Boston Globe / Spotlight / Abuse in the Catholic Church

Globe poll results

Following are the complete results of a Globe poll of 400 Catholics living in the Archdiocese of Boston conducted May 4-6, 2003, by KRC/Communications Research.

The Catholic Church and faith

Is your opinion of Pope John Paul II extremely favorable, favorable, unfavorable, or extremely unfavorable?

Do you agree or disagree with the church's position on birth control?

Do you agree or disagree with the church's position on abortion?

Do you agree or disagree with the church's position on homosexuality?

Would you support or oppose allowing priests to marry?

Would you support or oppose the ordination of women as priests?

Do you support or oppose prohibiting gay men from becoming priests?

As a future step, would you support or oppose an American Catholic church that is independent of the Vatican?

Which of the following would be most likely to bring you closer to the church personally?

How important would you say the Catholic faith is to your everyday life?

The Boston Archdiocese

Which of the following do you consider to be the most important problem facing the Boston Catholic archdiocese today?

Is your opinion of your parish priest extremely favorable, favorable, unfavorable, or extremely unfavorable?

Cardinal Bernard Law

Is your opinion of Cardinal Bernard Law extremely favorable, favorable, unfavorable, or extremely unfavorable?

Did you agree or disagree with Cardinal Law's decision to resign?

Do you think Cardinal Law should face criminal prosecution for the way he handled cases of sexual abuse by priests, or not?

Bishop Richard Lennon

Is your opinion of Bishop Richard Lennon extremely favorable, favorable, unfavorable, or extremely unfavorable?

Do you think Bishop Richard Lennon would be a good choice as the permanent successor to Cardinal Law, or not?

How would you rate the job Bishop Lennon is now doing addressing the problem of clergy sexual abuse -- excellent, good, only fair, or poor?

How would you rate the job Bishop Lennon is now doing managing the church's finances -- excellent, good, only fair, or poor?

How would you rate the job Bishop Lennon is now doing providing spiritual leadership -- excellent, good, only fair, or poor?

Choosing a new Boston archbishop

How important a role would you say the archbishop of Boston plays in your life as a Catholic?

Which of the following would be the most important quality you would like to see in the next archbishop?

And which would be the second most important quality you would like to see in the next archbishop?

And which would be the first and second most important quality you would like to see in the next archbishop?

How confident are you that Pope John Paul II will choose an archbishop with the qualities you think are important?

Which of the following describes how the relationship between the archbishop and the priests should be?

Which of the following describes how the relationship between the archbishop and lay people should be?

The clergy abuse scandal

Which of the following do you see as the primary cause for the problem of clergy sexual abuse?

Has what you've learned about sexual abuse of children by priests caused you to lose confidence in the Catholic church as an institution, or has it not?

Has what you've learned about sexual abuse of children by priests caused you to lose faith as a Christian, or has it not?

Has what you've learned about sexual abuse of children by priests caused you to attend Mass less regularly than before, or has it not?

Over the last year, have you or have you not considered joining a non-Catholic church?

Has what you've learned about sexual abuse of children by priests caused you to donate less money to the church than before, or has it not?

Do you have any children?

Has what you've learned about sexual abuse of children by priests made you less likely to encourage your children to practice Catholicism, or has it not?

If you had children would you encourage or discourage them to practice Catholicism?

Investigations and lawsuits

Would you describe the job Attorney General Tom Reilly has done handling the issue of sexual abuse by priests as being too tough, not tough enough or about right?

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?

Which of the following comes closest to your view concerning the people who have filed legal claims against the archdiocese for clergy sexual abuse?

The church's troubled finances

How concerned are you that a broad financial settlement would put the church's finances in peril -- very concerned, somewhat concerned, or not that concerned?

Which of the following would you consider to be the best way to address the church's financial problems?

Do you think there is a need for lay people to become more involved in the management of church finances, or not?

Voice of the Faithful

Is your opinion of the organization called Voice of the Faithful extremely favorable, favorable, unfavorable, or extremely unfavorable?

How would you rate the job the church is now doing dealing with the organization called Voice of the Faithful -- excellent, good, only fair or poor?

Do you think the archdiocese should accept money donated to the church by Voice of the Faithful, or not?

Demographic questions

How often do you attend Mass?

How old are you?

What is your racial or ethnic heritage?

What is your annual household income?

What is your gender?