According to survey, the majority of American Catholics think differently from what the Church teaches

A survey published by the Pew Research Center (PRC) shows a drop in the support of Catholics in Latin America and the United States for the teachings of the Catholic Church on issues such as the priesthood and contraception, while at the same time there is an erosion in the popularity of Pope Francis.

The study was published this Thursday, September 26. To carry it out, the PRC interviewed 5,676 Catholics between January and April 2024 in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

Respondents were asked about the possibility of ordaining women, priests being able to marry, access to Communion for Catholics in a free union, homosexual unions and the use of birth control methods.

The results of the study

The results show that Brazil and Argentina are the countries where the possibility of women receiving the priestly order is most supported, the first with 83% and the second with 71%. The least support is found in Colombia with 56% and Mexico with 47%.

On the other hand, 69% of those surveyed in the United States are in favor of priests getting married, followed by Chile with 65%, Argentina with 64% and Colombia with 52%. The least support is found in Brazil with 50%, Mexico with 38% and Peru with 32%.

Regarding birth control methods, in the seven countries consulted, the majority affirm that the Church should allow their use by Catholics. The greatest support is found in Argentina with 86%, the United States with 83% and Chile with 80%. The lowest support is in Brazil with 63%.

On the other hand, Mexico, with 45%, is the only country where less than half agree with giving the Eucharist to Catholics in a free union. The greatest support is in Argentina with 77%, the United States with 75% and Chile with 73%.

On the other hand, the recognition of homosexual unions does not have as much support among Catholics in the region. Its greatest support is in Argentina with 70%, Chile with 64% and the United States with 54%. On the other hand, it has less support in Mexico with 46%, Brazil with 43%, Colombia with 40% and Peru with 32%.

What the Catholic Church teaches

The results of the survey reflect a distancing from several of the teachings of the Catholic Church, as is the case of the priestly order as a sacrament reserved for the baptized man.

In that sense, the Code of Canon Law warns that the woman who receives this sacrament and whoever orders her incurs “in excommunication automatic decision”, the lifting of which is reserved to the Holy See.

Likewise, regarding allowing priests to marry, the Catechism teaches that in the Latin Church priests are chosen from among men “who live as celibates and who have the will to maintain celibacy ‘for the Kingdom of heaven’.”

Besides, clarifies thatalthough in the Eastern Churches married men can be ordained priests, celibacy “enjoys great honor” and bishops are chosen only from among the celibates. In that sense, he adds that “both in the East and the West, whoever receives the sacrament of Holy Orders cannot marry.”

A recurring theme in recent decades is the use of birth control methods, already addressed at the time by Saint Paul VI in his encyclical Human life and for the Catechismwhich warn that “any action that, either in anticipation of the marital act, or in its realization, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes as an end or as a means, to make procreation impossible, is intrinsically evil.”

Regarding access to the Eucharist, the Code of Canon Law recalls that it cannot be administered to those who “obstinately persist in a manifest grave sin,” such as cohabitation as a couple and sexual acts outside of marriage.

In the case of same-sex unions, the Catholic Church has been emphatic in remembering that the homosexual act is intrinsically disordered and that marriage is the union of a man with a woman.

The figure of Pope Francis

According to the PRC study, the majority of Catholics maintain a favorable view of Pope Francis, however, the percentage has been decreasing over the years.

In his native country, Argentina, favorable opinion has fallen the most in a decade: from 98% to 74%. The second country with the biggest drop is Chile, going from 79% to 64%.

For its part, in Colombia the positive view of the Pontiff has gone from 93% to 88%, in Brazil from 92% to 84%, and in Mexico from 86% to 80%.

In the United States the decrease has been from 85% to 74%, and Peru from 83% to 78% currently.

According to the survey, the majority of Catholics believe that “Pope Francis represents a change in the direction of the Catholic Church,” whether to a greater or lesser degree.

For example, in Colombia 62% think that the Pontiff represents a change in the Church to a greater degree, while 19% believe it to a lesser degree.

Then comes Brazil with 57% and 27% respectively, and Argentina with 44% and 22%. The country where the Pope is least considered to bring change is Chile, with 21% believing he brings change to a greater degree, and 26% to a lesser degree.

Pope Francis has pastorally led the Catholic Church since March 2013, when he was elected to succeed Benedict XVI, becoming the first pontiff of Latin American origin.