Survey on Church Sex Abuse Scandals Too Limited, Says Catholic League
by Allie Martin
January 17, 2005
(AgapePress) - A spokesman for the Catholic League says a poll that shows a growing uneasiness among Catholics over church finances could be misleading.The Zogby poll of more than 800 Roman Catholics who attend mass at least twice a month found that a growing number of church members are concerned that the long-term effect from the payouts for clergy sex scandals will impede the work of the church. A news report earlier this month estimated that settlements thus far, including care and counseling for victims and priests, totaled nearly $900 million nationwide.
The Zogby survey found that 70 percent of respondents said the church should be more accountable with its finances. In addition, 14 percent says they decreased or stopped giving at the parish level, and 65 percent said the financial effect of the scandal will affect the church's ability to meet is mission.
Tom McArdle, director of communications for the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, believes the poll should have looked at more local parishes.
"It depends on what's going on -- what their personal contact is [and] what's going on in their parish," McArdle says of local reaction. "If they encounter problems in finances at the local level, I think you'll find dissatisfaction. If things are going smoothly, I think you won't."
He says what he sees among Catholics generally is "a kind of apprehensiveness in regard to the way [they] feel about other Catholics [and] how they're reacting to the aftermath of the scandals."
McArdle notes that a recent poll by Georgetown University found attendance at weekly mass, along with financial giving, is relatively steady nationwide at Catholic churches.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
