Poll: Catholics unhappy with handling of sex abuse scandals
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Almost three-quarters of American Catholics said they believe the Catholic Church has done a bad job handling the problem of sexual abuse committed by priests, according to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.
A slightly smaller percentage -- 70 percent -- said they believed embattled Boston Archbishop Cardinal Bernard Law should be removed. On Monday, 58 priests signed a letter asking Law to resign. The archdiocese faces an estimated 450 claims from alleged abuse victims and Law has been authorized to file for bankruptcy protection.
A majority of Catholics said the scandal would not discourage them from contributing money to the church.
The results are from interviews with 270 adult Catholics polled December 9 and 10. The sampling error is +/-7 percentage points.
In a related set of questions, the poll queried 1,000 Americans about their church or synagogue attendance. Pollsters also asked respondents about their perceived impressions about religion's influence now and in the days immediately following the September 11 terror attacks.
Dealing with sexual abuse
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Overall, do you think the Catholic Church has done a good job or a bad job in dealing with the problem of sexual abuse committed by its priests?
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Church contributions
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Does the issue of sexual abuse of young people by priests make you less likely to contribute money to the church, or not?
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Remove Law?
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Do you think the pope should -- or should not -- remove Cardinal Bernard Law as head of the archdiocese in Boston?
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Religion's influence
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In a recent interview with 1,000 Americans, the number of respondents who felt that religion had increased its influence dropped from the response pollsters received in early 2001, before the September 11 attacks. The responses have fluctuated since then to an all-time high of 71% -- following the attacks -- and have reflected a perceived waning influence since then.
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Declining or increasing influence
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Do you think religion as a whole is increasing its influence on American life, or losing its influence?
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Church or synagogue attendance
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Did you happen to attend church or synagogue in the last seven days?
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Religion's personal importance
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How important would you say religion is in your own life?
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