American Catholics Approve of Pope Benedict XVI
By Richard Morin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 25, 2005; 8:51 AM
An overwhelming majority of American Catholics approve of the selection of Pope Benedict XVI and predicts that he will defend the traditional policies and beliefs of a church that many members say is out of touch with their views, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
The survey found that more than eight in 10 Catholics broadly supported the selection of former German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to replace Pope John Paul II.
Nearly as many, 73 percent, said they were "enthusiastic" about the new pontiff, though only one in four said they were strongly enthusiastic about the choice.
The poll suggested the magnitude of the challenge facing the newly installed pontiff in the United States as he attempts to lead a congregation deeply split between those who want the church to maintain its traditional policies and beliefs, and those who say the church needs to change in order to reflect the way Catholics live today.
Half say they want the church to adhere to traditional values and policies, while almost exactly the same proportion believe the church must change its policies to reflect modern lifestyles and beliefs.
The Post-ABC poll found somewhat greater consensus among Catholics over whether the church currently is in step with their views. Slightly more than half, 52 percent, believe the Catholic Church is out of touch with American Catholics, while 44 percent disagree.
But Catholics on both sides of these divides agree that the newly installed pontiff likely will chart a conservative course in the years ahead: Eight in 10 expect him to maintain traditional church policies while only one in six believe he will change policies and modernize the church, a course that could further widen the gap between the church in Rome and American Catholics.
On other church issues, American Catholics say the church's top priority should be to deal with sexual abuse by priests.
Seven in 10 opposed denying communion to politicians who support legal abortion, a move urged by many conservative church leaders and an issue that briefly surfaced in last year's election campaign.
Slightly more than half, 53 percent, said they would want their son to become a priest while 41 percent disagreed.
A total of 284 self-described Catholics were interviewed April 20-24 for this survey. Margin of sampling error for the results is plus or minus 6 percentage points. |
