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.
BTW, there was a poll done about 2000 years ago that said most wanted to free Barabas...
Exactly. Chris Matthews disgusts me. He started in a mere few hours after the announcement of the Pope's death. His wedge issue was homosexuality, and that it's not a sin.
Lima beans?
Chris matthews is a catholic in name only. one of the biggest. he irks the crap outta me.
I wish they'd take their feminizing over to Islam, where it's really needed.
I'm not Catholic, but I think that Catholics who hold these views need to take a good, hard look at the religious denominations who have adapted themselves to the spirit of the times, and have rapidly gone straight to h-ll in a handbasket as a result. Today it'll be changing some matter of polity or policy, tomorrow it'll be the Creed.
i am catholic and i totally agree with you. they had a woman theology professor on Fox and Friends yesterday AM that made some of the same points you did and made them eloquently. i wish i could recall her name. i thought she gve a great response as to why women should not be ordained as priests, the primary one being that the priesthood is sacramental and instituted by Jesus and he did not include women.
The Orthodox definitely haven't been Catholic since nearly a millennium ago, and much longer than that really. There were plenty of other non-Catholic schismatics as well, most of which ultimately ended up Muslim.
As Mo1 told me, Chris Matthews is what one would consider a "Lunchroom Catholic". LOL!
Still more proof that the wife is a Beard, and he takes it up the....
Why should this survey surprise anyone? For over a quarter of a century, the Vatican turned away from the conservative (i.e., Traditional) teachings of the Church. The Vatican would occasionally make "conservative" noises, (for example, liturgical abuses regarding extraordinary eucharistic ministers, female acolytes, and the like) and then turn away and do nothing when a majority of U.S. bishops simply ignored them. All that separates Catholics from many protestant groups right now is a nominally male and celibate clergy. If drawing the line at those two last bastions of anything remotely Catholic makes one a "conservative", these are sad times indeed for the Catholic Church.
Mo1 was too polite to say Gay Bathhouse Catholic.
They're talking to the American Cardinals before they head off to Rome. It's sickening, but it won't end until the Cardinals leave.
Is the AP stoned?
They must think Bill Clinton is a Cardinal.
No No .. It's Cafeteria Catholic .. *L*
It means they pick and choose what beliefs in the Catholic Faith they want to follow
"What is truth?" --AP
Does anyone know why priests are not allowed o marry? Even as a kid I wondered about that.
If one were to aske me if I was surprised he wanted to be buried near St. Peter, I would say "No". He lived life like a prayer, ending it by saying "Amen".
well let me tell you, the only ones the matthews family are picking are social justice issues.
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