Agence France Presse: US 'a la carte' Catholics reject Vatican line |
Site last published: 01/06/10
Agence France Presse: US 'a la carte' Catholics reject Vatican line
April 14,2005
By: Alain Jean-Robert
DATELINE: WASHINGTON April 14
In 1986, Pope John Paul II laid down the law to US Roman Catholics when theologian Charles Curran was forced out of Washington's Catholic University for criticizing the Vatican's position on contraception and sexual morality.
However, as the Roman Catholic Church's College of Cardinals meets to choose a new pope in the coming week, they cannot ignore the fact that many US Catholics reject the Vatican's stances on personal matters like abortion, divorce and homosexuality.
With Americans comprising six percent of the world's Roman Catholics, the next pope will have to address the growing division between the church hierarchy and laymen in the United States.
US Catholics embrace their faith with passion, but many break with Vatican dogma when it comes to contraception, homosexuality and divorce, which some church analysts call "a la carte Catholicism."
"The paradox is that while (the pope) was enormously popular, he did not necessarily change behavior" among US Roman Catholics, said David Gibson, author of "The Coming Catholic Church."
While the pope held a firm position against contraception, for instance, a recent study by the Gallup Institute indicated that 78 percent of US Catholics favor both birth control pills and condoms.
Another study, by the University of Chicago, showed that even though most US Roman Catholics follow the Vatican in opposing abortion, some 38 percent believe that women should have abortion rights.
In addition, 39 percent have no problem with homosexuality, above the 33 percent of all Americans.
In another difference with Rome, large percentages of US Roman Catholics accept divorce and research using embryonic stem cells. On these issues as well, US Catholics were more progressive than US society as a whole.
Some US Roman Catholic groups have formed to openly fight the Vatican: Catholics for a Free Choice, which supports abortion rights; Dignity, which promotes accepting homosexuals; and Voice of the Faithful, which denounced the US pedophile priest scandal.
"Catholics as a whole occupy the mainstream of American life when 50 or 60 years ago, they were on the periphery of society," said John Green, a specialist of religious history at the University of Akron, Ohio.
"Catholics in the US keep faith but live with contradictions," the New York Times said in a recent article.
Another key division with the Vatican lies in how the church addresses the urgent problem of a shortage of priests in the United States.
While the number of US Roman Catholics grew 33 percent 1975 and 2004, the number of priests fell 28 percent, to 43,000 from 59,000.
According to Gallup, 63 percent of US Roman Catholics said they favor allowing priests to marry, which could encourage more men to enter the priesthood.
More radically, 55 percent of US Catholics favor the ordination of women, according to Gallup.
"If (the Roman Catholic Church) wants to stay one of the major religions in this country, it needs to progress with the times and let women priests in," Katie McDevitt, a student at the Jesuit-run Boston College in Boston, Massachusetts, told the New York Times.
The church is too sexist and patriarchal, McDevitt told the Times. "There is a lot of emphasis on the wrong principles," she said.
But the polls also show the sharp differences between US Catholic laymen and the leaders of the US church.
Most of the 272 US bishops and archbishops are conservative, thanks to John Paul II, who over his long papacy sidelined more progressive priests and thinkers like Curran, who criticized the Vatican's positions on contraception and secular morality.
DATELINE: WASHINGTON April 14
In 1986, Pope John Paul II laid down the law to US Roman Catholics when theologian Charles Curran was forced out of Washington's Catholic University for criticizing the Vatican's position on contraception and sexual morality.
However, as the Roman Catholic Church's College of Cardinals meets to choose a new pope in the coming week, they cannot ignore the fact that many US Catholics reject the Vatican's stances on personal matters like abortion, divorce and homosexuality.
With Americans comprising six percent of the world's Roman Catholics, the next pope will have to address the growing division between the church hierarchy and laymen in the United States.
US Catholics embrace their faith with passion, but many break with Vatican dogma when it comes to contraception, homosexuality and divorce, which some church analysts call "a la carte Catholicism."
"The paradox is that while (the pope) was enormously popular, he did not necessarily change behavior" among US Roman Catholics, said David Gibson, author of "The Coming Catholic Church."
While the pope held a firm position against contraception, for instance, a recent study by the Gallup Institute indicated that 78 percent of US Catholics favor both birth control pills and condoms.
Another study, by the University of Chicago, showed that even though most US Roman Catholics follow the Vatican in opposing abortion, some 38 percent believe that women should have abortion rights.
In addition, 39 percent have no problem with homosexuality, above the 33 percent of all Americans.
In another difference with Rome, large percentages of US Roman Catholics accept divorce and research using embryonic stem cells. On these issues as well, US Catholics were more progressive than US society as a whole.
Some US Roman Catholic groups have formed to openly fight the Vatican: Catholics for a Free Choice, which supports abortion rights; Dignity, which promotes accepting homosexuals; and Voice of the Faithful, which denounced the US pedophile priest scandal.
"Catholics as a whole occupy the mainstream of American life when 50 or 60 years ago, they were on the periphery of society," said John Green, a specialist of religious history at the University of Akron, Ohio.
"Catholics in the US keep faith but live with contradictions," the New York Times said in a recent article.
Another key division with the Vatican lies in how the church addresses the urgent problem of a shortage of priests in the United States.
While the number of US Roman Catholics grew 33 percent 1975 and 2004, the number of priests fell 28 percent, to 43,000 from 59,000.
According to Gallup, 63 percent of US Roman Catholics said they favor allowing priests to marry, which could encourage more men to enter the priesthood.
More radically, 55 percent of US Catholics favor the ordination of women, according to Gallup.
"If (the Roman Catholic Church) wants to stay one of the major religions in this country, it needs to progress with the times and let women priests in," Katie McDevitt, a student at the Jesuit-run Boston College in Boston, Massachusetts, told the New York Times.
The church is too sexist and patriarchal, McDevitt told the Times. "There is a lot of emphasis on the wrong principles," she said.
But the polls also show the sharp differences between US Catholic laymen and the leaders of the US church.
Most of the 272 US bishops and archbishops are conservative, thanks to John Paul II, who over his long papacy sidelined more progressive priests and thinkers like Curran, who criticized the Vatican's positions on contraception and secular morality.