“I dare say that the Church has never been so well as it is today.” — Pope Francis
A new poll by Religion News Service indicates that most American Catholics are crackheads.
Why do I say crackheads?
Well this. 68% of adult Catholics, 99% of whom have never heard a homily on issues such as homosexuality, abortion and contraception, think the Church has become too focused on issues such as homosexuality, abortion and contraception.
The poll also found large majority support for same-sex marriage among Catholics, even those who go to mass.
The survey, released The survey, released Friday (Oct. 4), by Quinnipiac University, shows that two in three (68 percent) adult Catholics questioned said they agreed with the pontiff’s observation that the church has become too focused on issues such as homosexuality, abortion and contraception.
Just 23 percent disagreed, and the breakdown was virtually the same across age groups and among both weekly Mass-goers and those who attend church less frequently.
The national poll — conducted the last week of September — also showed that American Catholics have a favorable (53 percent) or very favorable (36 percent) opinion of Francis, and just 4 percent view him negatively.
“American Catholics liked what they heard when Pope Francis said the church should stop talking so much about issues like gay marriage, abortion and contraception,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
The survey also found that Catholic support for same-sex marriage continues to be strong, as other surveys have found, with six-in-10 Catholics approving of gay marriage and 31 percent opposed. That’s slightly above the national 56 percent approval rating.
But the latest research also indicates that support for same-sex marriage only drops slightly among weekly churchgoers, to 53 percent, with 40 percent opposed. That finding could cause consternation among social conservatives who argue that the most devout Catholics tend to support the hierarchy’s position against gay marriage.
Exit question. Do you think the Pope’s comments will improve or exacerbate this problem?
