Pope is ‘not a true Christian leader,' most British believers say

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Two thirds of Christians in Britain do not think the Pope is a true Christian leader, according to a new poll.
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The poll, conducted by ComRes, found that only 38 per cent of Christians surveyed agreed that “Catholic popes are true ambassadors of the Christian faith”. The figure dropped to 16 per cent among Baptists.
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Several Protestant ministers - some of whom are involved in ecumenical work - said they were not surprised by the low level of support for the Pope.
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They said that even Protestants who work with Catholics at a grassroots level are still likely to find the idea of papal authority “particularly difficult”.
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The poll, which surveyed over 500 British Christians, found that 39 per cent of Methodists and 36 per cent of Anglicans who were polled believed that the Pope was a true Christian representative.
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It also reported a high level of admiration for John Paul II, with just over two thirds of respondents saying they admired him “greatly” or “somewhat”.
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That figure was not matched when respondents were asked about Pope Benedict XVI. Only 47 per cent of those surveyed said they admired him.
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The trend was followed by Catholics. Eighty-six per cent said they “greatly” admired John Paul II whereas 65 per cent said the same of Benedict XVI.
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Among Baptists - who again showed the lowest level of support for the Pope - almost half said they admired John Paul but only 24 per cent said they admired Benedict XVI.
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The Rev Mark Fisher, executive secretary of the Free Churches Group, said Protestant attitudes to the Catholic Church had “softened” in recent years. But he said that some Protestant groups would still not join ecumenical bodies if they included Catholics.
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He said: “We still have denominations in membership [of the Free Churches Group] because they don’t join the Churches Together in England because of the membership of the Roman Catholic Church.”
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He suggested that conservative denominations were more concerned with “the liberal division in Christianity” rather than the divide between Protestants and Catholics.
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He asked that many Protestants would agree with the Pope on a number of issues.
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“But, insofar as what the Pope says comes out of the history and tradition of the Catholic Church, they would not be quite so quick to jump on board,” he added.
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A Baptist minister, who preferred to be quoted anonymously, agreed that the figures were not surprising.
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He said: “Some Baptists would not want to give the Pope any credence as a representative of the Christian faith. Others who are very open to working with the Catholic Church would not want to necessarily see the Pope as a representative with any kind of authority… The position of the Pope is a particularly difficult issue in working with local Catholics.”
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But he said relations had improved. “At one time Baptists would not want anything to do with the Pope,” he said.
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The Rev Jeremy Brooks, the director of ministry at the Protestant Truth Society, said: “All true Protestants believe the papacy to be unbiblical, unnecessary and unhelpful. Churches governed by scripture alone rather than the traditions of men or the fashions of the moment are what broken Britain so desperately needs.”
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Mr Brooks said the poll suggested that “despite a serious lack of clear moral and spiritual leadership emanating from Canterbury it would seem that Rome is not an attractive alternative” for many Christians in Britain.
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In 1990 the Catholic Church joined Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
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The new ecumenical group replaced the British Council of Churches (BCC), set up in 1942.
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The Catholic Church had never been a member of the BCC, although Catholics had worked with local BCC associations ever since the 1960s.
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Theological dialogue with Anglicans began in 1967 and continued with the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission over the following three decades.
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Progress has slowed in recent years after the ordination of women and gay men as Anglican bishops.
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The ComRes poll was conducted online between June 30 and July 6. Data was weighted by denomination - Anglican, Baptist, Independent, Methodist, New Churches, Pentecostal and Catholic - according to the 2005 Church census.
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catholicherald.co.uk/articles/a0000594.shtml
 
To quote John Diefenbaker: “Polls! Dogs know what to do with polls!”
 
The poll results don’t surprise or upset me. The true Church has always been maligned and hated by Protestants. Having been a Protestant for 30 years I can say with a little authority that many see the Catholic Church as “the beast” spoken of in the Revelation. They don’t understand what we believe, and haven’t studied deeply enough to see that the traditions established by the Church and the beliefs we hold dear are the most scripturally correct view that can be taken. Some have placed the Pope in their view as the prophet of the antichrist. I have listened to the diatribes; and there was a time I believed it myself. One truly has to read and study to be able to get past the venom in some belief systems.
 
The polls do not surprise me, because John Paul II and Benedict XVI are very different people. The attempt to compare them is silly. Each has his gifts.

Benedict does not come off as a charismatic world religious leader, because he is a scholar and a shy man. That does not take away from the fact, that he is a religious leader.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
…so basically…Protestants don’t follow the Pope…

You know, I think next we should work on that “is water wet?” issue. That’s got me staying up at night.
 
Rawb said:
…so basically…Protestants don’t follow the Pope…
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No, it’s better than that. A group of schismatic Christians, who by definition don’t follow the Pope, think that he’s not a leader of a group that they broke off with by declaring that his office did not lead them.
Rawb said:
You know, I think next we should work on that “is water wet?” issue. That’s got me staying up at night.
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My initial investigations lead me to believe that water is, under certain circumstances, somewhat damp. But in the wake of these revelations, I think I may have to do a more exhaustive study.
 
What surprises me about the poll. Is that someone would bother to ask the british what they thought about anything. Let alone the Pope.
 
Rawb said:
…so basically…Protestants don’t follow the Pope…

You know, I think next we should work on that “is water wet?” issue. That’s got me staying up at night.
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Ha-ha! Classic! 👍
 
The EU-funded European Social Survey to be published in April 2009 has found that only 12% of British people belong to a church. This is despite the fact that 71% of Britons claim to be Christian.

And of that 12%, Catholics are a tiny minority.

So the overwhelming number of Christians in Britain are…wrong 😛
 
A friend of mine has a nickname for ‘The Catholic Herald’. He calls it ‘The Catholic Heretic’.

Have a look at the current issue. Read the headlines only:
  • “Treat the suicidal with compassion, urge bishops” [suicide OK]
  • “Marriage is not better for children, says official” [marriage bad]
  • “Pope is 'not a true Christian leader …”
  • “It is not true that you could once go anywhere in the world and understand the Mass.” [Give Vat. II another chance, won’t you?]
 
Who cares what that poll says? The Pope IS the Vicar of Christ, no matter what anybody may think. It’s not up for a vote, and not subject to any poll.
 
I was actually pleased to hear that 16% of Baptists accept the Pope as a Christian leader; I’ve encountered so many “Antichrist” web-pages that I would have expected it to be much lower.

Layman, I don’t think urging compassion for the suicidal is the same as accepting suicide: if someone is so deep in despair that he or she wants to die, then compassion from others is what will pull them out and save them. I agree, though, that the other headlines have a questionable ring to them.
 
catharina said:
Such poll results can’t be surprising since most of Britain’s Christians are Protestants.
Historically, the English preferred Henry VIII over the Catholic Church.
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Yeah but to say that the pope is “not a true Christian leader”??? That’s just sickening in my opinion and it smells like pure bigotry. :mad:
 
**PS: Scanning a Catholic newpaper’s headlines and pictures in the light of tradition is a useful exercise.

Tip: When a journalist writes “People are saying …” or “It’s been rumoured …” what they mean is:
"I (and some of the guys in the office) think the following … "**

Like, I’d assumed ‘The Irish Catholic’ would be fairly staunch. Then I saw a big colour picture of ‘wompenpriests’ in the middle of it, without critical comment. A couple of months ago, a picture of two colleens dancing a jig at a Mass in Drogheda, up at the front of the church. On the front page, without critical comment.

It’s useful to look at the wood rather than the individual trees, occasionally. All papers have a political slant.
 
The more interesting question for me would be who the British themselves believe to be a “true Christian leader” and “how many Brits really care about Jesus Christ or Christianity” or attempt to live “Christian lives”. How much respect does Canterbury have? That for me would reveal a lot more as to what Brits believe. Whether Christianity as a lodestar has vanished somewhat (or completely?) from the British public square. Did not some Christian groups complain to the BBC lately over anti-Christian bias in their reporting?
 
andrewagill said:
No, it’s better than that. A group of schismatic Christians, who by definition don’t follow the Pope, think that he’s not a leader of a group that they broke off with by declaring that his office did not lead them.

My initial investigations lead me to believe that water is, under certain circumstances, somewhat damp. But in the wake of these revelations, I think I may have to do a more exhaustive study.
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How about a poll?
 
I might just add that Christianity in Britain is on a downhill run.

Church attendance has dropped to an all time low.

As for the Church of England, that great rejector of Papal authority, it is an absolute joke - a fragmented, decaying mess that is bending over backwards to be popular to modern world values.
 
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