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It is clear the sexual abuse of women, children and vulnerable adults has been common in Catholic clerical culture. Abuse is exercised at every level of ministry, from parish priest to the most senior clerics. Perpetrators are protected by the church and victims silenced.
A new Gallup poll found that thirty-seven percent of U.S. Catholics, up from 22% in 2002, say news of the clergy sexual abuse scandal has led them to question whether they would remain in the church. These results are based on interviews with 581 U.S. Catholics who participated in Gallup polls in January and February this year. It is a leap of 15 percentage points from the church's last major abuse crisis in 2002. That year, the Boston Globe uncovered widespread sexual misconduct by clergy and cover-ups by Catholic leaders, a scandal that soon spread across the country.
As the Gallup explains, it is unclear whether Catholics — who are questioning their church membership — will actually decide to leave the church. Many Catholics may consider leaving the church but ultimately decide not to do so, or they may have no intention of leaving but simply be responding to this question as a way to express their frustration with the way the church has handled the problem.
Substantial minorities of both practicing and nonpracticing Catholics say they are questioning their commitment to the church. However, as might be expected, those less committed to their religion are more likely to be questioning it. Whereas 46% of Catholics who seldom or never attend church say they have questioned whether they would remain in the faith, 37% of those who attend church on a monthly basis and 22% who attend weekly say the same.
In terms of trust in the Pope, research shows the following:
Amid the latest scandal, a majority of Catholics say they have either a great deal (40%) or quite a lot of confidence (18%) in Pope Francis. Similar percentages are confident in the priests at their church (41% a great deal, 18% quite a lot). Catholics are less confident in priests in the U.S. more generally, and in U.S. bishops and other Catholic leaders. About one in four U.S. Catholics say they have very little or no confidence in those two groups. One in eight have little or no confidence in Pope Francis or their own priests.
The widest gaps in confidence appear with respect to the priests at their own church — 86% of weekly churchgoers are confident in their own priests, compared with 39% of those who seldom or never attend church.
