Most American Catholics have a positive opinion of
Benedict XVI but they also think it is time for the Church to change,
by electing a cardinal from a developing country as Pope in the upcoming
Conclave. This is according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center straight after Joseph Ratzinger’s resignation.
In the U.S., 74% of Americans express a favourable view of the Pope’s work although this figure has dropped since April 2008 (83%) and is lower than the highest approval rating earned by John Paul II (93%).
The most controversial issue is still the sex-abuse scandal in the Church: Only 33% of Americans judge the Pope’s efforts to combat this as good or excellent, while 63% said it was unsatisfactory.
Peoples’ opinion of the Church’s relations with other religions, however, is more positive, with 55% saying “that Benedict has done a good or excellent job in promoting relations with other religions.”
U.S. Catholics are split over which path the Church should take in the near future in terms of doctrine in general. Indeed, 51% thinks it should maintain the traditional positions of the Church, while 46% would like to see it moving in new directions.
The eagerness for change emerges more clearly when we look at each specific case. 60% of Americans, for example, believe it would be good if the next Conclave elected a Pope from a developing country, like South America, Asia and Africa, in this order, which shows how influential the Latin community is.
Only 14% thinks that a Pope from a developing country would not be a good a solution, while 20% say nationality does not matter. Faithful seem ready to embrace a new non-European leader, as the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Dolan hoped, even if this leader does not come from the U.S.
This would be demonstrative of a universal Church that takes into account the new proportions and distribution of Catholics across the world and at the same time would be something completely new that would trigger enthusiasm everywhere, attracting attention to issues and cultures that have been neglected for too long.
The eagerness for change is also evident in the positions taken with regard to another important issue that is linked both to the vocations problem and the sex-scandal problem. 58% of Americans think it would be good if the next Pope allowed priests to marry.
Only 9%, however, believe that allowing women to serve in the priesthood is a priority in order to modernise the Church.
But this is not an absolute figure; it is relative to all the options given in the survey questionnaire.
For example, 7% would like the Vatican to accept the use of contraception and 9% would like it to accept same-sex marriages. In essence, what this survey shows is that there is a group of faithful that still holds traditional values close to its heart but at the same time is ready for change.