of control).
John Paul II has made it known what he thinks of countries that aren't free and dictators who rule people. Not only that, but he lived it for many years of his life.
Maybe . Maybe not
Matthews brother is a Republican .. and my County Commissioner
My family is mixed like his .. and my family get togethers can be very very interesting .. Loud too! *L*
So would I. Some of the best priests in our diocese are the six Anglican converts, who are tremendous preachers and seem to have been able to integrate family life with parish ministry admirably.
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Good question.
From: http://smh.com.au/news/World/Conclave-of-cardinals-to-pick-successor/2005/04/01/1112302242051.html?oneclick=true
"There are 117 cardinals under 80. Of these nearly 100 were appointed by John Paul II, and are likely to reflect his conservative views in the choice of successor, Vatican watchers believe.
The next pontiff is certain to come from among the cardinals themselves, although the prelates could in theory elect any baptised male."
John Paul II usually wouldn't mince words on those matters either.
By that I mean, everything was dealt in either black or white, there were no "shades of gray".
Autocephalous churches
Orthodox Church of Constantinople
Orthodox Church of Alexandria
Orthodox Church of Antioch
Orthodox Church of Jerusalem
Russian Orthodox Church
Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
Romanian Orthodox Church
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
Orthodox Church of Cyprus
Church of Greece
Polish Orthodox Church
Albanian Orthodox Church
Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church
Autonomous churches
Orthodox Church of Mount Sinai (under the Patriarch of Jerusalem)
Finnish Orthodox Church (under the Patriarch of Constantinople)
Estonian Orthodox Church (under the Patriarch of Constantinople)
Japanese Orthodox Church (under the Patriarch of Moscow)
Chinese Orthodox Church (under the Patriarch of Moscow)
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (under the Patriarch of Moscow)
Metropolia of Western Europe (under the Patriarch of Moscow)
Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric (under the Patriarch of Belgrade)
Churches with ambiguous status, isolated churches in non-communion, and churches in resistance
The Orthodox Church in America (Autocephaly not universally recognized)
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
The Orthodox Church of Greece (Holy Synod in Resistance)
The Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania
The Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria
Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece - the Paleoimerologites
Belorussian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
Macedonian Orthodox Church (recognizes all other mainstream Churches but is not recognised by any of them)
Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
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These are Eastern Rite Catholics:
Byzantine liturgical tradition:
Albanian Catholic Church
Belarussian Catholic Church
Bulgarian Catholic Church
Byzantine Catholic Church in America
Croatian Byzantine Catholic Church
Czech Catholic Church
Georgian Catholic Church
Hungarian Catholic Church
Melkite Catholic Church
Romanian Catholic Church
Russian Catholic Church
Ruthenian Catholic Church
Slovak Catholic Church
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Antiochene liturgical tradition:
Maronite Catholic Church
Syrian Catholic Church
Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
Chaldean liturgical tradition:
Chaldean Catholic Church
Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
Armenian liturgical tradition:
Armenian Catholic Church
Alexandrian liturgical tradition:
Coptic Catholic Church
Ethiopian Catholic Church
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They are NOT the same; the Eastern Orthodox are NOT Catholics, even if they are "catholic" in some abstract sense. Might I remind you that the Orthodox and Catholics had excommunicated one another between 1054 and 1965. You could not be much less Catholic than that.. The Eastern Orthodox define "the ecumenical church" as all churches in full communion with them - that does not include the Roman Catholic church. The Roman Catholics define "the ecumenical church" as all churches that accept the canons of all 21 ecumenical councils - that does not include Eastern Orthodoxy.
The Orthodox reject 14 Councils of the Catholic Church; the Catholics reject 2 Councils of the Orthodox Church. They are not in communion with one another, and aren't very likely to be anytime soon (good intentions notwithstanding).
If you've read and learned differently, you need to find yourself some more accurate reading material. For starters, try the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia: Eastern Churches.
I think the Pope should pursue good changes and stay away from bad changes.
But bishops were required or at least expected to be celibate quite early in church history...I remember a story about one of them (St. Ambrose? I just don't feel like looking it up), who left his wife to become bishop when asked to be. I would say the expectation for the "better sort" of clergy to be celibate is really strong by the 300s...no doubt in part because of the monastic movement...
Can the NEA say the same?
i was aware of his republican brother, i was thinking more of the actual religious in the family, knowing that even those nuns/priests who teach at catholic high schools and universities are not of a tradional mindset. i suppose they could be, but i am thinking not.
But can the church get people to donate enough to support a priest and his family? It certainly costs more than supporting a single man.
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