AP-NORC poll details rift between lay Catholics and bishops [View all]

Source: Associated Press

AP-NORC poll details rift between lay Catholics and bishops

By DAVID CRARY
June 3, 2022

The hardline stances of many conservative Catholic bishops in the U.S. are not shared by a majority of lay Catholics. Most of them say abortion should be legal, favor greater inclusion of LGBT people, and oppose the denial of Communion for politicians who support abortion rights, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The poll, conducted in mid-May, shows a clear gap between the prevalent views of American Catholics, and some recent high-profile actions taken by the church’s leaders.

For example, leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recently called on Catholics nationwide to pray for the U.S. Supreme Court to end the constitutional right to abortion by reversing its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. According to the new poll, 63% of Catholic adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and 68% say Roe should be left as is.

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According to the poll, only 31% of lay Catholics agree that politicians supporting abortion rights should be denied Communion, while 66% say they should be allowed access to the sacrament.

An even larger majority – 77% -- said that Catholics who identify as LGBT should be allowed to receive Communion. ...

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-religion-government-and-politics-a43a25ff7ffe1e340c26f985de7df95a