Poll: Most Catholics Say Faith Is Unshaken Despite Abuse Scandal
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P
Prague
Guest
My faith is not shaken. God Bless and Watch Over The Holy Catholic Church.
T
thealtonroute
Guest
Keeping the faith is different from having faith that the Church always will do the right thing. If you think the Church never can do wrong, you’re in for a rude awakening.
W
workingman
Guest
My faith is not shaken. Nor should it be. Yes evil things can happen in the church but the secular press does not help when they blow things way out of line and don’t report all the facts.
O
OriginalJS
Guest
Most Mass attending Catholics I come into contact say they regret the abuse scandal and hope the hoopla will die down. Some resent the amount of money expended to settle lawsuits, but say they know the matter has to be resolved. Overall, most are just interested in their own local church.
R
Rich_Olszewski
Guest
I agree. We had no scandal in the Diocese of Little Rock, and so, what happened elsewhere didn’t affect our belief or our trust in our parishes and didn’t affect our pocketbooks, either.
B
BlueSapphire
Guest
My faith is not based on the actions of the clergy, but on the Actions of our Merciful Saviour! 
P
Prague
Guest
I did not say the Church could do no wrong. I am quite aware that people in the Church did wrong and can do wrong. I asked God to watch over the Church! He has and He will continue to do so. You, are in for a rude awakening if you don’t know the difference.
J
jay29
Guest
My faith is as strong as ever because it doesn’t depend on whether other members of the Church sin or not. 
C
catharina
Guest
Jesus Himself gives the warning:
Matthew 7
"8 For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread,
10 or a snake when he asks for a fish?
11 If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.
12 "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.
13 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.
14 How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.
15 **"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. **
16 By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Jesus Himself also gives the promise:
“Not even the forces of hell” will destroy His Church.
Matthew 7
"8 For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread,
10 or a snake when he asks for a fish?
11 If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.
12 "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.
13 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.
14 How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.
15 **"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. **
16 By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Jesus Himself also gives the promise:
“Not even the forces of hell” will destroy His Church.
J
JReducation
Guest
Actually, to say that the Church can ever do wrong is heresy. The Church can never do wrong. She is a spotless bride.
Catholics can do wrong. Individuals are not the Church. We are part of the Church. There is no rude awakening. The Church can never do wrong.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
I
Ismael
Guest
My faith is not shaken, but sometimes my confidence in Church officials is.
Sometime I wonder: 'how deep is the scandal?’, What is the worst has yet to come? What are some bishops still hiding?
Also I fear sometimes for the Church and the faithful Catholics. We live in a climate of deep anti-catholic sentiment:
-many try to sue the Vatican (and no doubt many would like to see it crumble into the ground)
-many truly hate the pope and priests
-the media has everyone believing that the Church is full of pedophiles and criminals…
Sometimes I fear they will drive us underground…
Perhaps I am too negative about this… but recent news (e.g. the Belgian raid) disconfort me
Sometime I wonder: 'how deep is the scandal?’, What is the worst has yet to come? What are some bishops still hiding?
Also I fear sometimes for the Church and the faithful Catholics. We live in a climate of deep anti-catholic sentiment:
-many try to sue the Vatican (and no doubt many would like to see it crumble into the ground)
-many truly hate the pope and priests
-the media has everyone believing that the Church is full of pedophiles and criminals…
Sometimes I fear they will drive us underground…
Perhaps I am too negative about this… but recent news (e.g. the Belgian raid) disconfort me
There is our light of hope…
J
JReducation
Guest
Try to remember two things.
First, the Church is built upon the faith of the Apostles, not upon their ability to get it right all the time. And yet, the Church is still standing. Therefore, our confidence is in Jesus who leads those in charge.
Second, those in charge have made mistakes. As St. Francis said whenever he looked at himself, “No one is more sinful than I am.” We have to look at ourselves in the mirror several times a day.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
First, the Church is built upon the faith of the Apostles, not upon their ability to get it right all the time. And yet, the Church is still standing. Therefore, our confidence is in Jesus who leads those in charge.
Second, those in charge have made mistakes. As St. Francis said whenever he looked at himself, “No one is more sinful than I am.” We have to look at ourselves in the mirror several times a day.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
A
AnotherVoice
Guest
I will not let the actions of the few destroy the good work of the thousands. Yes, some have sinned and violated a trust but that trust was built by the self sacrificing efforts of thousands of dedicated religious both current and prior to them.
As I watch my pastor go about his duties, day after day, I am proud to stand by him.
As I watch my pastor go about his duties, day after day, I am proud to stand by him.
D
Dale_M
Guest
erm… that poll in the first post is certainly an odd collection of questions. 
But the results they got on the single Catholic question they asked are somewhat close with the results in a CBSNews /New York Times poll released in May.
cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/poll_catholics_050310.pdf?tag=contentMain;contentBody
When asked if recent abuse reports led them to question remaining in the Catholic Church,
9% of Catholics answered “Yes” and 88% answered “No”
Still, I think that is a high number who are questioning whether to remain in the Church because of the sex abuse scandals. If a similar percentage of customers were considering shopping elsewhere because of widespread misdeeds, the executives at Walmart (or any other major store chain) would be panicking.
But the results they got on the single Catholic question they asked are somewhat close with the results in a CBSNews /New York Times poll released in May.
cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/poll_catholics_050310.pdf?tag=contentMain;contentBody
When asked if recent abuse reports led them to question remaining in the Catholic Church,
9% of Catholics answered “Yes” and 88% answered “No”
Still, I think that is a high number who are questioning whether to remain in the Church because of the sex abuse scandals. If a similar percentage of customers were considering shopping elsewhere because of widespread misdeeds, the executives at Walmart (or any other major store chain) would be panicking.
J
JReducation
Guest
The bold is mine.erm… that poll in the first post is certainly an odd collection of questions.
But the results they got on the single Catholic question they asked are somewhat close with the results in a CBSNews /New York Times poll released in May.
cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/poll_catholics_050310.pdf?tag=contentMain;contentBody
When asked if recent abuse reports led them to question remaining in the Catholic Church,
9% of Catholics answered “Yes” and 88% answered “No”
Still, I think that is a high number who are questioning whether to remain in the Church because of the sex abuse scandals. If a similar percentage of customers were considering shopping elsewhere because of widespread misdeeds, the executives at Walmart (or any other major store chain) would be panicking.
I believe that what we have to remember here is that the Church is not Walmart. Whether everyone stays or everyone but the pope leaves does not harm to the Church. The Church does not exist for temporal succes.
Let’s try to take this in tiny steps. What is the Church? She is the bride of Jesus Christ. She is the body of Christ. She does not cease to be his bride or his body regardless of the numbers, nor does Christ love her or prefer her any less despite the number of Catholics.
Let’s look at what the Church teaches. The sex abuse scandals have not changed a single moral teaching. The sacraments are still in place and they cannot all be found outside of the Catholic Church. There is no way that someone who truly believes in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is going to leave the Catholic Church, because of a sinful priest. To do so is to leave behind his only opportunity to be physically united with Christ and all of eternity through the Eucharist.
Look at what St. Francis said about this very point. The sexual abuse of minors is a scandal today, because we have laws and we have media. It is not new. Up until there were laws, adults were sexually involved with minors. During Francis time, this was very common and not just among clergy. Fourteen-year old girls were forced into marriage with old men for financial concerns. Secular priests often had houseboys and you can imagine the rest. But they were not the only ones who had these houseboys.
Francis saw this and he was one of the few people of his time who felt very uncomfortable with all of this and many other other things too. But he siad something that resonates with every person whose faith is true. He wrote and said, “No one else, but the priest, can show me any visible and tangible sign of the physical presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Only the priest has the power to consecrate the sacred host and wine. No one but the priest can absolve my sins and guarrantee that they are forgiven. Therefore, if I met an angel and athe most wretched priest, I wold first kiss the hand of the priest and then the angel, because the angel does not have the power to consecrate or to forgive sins.” This is why people of real faith remain. It is not because the priest is a saint. If you stay because the priest is holy, you’re on a slippery slope. Priests come and go. Some are saints and others are nuts.
The Church has nothing to fear as would K-Mart or Walmart. If people leave, who loses? Those who leave, not the Church. The Church gets to keep her sacraments, the fullness of revelation, her apostolic succession, the keys to the Kingdom, and the promise of infallibility. What does the person who leaves take with him or her? He feels better. You can’t get into heaven on feeling better.
That’s why we Catholics do not worry too much about who leaves or how many leave. We have nothing to lose. Those who leave also leave may leave behind the troubles, but they also leave behind the most guarranteed means of salvation.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
S
SilenJack
Guest
As far as a quarter of the people in Germany considering leaving…
Europe has been undergoing a secular drift for decades. Perhaps what’s really happening is that those who are considering leaving now are those who would have have left anyway. They’re just going a few years ahead of schedule…
And as for all those who hate the Church and would use this scandal to drive out of the world… The Church has withstood empires, revolutions and worse. It survived all these things, as it will survive this. And a generation from now, when the current scandals had faded into memory, the Church will still be here, waiting.
Europe has been undergoing a secular drift for decades. Perhaps what’s really happening is that those who are considering leaving now are those who would have have left anyway. They’re just going a few years ahead of schedule…
And as for all those who hate the Church and would use this scandal to drive out of the world… The Church has withstood empires, revolutions and worse. It survived all these things, as it will survive this. And a generation from now, when the current scandals had faded into memory, the Church will still be here, waiting.
D
Dale_M
Guest
Very true. The weakness of my comparison is that Walmart (or other companies) would fear major hits to their bottomline, perhaps leading to store closings or even bankruptcy. Obviously, the Catholic Church does not face such a threat from the (theoretical) departure of 10% of its followers.
The other problem with my comparison is that in retail business, to some degree, there is a philosophy of “Give the lady what she wants.” However, the Church is not going to alter its beliefs or practices to cater to popular demand. The CBS News/New York Times poll has some rather shocking results when American Catholics are asked about changes to Church teaching or practice. But, as Pope John Paul II once mentioned, the Church is not a democracy.
J
JReducation
Guest
I think that the message that people need to get is a double barreled message.
First, yes there have been serious sins. The members of the Church, lay, religious and clergy are not all saints. Some of us are more sinful than others.
Second, our faith is in the teachings of the Church. These have not changed. The actions of individuals are always going to be an issue in any generation. Clergy, religious and laity are products of their culture and time in history. We all come to the Church with our baggage. Some people make faster and further progress than others. Some of us are weighed down by our baggage and thus more sinful. But this is us, not the Church.
As far as the bottom line, I truly believe that’s a very secular way of thinking. Unfortunately, even clergy and religious often fall into this way of thinking. I was in a conversation with a priest the other day. He’s a secular priest, a very good man. He asked me how my brothers lived. I told him that God has provided for us for 800 years. He said, “Yes I know, but how do you survive?” I started to laugh. All I could say to him was the truth, “St. Francis always told us to work, to use our skills. When that does not bring in enough money, we don’t worry. God has lots of money. Franciscans have lived on this faith for 800 years. Today we are 1.7 million Franciscan men and women and none of us are starving. We have no idea where the money comes from.” God just sends it when we need it to the house and project that needs it.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
A
Annabelle_Marie
Guest
Well–I’ve come back to the Church in the middle of the abuse scandal so obviously it hasn’t shaken my faith. Why? Because this is where God wants me to be so this is where His humble servant will remain!
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