Do you agree or disagree with the church's position on ...
Abortion
32.1% Agree
62.6% Disagree
5.3%
Don't know / refused
Birth control
19.1% Agree
75.2% Disagree
5.7%
Don't know / refused
Homosexuality
24.5% Agree
61.4% Disagree
14%
Don't know / refused
Q.
Would you support or oppose ...
... allowing priests to marry?
86.3% Support
10.8% Oppose
2.9%
Don't know / refused
... the ordination of
women as priests?
79.5% Support
16.9% Oppose
3.5%
Don't know / refused
... prohibiting gay men
from becoming priests?
34.6% Support
58.8% Oppose
6.6%
Don't know / refused
Impact on faith
Q.
Has what you have learned about sexual abuse of children by priests ...
... caused you to lose confidence in
the Catholic Church as an institution
... caused you to lose faith
as a Christian
... caused you to attend Mass
less regularly than before
... caused you to donate less money
to the church than before
... made you less likely to encourage
your children to practice Catholicism
(280 respondents with children
answered this question)
Q.
Over the last year, have you or have
you not considered joining a non-Catholic
church?
Q.
As a future step, would you support or
oppose an American Catholic Church that
is independent of the Vatican?
New leader
Q.
How important a role would you say the archbishop of Boston
plays in your life as a Catholic?
8.7% Very important
25.6% Somewhat important
64% Not important
1.6%
Don't know / refused
Q.
Which of the following would be the most important quality
you would like to see in the next archbishop?
Q.
How confident are you that Pope John Paul II will choose an
archbishop with the qualities you think are important?
18.2% Very confident
42.1% Somewhat confident
37.2% Not confident
2.5%
Don't know / refused
Q.
Which of the following do you consider to be the most important problem
facing the Boston Archdiocese today?
Q.
Which of the following would be most likely to bring you
closer to the church personally?
Cardinal Bernard Law
Q.
Did you agree or disagree with Cardinal Law's decision to resign?
88.2% Agree
9.2% Disagree
2.6%
Don't know / refused
Q.
Do you think Cardinal Law should face criminal prosecution for the way he handled cases of sexual abuse by priests ...
57.4% Yes, should face prosecution
34.4% No, should not
8.2%
Don't know / refused
Q.
Would you describe the job Attorney General Tom Reilly has done
handling the issue of sexual abuse by priests as being ...
3.4% Too tough
53.4% About right
34.8% Not tough enough
8.5%
Don't know / refused
Bishop Richard Lennon
Q.
Is your opinion of Bishop Richard Lennon ...
4.7% Extremely Favorable
38.5% Favorable
17.7% No opinion / neutral
19.6% Unfavorable
3.3%
16.3% Don't know / refused
Extremely unfavorable
Q.
Do you think Bishop Richard Lennon would be a good choice
as the permanent successor to Cardinal Law ...
37.3% Yes
20.3% No
42.5% Don't know / refused
Q.
How would you rate the job Bishop Lennon is now doing
addressing the problem of clergy sexual abuse ...
3.8% Excellent
33.5% Good
32.6% Only fair
10.7% Poor
19.3%
Don't know / refused
Q.
How would you rate the job Bishop Lennon is now doing
managing the church's finances ...
3.9% Excellent
35.3% Good
24.7% Only fair
4.4% Poor
31.6% Don't know / refused
Q.
How would you rate the job Bishop Lennon is now doing
providing spiritual leadership ...
9.7% Excellent
40.3% Good
25% Only fair
5.1% Poor
20% Don't know / refused
Addressing legal claims
Q.
With regard to the 500 legal claims being brought against the church for
sexual abuse of children by priests, do you think the church's top priority should
be to negotiate settlements or fight in court?
76.4% Negotiate settlements
16.9% Fight in court
6.6%
Don't know / refused
Q.
How concerned are you that a broad financial settlement
would put the church’s finances in peril?
18.4% Very
31.4% Somewhat
49.7% Not
0.5% Don't know / refused
Q.
Which of the following would you consider to be the best way to address the
church's financial problems?
Lay involvement
Q.
Do you think there is a need for lay people to become more
involved in the management of church finances?
74.8% Yes
22.8% No
2.3%
Don't know / refused
Q.
Is your opinion of the organization called Voice of the Faithful ...
Q.
Do you think the archdiocese should accept money donated
to the church by Voice of the Faithful?
69% Yes
16.6% No
14.4%
Don't know / refused
Note: Some totals may not add to 100% due to rounding. Margin of error: +/– 5 percentage points on
questions answered by all Catholics. When pollsters offered choices to the respondents, the choices
were rotated so that different options were offered first to different respondents.
