Posted on 10/23/2012 8:40:25 AM PDT by marshmallow
(Reuters) - Most U.S. Catholics think the church should focus more on social justice and helping the poor, even if it means focusing less on issues like abortion, according to a poll released Monday by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute.
The 2012 American Values Survey finding on Catholics goes against the focus of many U.S. Catholic bishops, who have stressed the church's ban on abortion and artificial contraception in their public policy statements.
The poll found that 60 percent of Catholics want a greater focus on social justice issues rather than abortion, while 31 percent support the opposite approach.
The divide was true even among Catholics who attend church once a week or more, a group often considered more socially conservative. A slim majority of this group, 51 percent, thought the church should focus more on social justice issues.
"The survey confirms that there is no such thing as the ‘Catholic vote,'" said Robert P. Jones, chief executive of the institute and co-author of the report. The survey included more than 3,000 respondents. "There are a number of critical divisions among Catholics, including an important divide between ‘social justice' and `right to life' Catholics."
U.S. bishops strongly oppose same-sex marriage, abortion and contraception. They specifically oppose the mandate in the U.S. 2010 health care overhaul which requires hospitals, universities and other institutions to provide insurance that covers artificial birth control, which is against Catholic teachings.
The survey also found that among Catholics who attend church weekly or more often, 57 percent support a prison sentence of life without parole as opposed to the death penalty.
This was also true among Catholic conservatives, who supported life without parole over the death penalty by 51 percent to 44 percent, compared to non-Catholic conservatives, who favor the death penalty
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Help the poor=Give them more tax money.
This indicates that they have really, really dropped the ball on conveying basic moral and ethical teachings.
Also they have muddied the message by getting in bed with Liberals in so many cases.
Oh yeah, libtard Catholics LOVE the poor. They should, they are responsible for helping to create most of them with their votes.
Are you surprised?
Honestly, I am not. The typical American Catholic skews more to the left than the right.
The view is that abortion is settled, and the focus should be on those who weren’t aborted (the poor). Had that discussion once with a family member.
They pretend that government programs “fix poverty”, and that is more important than protecting innocent Human Life.
1. Protecting innocent Human Life is more important.
2. Government doesn’t “fix” poverty, but rather enslaves those they pretend to help, in an endless cycle of dependency.
The first is a Constitutional responsiblity, the 2nd is NOT!
They are both reflective of Christ's preference for the poor throughout the life cycle.
To create a false dichotomy here is neither pro-life nor socially just.
This approach has been used successfully by liberals to split the Church. That Catholics allow this to happen says more about themselves than about pro-life or social justice stances.
The teaching of the Popes (Benedict in Caritas in Veritate quoting John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae) show it cannot be an either or.
We have, according to PEW, a situation where barely 9% of people called actually respond!
Let's say that 7% of Catholics are interested in social justice (Or Third World Liberation Theology) more than abortion and are willing to speak out on the questions in that area. They are geared to answer polls 100% of the time. The other 93% will answer only 9% of the time ~ like normal people.
.93*.09 = .083. At the same time .07*1 = .07. That means the very small minority of Catholics into SJ look to be almost as great as the vast majority into RTL.
You've illuminated the key flaw with this study and its interpretation.
For a devout Catholic, the proper answer would be “emphasize social justice,” as that would include emphasis on our duties toward the poor and unfortunate AND our duties to unborn babies and all other weak and vulnerable persons.
I can see many devout Catholics answering this poll might be offended by separating out the fight for life for unborn babies from the category “social justice,” as there are few battles for social justice greater than the battle for the recognition of the right to life for all.
What a stupid poll. Garbage in, garbage out.
sitetest
There are a lot of prudential issues about how to help the poor. A prospering economy brings jobs that help the poor. Government redistribution may not always be the best way or the most moral way to go about helping. In other words there is a lot of room for debate, and the bishops would be disingenuous to take the Democratic Party platform and imply that it is contiguous with Catholic doctrine. With abortion, however, Catholic teaching is that this is clearly always wrong. That is a moral truth, and moral truths cannot be determined by democratic vote. Moreover, “downplaying” the abortion issue will simply lead over time to support for abortion, as has been shown time and again in the liberal mainstream Protestant denominations.
There are a lot of prudential issues about how to help the poor. A prospering economy brings jobs that help the poor. Government redistribution may not always be the best way or the most moral way to go about helping. In other words there is a lot of room for debate, and the bishops would be disingenuous to take the Democratic Party platform and imply that it is contiguous with Catholic doctrine. With abortion, however, Catholic teaching is that this is clearly always wrong. That is a moral truth, and moral truths cannot be determined by democratic vote. Moreover, “downplaying” the abortion issue will simply lead over time to support for abortion, as has been shown time and again in the liberal mainstream Protestant denominations.
I think the most helpful idea that has come from the bishops on this is that in Catholic teaching you are supposed to help up close, knowing the people and standing with them. I don’t remember the term they use for that. I think this is the key to connecting superficial Catholics to respect for the unborn as well as the needy.
1. abortion
Helping the poor is one of those things that you can do without actually getting to know any poor people. It’s like environmentalism. You can do it without feeling too personally guilty. Abortion, on the other hand, is something that people actually know people who are doing it and would have to regret and feel guilty or hypocritical about getting active on pro-life stuff. It’s awkward.
So, I think the bishops need to help people move through true regret and guilt to repentance, because there will be no true conversion without this hard work.
2. the poor
We are called to know them like family. When we do, we realize that they make some of their own trouble. Then we still have to help them anyway, but we will do so more wisely, as fellow sinners, not as if we have rescued an abandoned puppy. When Catholics start to do that, I think they will re-balance between the poverty and the pro-life issues, because there is enough in both of them to humble us and bind us.
There are two concepts here. The first is the principle of solidarity which basically means a firm commitment to the common good. The second is the principle of subsidiarity which basically means applying the means to the common good at the level closest to those needing it. The people of the Church sometimes fail at solidarity by not committing themselves completely to the common good. Government fails to recognize subsidiarity by centralizing the means to the common good. This prevents the true expression of charity by those who no longer can give. It also prevents the proper expression of thanks by those who no longer receive charity but entitlements.
Let’s see the methodology.
Social justice is another word for income redistribution, leveling and socialism. The survey reflects our 47% lazy mob who want someone else’s money to pay for benefits to them.
Real steps to move out from poverty are to look for paying work, stay in school to get marketable skills and take government’s foot off the neck of business to allow job creation.
Maybe the Church should add these thoughts to the homily.
Congratulations. You understand the Church's genuine teachings on Social Justice better than most liberal Catholics.
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