Possible to disagree with Pope and stillVbe good Catholic—poll

Press, 14 September 1987, Page 11

Possible to disagree with Pope and stillVbe good Catholic—poll

By

ARTHUR SPIEGELMAN

of Reuters New York When Pope John Paul II arrives in the United States this week he will be greeted by millions of adoring Catholics who, according to surveys, often do not practise what he preaches.

Once thought to be unswerving supporters of papal teachings, American Catholics today routinely disagree with the Vatican on a host of subjects from abortion and birth control to allowing priests to marry and lay Catholics to divorce.

But as they go their own way on social and moral Issues, American Catholics do not question being Catholic. With a population of 53 million, they form America’s largest single religious denomination — a quarter of the country’s population.

According to a “Time” magazine poll, an overwhelming 93 per cent of American Catholics believe "it is possible to disagree with the Pope and still be a good Catholic.”

That seems to be the theme as they prepare a hero’s welcome for Pope John Paul, who will be making his second trip to the United States as Pope. Surveys show they like and respect the man, even as they question his conservative doctrines and whether he is infallible.

ThA“Time” poll found that 7iper cent think it is permlsible for Catholics to mate up their own minds te such issues as birth cotrol and abortion and 27 per cent of American Catlilics favour the right to ibortion on demand wide only 12 per cent thinl it should be made illegal. Fifty-sevti per cent would albw abortion under certain conditions. The Churth is opposed to abortion except when the mother’s; life is in danger. \ Abortion is oily one of several big fcues in which American Catholics find themselves tn disagreement with \ official Church doctrine. \ The survey, whim supports the findings ohnany other polls during\more than a decade, foun\ that 53 per cent think pMests should be allowed\ to marry and 52 per tent want women to be 'allowed into the priesthood Seventy-six per cent believe that divorced Catha lies should be allowed ta remarry in the Church' and only 24 per cent believe using artifical means of birth control is wrong. “There are disagreements between the Church and American Catholics but it is probably premature to call them splits. This is no indication that Catholics are leaving the institution,” says the University of Chicago sociologist,

William McCready. Mr McCready thinks that in their disagreement with the Pope, American Catholics are simply being American.

He says it is "typical of Americans to disagree with parts of the law but think the law has legitimacy. This is something Catholics do routinely.”

American Catholic liberal attitudes, fuelled by the liberalising spirit of the Second Vatican Council that ended in 1965, have not gone unnoticed by the Vatican. The Church, under Pope John Paul, has made controversial moves to check the freer spirit of American Catholicism.

In August, last year, the Vatican stripped Father Charles Curran of his teaching post at the Catholic University of America in Washington after he questioned the Church on an array of sexual matters.

The move against Father Curran stirred deep concern among Catholic educators, many of whom are devoted to the concept of academic 'freedom. The board of the 'Catholic Theological society of America said hk treatment could damage the teaching of theology list one month after Fatter Curran’s removal, Archbishop Raymond Huntlfausen of Seattle was ordered to relinquish his authorfy/in some pastoral areas, deluding those re-

lated to Church teaching on sexual morality. A delegation of United States Catholic bishops visited the Vatican and won restoration of Archbishop Hunthausen’s powers. The “National Catholic Reporter” quoted the Pope as telling them: “If this is the way you want to do it, then this is the way we will do it.” Two years earlier, the Vatican threatened to dismiss 24 American nuns from their orders for signing a published statement saying Catholics could hold differing views on abortion.

The dispute, which provoked an outcry from Catholic women’s groups, was settled with 22 of the nuns not being dismissed from their orders. The cases of the other two are.

still pending. The issue focused attention on the dwindling number of Americans opting for the priesthood or the convent

Enrolment in seminaries has dropped drastically in the last 20 years in the United States and the number of nuns has fallen from 181,000 in 1966 to 113,000 in 1987. Few experts on American Catholicism think the Pope will use his American tour as an opportunity to whip the United States Church into line. They expect him instead to use the powers of persuasion and even to listen.

Many experts see the most important part of the trip coming near the end when the Pontiff meets his American bishops for half a day of discussions.