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.
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I do as well. It's been twenty-six years since the Church has undergone this process, and it's never been more important than it is today.
I seem to remember something about land grants to married versus non-married men back in feudal Europe. If I am not way off base, can anyone expand on this?
Especially when they're talking over a liturgical service. I'd rather go to EWTN and participate spiritually than sit back and watch, like Chauncy Gardner.
I USED to have the tv timer automatically turn the tv on to F & F in the am. It USED to be a pleasant way to get the day going.
She went away for a week and it was wonderful, but then she ruined it all by comming back. She is becoming Gretta in the morning.
I like EWTN's coverage, they translate into English where appropriate, and for the most part, they let events unfold without intervention.
I saw that too. I saw Geraldo interviewing her and two orthodox priests. I thought I was dreaming. It's so nice to see so many sane clergy on the telly 8-)
Hopefully this has nothing to do with where we are going. Liberals want the Church to follow the whims of the general populace, .......in which case it will become salt that has lost it's savor....good for nothing except to be thrown out.
A church (or churches) that take opinion polls seriously have lost their way.
Why do you think that the Catholic Church in the US is declining?
I wouldn't say that.
There are hierarchies of dogma in the Catholic Church, and the "teaching" on women's ordination is at the bottom of the stack.
While women cannot be ordained, those who favor ordination of women as some part of the solution to the shortage of priests are still part of the Catholic Church.
Knotts, women's ordination is not on a par with the Trinity or abortion. Let's not get carried away here.
How many are "new guys"?
Now that is an interesting split, given that many protestants are very pleased with JP II's papacy. The difference probablt comes from the hard-core evangelists for sin which seem to be so numerous. They probably hate him.
"The Orthodox are not Eastern-Rite Catholics. They are not Catholics at all."
says who?
you? LOL
I suggest you document your claim because everything I've read and learned says different.
JPII's admiration of the lifework of St. Faustina and Mother Teresa are enough for this non-Catholic as to how the Catholic Church has embraced the importance of women.
Respectfully, I would see the Catholic Church adopt a "priests can be married" policy similar to the Orthodox Church. This is where a man who IS already married can take the final vows for priesthood. (if he becomese widowed he can not be remarried)
They would do this before any more radical moves for more priests. This is just an opinion and worth only as a speculation.
Same theory behind the electoral college AND representative republic
It would...I doubt if he would get picked, but it would be an amazing sight...
oh i have no doubt they will haul out some clergy that will outrage us given the amount of coverage there will be for the next few weeks!
Oh absolutely agree. If our elections were determined by media polls, this country would be in the tight grips of Liberalism, where they were free to indoctrinate every single one of us into their Socialist Utopian dream.
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