Another Poll: Catholics Backed Pope John Paul II on Abortion

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Apr 13, 2005   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Another Poll: Catholics Backed Pope John Paul II on Abortion Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 13
, 2005

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Another poll shows Catholics in the United States agree with Pope John Paul II’s strongly pro-life position on the issue of abortion. The poll also shows that American Catholics don’t want the church to change its long-standing position.

The Quinnipiac Polling Institute poll found that two-thirds of Catholics oppose abortion in all or most cases. Eighty percent of Catholics said the pope’s traditional stance on issues such as abortion should stay the same.

“On right-to-life questions like abortion and the death penalty, they are thoroughly traditional and right in step with John Paul,” Maurice Carroll, the polling agency’s director, told the Associated Press.

The Quinnipiac poll was conducted April 8-12 and involved 500 Catholics across the country.

The poll squares with a Gallup poll, taken earlier this month, that found that a majority of Catholics in the United States want the next pope to have a similar outlook on key social issues as John Paul II.

The pope took strong pro-life stands opposing abortion as well as euthanasia and embryonic stem cell research.

More than half of those polled, 59 percent, said they want someone with the same views on political issues while just one-third wanted a more liberal pope. Some 4 percent of the 254 Catholics polled want a pope who is more conservative.

A strong majority of American Catholics believe the Catholic Church should retain its view against abortion, according to the Gallup poll.

Approximately 59 percent of those polled favor the church’s pro-life stance while just 37 percent of respondents opposed it.

Catholics who attend church on a weekly basis were more likely to back the church’s pro-life position, by a 69 to 29 percent margin.