Posted on 10/16/2003 6:41:26 AM PDT by american colleen
As Pope John Paul II celebrates the 25th anniversary of his election today, U.S. Roman Catholics overwhelmingly approve of the job he has done, even though most fault his handling of sexual abuse by priests, feel the church is out of touch with their views and hope the next pope will bring change, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. Half of all American Catholics think the 83-year-old pontiff should resign for health reasons, the poll found. Though visibly frail and suffering from Parkinson's disease, John Paul has scheduled a week of activities in Rome to mark his anniversary, including ceremonies creating 30 new cardinals and beatifying Mother Teresa. Overall, the poll showed that the pope's personal popularity remains high despite the fact that his flock dissents from his teachings on birth control, premarital sex, homosexuality and the death penalty. Seventy-four percent of Catholics also said he should have done more to address the problem of child sex abuse by priests. "I admire him personally for what he does, for the many languages he speaks, for his love of children and for the grace he seems to have brought to the church," said Kimberly Darnell, 36, a practicing Catholic in Imperial, Mo. The pope's "only downfall," Darnell added, was his reaction to sexual abuse in the priesthood. "I don't know whether the scandal overwhelmed him in his deteriorating health or what. But I just don't think he has handled it properly," she said. Nine out of every 10 Catholics polled gave the pope credit for preserving the church's traditions. But the poll also found enormous pent-up desire for change. By a nearly 2-to-1 ratio, Catholics said they want the next pope to change church policies to reflect the attitudes and lifestyles of Catholics today. Even among those who go to church at least once a week, 51 percent took that stance. The poll is based on telephone interviews Oct. 9 through Oct. 13 with 1,281 adults nationwide, including 504 Catholics. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the general results and 4 percentage points for questions asked of Catholics only. Eight in 10 Catholics and five in 10 non-Catholics said they approved of the way the pope has done his job, a rating that has not substantially changed since 1995. Born in Poland as Karol Wojtyla, he was elected on Oct. 16, 1978. He is now the fourth longest-serving pontiff, after the first pope, St. Peter, who led the church for 34 years; Pius IX, who served for 31 years; and Leo XIII, who held office for 25 years and five months. Catholics and non-Catholics gave John Paul high marks for encouraging democracy and human rights during his travels, which have taken him to more than 100 countries. An overwhelming majority of those polled also expressed admiration for the "personal moral example" he has set. But opinion was more divided on how he has handled the concerns of women and young people in the church and his efforts to attract men to the priesthood. About two-thirds of U.S. Catholics said priests should be allowed to marry and women should be eligible for ordination, a sharp rise since the 1980s. In follow-up interviews, some linked this to revelations about sex abuse in the church. "The Catholic Church hasn't kept up with real life," said Debra B. Finn, 51, who attends Mass weekly in Hamden, Conn. "I think perhaps all this pedophile stuff is proof of that. It's abnormal to have men live in a state of celibacy and expect them to be able to counsel married people when they obviously don't have a clue what marriage is." As has been true for the past 10 years, most Catholics think their local priests represent their religious views better than the pope does. Sixty-two percent said the Roman Catholic Church is "out of touch" with the views of American Catholics. And a majority of Catholics said the pope has had "no influence" on their personal behavior or their religious, moral or political opinions. Indeed, the poll found Catholics look remarkably similar to the public at large when it comes to the sensitive moral issues on which the pope is bucking U.S. attitudinal trends. Nearly nine out of 10 say birth control is morally acceptable. Two out of three approve of premarital sex. Six in 10 support the death penalty. Half cite no moral problem with homosexuality, and 30 percent of Catholics -- compared with 39 percent of the general population -- say abortion is morally acceptable. Yet some cited the pope's imperviousness to public opinion as one of his greatest qualities. "I think he has stood up for a lot of things, saying that just because it's the year 2000-and-something, that doesn't mean what's in the Bible has to change," said Bob Maifarth, 57, a Presbyterian in Tallahassee, Fla. Overall, the image of the church has improved somewhat from last December, when Cardinal Bernard F. Law resigned as archbishop of Boston because of his mishandling of sexual abusers in the priesthood. At that time, polling showed 52 percent of the general population held an unfavorable view of the church, and 40 percent held a favorable view. In the latest poll, the split was 48 percent favorable and 44 percent unfavorable. Before the scandal broke in Boston early last year, 63 percent of Americans viewed the church favorably.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
This particular "crisis" is one of poor catechisis, I think. The reasons behind the teachings of the Church are rarely presented from the pulpit and it's interesting that the direction of homilies has taken on that of a biblical scholar as the means to an end but that scholarship is not usually dovetailed with Catholicism. It isn't a matter knowing the why and how of doctrine and rejecting doctrine, it's a matter of rejecting doctrine without understanding why that doctrine is so and trying to conform your life and understanding to it.
The HV debacle has placed primacy of one's own conscience over that of the Church.
Basically, half of American Catholics are really Protestants.
Too small a sample size.
"Feed my sheep" becomes "confuse my sheep."
I wish I could write better in order to explain this, but I think you'll understand what I mean. I could have been among the heretics in this poll a few years ago until I experienced a sort of "re-conversion" - which is a thirst for Truth and an opened heart, mind and soul, in my own experience. I now look at the world in a completely different way - almost like looking at it from the other side or something like that...
Is it different from your own social circle?
Only 30% saying abortion is acceptable is a lot better than what I would have guessed, considering the prevalence of Kennedy Catholics.
If I might add - IN A VERY BIG WAY! I know so many couples, even within my own family, who have under their own free will been sterilized. They see absolutely nothing wrong with this and why should they; they have never heard a peep about this issue from the heiracy. It makes my stomach turn when I see them receive the Holy Eucharist (and I'm not trying to judge them).
So it is kind of a dodgy poll although not dissimilar to what the Catholics I know (including my own family) subscribe to.
A devote, weekly massgoer, rosary saying friend of mine cannot understand why all Christians cannot partake in the Eucharist.
I'm trying to think of one Catholic friend or family member of mine who doesn't or hasn't used birth control or who hasn't been sterilized. I can't come up with anyone... and none of them ever considered Catholic teaching on this issue.
And you are right... I really don't hear much on these issues from the pulpits or the hierarchy (once and a while a little bit about refraining from partaking in the Eucharist if you are a non-Catholic).
Leave it to ABC and the Washington Post to run a ^&*%@#$ poll on catholicism! You are absolutely right, Colleen, most catholics are poorly catechized. Compound that with their YOPIOR attitude, elevating themselves higher than God.
They just don't get it, do they? Religion by poll ... bwahahahaha.
Ya, intellectual laziness. I'm no brain surgeon and in fact most intellectual essays and books are way over my head, but when I talk to people and (for instance) ask them if they understand the reasons why the Catholic Church will not ordain women, they don't know - but what they do know is what they themselves think on the matter.
My teenaged daughter is kind of like that... and I am trying to respond to her in ways that encourage her to take a stance on an issue but to take that stance after studying the various reasons for and against it. Moral relativism is a corrosive agent.
It is impossible to follow Christ and be pro-abortion.
There is no such thing as a "pro-abortion Catholic".
What really bothers me is how the Catholics who are attracted to a democratic form of Church do not learn from the current difficulties of some of our Protestant brothers and sisters.
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