Lay peoples' anger over the child abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic continues, apparently unabated. In one survey cited by ARDA, anger at church leadership for the sexual abuse scandal was the top reason cited by people who left the church. In a 2011 study, 69% of Roman Catholics gave low marks to the heirarchy for their handling of the issue.
As similar scandals emerge in other countries, American Catholics have become even more embittered:
“Six years later, as the scandal continues and becomes worldwide, the laity seem much more distressed by it,” said (sociologist William) D’Antonio (of the Catholic University of America), who has led five major surveys of American Catholics since 1987. “The laity seems to be losing their patience.”
In Europe, the child abuse scandal has accelerated Catholicism's decline. In Ireland, Poland, and France--three Catholic pillars--church attendance is in free fall. In the Pope's native Germany, withdrawals from church membership are increasing dramatically.
The Pope's proposal for the re-evangelization of Europe is a good idea, but if he thinks that the appropriate way to do it is to hunker down with the Francisco Franco wing of the church and ride out secularism until they can re-emerge and take control again, he is very sadly mistaken.
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