If you determined in advance what polling in the age of the great apostasy might look like, I think this would be a rough approximation.
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 20, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A worldwide poll of self-described Catholics shows significant disagreement with Catholic doctrine among many Church members.
In a poll commissioned by the Spanish television station Univision, majorities of 12,038 Catholics in 12 countries expressed beliefs against Catholic doctrine on issues like abortion, same-sex “marriage,” and contraceptive use. The Church opposes all three.
According to the poll, while Pope Francis received 87 percent approval, 57 percent of Catholics thought abortion should be legal “in some cases,” with nine percent declaring support any time. Seventy-eight percent of respondents support contraception use, 66 percent back same-sex “marriage,” and 51 percent believe women should be priests.
Thirty-eight percent of respondents believe divorce and remarriage outside of the Church means a person is living in sin, and 47 percent believe priests should be allowed to marry.
The poll was taken in nine languages and on five continents. Univision says the 12 countries in which those polled live “represent 61% of the world’s Catholic population.”
The only realistic answer to the cause of this generalized apostasy is the complete failure of the Bishops to teach firmly on these subjects, choosing instead a more pastoral approach.
But the remedy is obvious. Let’s call a special meeting of all the same people who caused the problem to find a pastoral approach to fixing it.
Yup. That ought to do it.
February 28, 2014 at 6:04 pm
1. I just remembered why I never read the comments on this blog. A polite debate is a good thing. But some of these comments don't qualify as polite debate. This kind of hostility is the sort of thing that drives people away from true doctrine. In other words, some of you are causing the very situation this article is describing.
2. I sympathize with several of the commenters' Confession problems. I too have had to debate with priests in the confessional as to whether my sins were actually sins.
3. Mr. Archbold: I realize you posted this to draw attention to the negative side of this poll. The negative angle is indeed indisputable, but if you look closely at the data, there's a pretty clear glimmer of hope in it as well. Check out the distribution of age groups in the "Socio-Demographic Profiles" section of the poll (http://www.univision.com/interactivos/openpage/2014-02-06/la-voz-del-pueblo-matriz-1). On average, the 18-34 group (the youngest group polled) is about 6% more likely to agree with Church teaching than the older groups. Really, I see this as the most important part of the poll, because it's pointing out not just where the Church is now (which is pretty dour), but where it is going (which appears to be much more positive).