Posted on 09/17/2015 12:42:53 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Over 50 percent of Americans raised in the Catholic Church say they've left the faith at some point in their lives, according to a Pew Research survey on religion and public life.
The data further revealed that among the 52 percent who left the Church, about six out of 10 have returned at some point.
Two-thirds of the group that left the Church now consider themselves ex-Catholics and no-longer identify with the faith.
Around 13 percent, however, still identify as Catholic, but no longer practice the religion.
For those who are still practicing, around 73 percent said they've been in the Church their entire life, and seven out of 10 said they could never imagine leaving it.
Aside from membership, Pew Research also uncovered surprising beliefs held by Catholics pertaining to families.
The survey found that a "strong majority" of Catholics said children being raised in unconventional families with unmarried parents living together, same-sex couples or single parents, is acceptable. Around 90 percent, though, preferred that children be raised with a married mother and father. Forty-three percent said it's acceptable for a gay couple to raise a child.
"Nine-in-10 U.S. Catholics say a household headed by a married mother and father is an ideal situation for bringing up children. But the survey shows that large majorities think other kinds of families — those headed by parents who are single, divorced, unmarried or gay — are OK for raising children, too," noted Pew in the analysis released just days before Pope Francis' first U.S. visit in which he'll encounter a national Catholic population largely supportive of family units not advanced or encouraged by Church teaching.
The survey also found that: "A sizable majority (85 percent) think it's acceptable for a man and a woman to live together as a couple outside of marriage, including more than half (55 percent) who say cohabitation is as good as any other living arrangement for adults. And [seven]-in-10 Catholics say married couples who opt not to have children have chosen a lifestyle that is as good as any other."
And while many Catholics hold progressive beliefs when it comes to issues involving families, the Church seems to be maintaining its traditional views, despite the change in tone from Pope Francis when it comes to divorce and homosexuality.
The Pope did, however, make changes to the Church's annulment process, loosening restrictions on Catholics who wish to remarry. The Vatican is also expected to host a meeting in October with Catholic leaders worldwide where they will analyze recommendations on family issues, including divorce and marriage.
Absolutely not...IF they were true victims, and MANY were not, they deserve our sympathy. Some of them, however, only became victims when large settlements were being discussed....there were a minority of them who were willing participants because many of the incidents were homosexual attractions.
I was an altar boy, knew many altar boys, went to nice organized campouts, picnics etc designed to reward us and never heard of one one incidence of abuse of any kind....Milwaukee archdiocese.
As the picture of the abuse began to unfold, I immediately smelled a rat...while many were undoubtedly true and certainly mishandled by the church....many were total attempts to get in on the money bandwagon. I justify none of it, but it is such a miniscule part of church history as to be meaningless in the large picture....you do not judge the Catholic church by a virtual handfull of deranged employees who abused their possitions.
Absolutely not...IF they were true victims, and MANY were not, they deserve our sympathy. Some of them, however, only became victims when large settlements were being discussed....there were a minority of them who were willing participants because many of the incidents were homosexual attractions.
TC, you're embarrassing yourself again. You're making the same insinuation you did previously.
The thread's still out there. Too many other comments followed yours saying you were blaming the victim. Fortunately for you, your original comment was removed by the RM.
My advice to you is to quit trying to dig out of this hole. It's only getting deeper.
“GENEVA — The Vatican revealed Tuesday that over the past decade, it has defrocked 848 priests who raped or molested children and sanctioned another 2,572 with lesser penalties, providing the first ever breakdown of how it handled the more than 3,400 cases of abuse reported to the Holy See since 2004.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/vatican-reveals-how-many-priests-defrocked-for-sex-abuse-since-2004/
I wouldn’t call that a handful. I believe there were also many not reported.
It was/is a plague.
Worse, these priests were shuffled around by bishops to protect them.
and that’s just since 2004....who knows the real total?
- PDF File at Link -
The number reported from 1950 until 2002 was in excess of 10,000.
And of course, this is not all of the abuse.
The report is 291 pages of detail of who, what, where, when, why, how, how many times, etc. It is quite sickening to look at.
It is clearly not a "handful" of individuals, as was stated upthread.
yes, it's a massive betrayal of trust. each and every one of these "priests" should have been fired or whatever happens to catholic priests.
We've SEEN what this is!
"Hi! I'm Father O'Flanagan. I used to serve the Lord in _______________."
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