Response to Globe articles of May 11 and May 12, 2003 on the opinions
of Boston-area Catholics
Michael Paulson's May 11 and May 12 articles about the opinions of Boston-area
Catholics draw on a flawed opinion poll and appear to serve little purpose
except to create new front-page news where it did not previously exist.
Of 400 "self-identified Catholics" in the survey population,
only 140 attend Mass on a weekly basis or more than once/week. 64% do
not attend Mass weekly, 14% attend never or less than once/year, nearly
60% said the Catholic faith was not very important or only somewhat important
in their everyday lives, and 63% disagreed with the Church's position
on abortion.
Clearly, these results cannot be interpreted as representative of what
actively practicing Catholics believe.
More troubling is the choice of questions posed by the Globe. Given
previous reports in the Globe that criminal prosecution of Cardinal Law
was unlikely, what purpose is served by asking whether respondents would
prosecute him, or how they feel Attorney General Reilly is handling the
abuse situation? Of what value are opinions about the Church's handling
of Voice of the Faithful, when 21% of the respondents simply "don't
know." Why pose a question about the causes of the crisis without
offering one of the most well documented causes - namely that this was
a crisis of discipleship and infidelity to Church teachings and Christian
values? Why propose selling the chancery and residence as one of the
methods of paying for settlements when, as has been reported in the Globe
itself, those properties are already mortgaged to the Knights of Columbus
and any proceeds from their sale would go to paying off that mortgage?
Clearly, as these questions were more rooted in fantasy than reality,
there was very little to be served in asking them other than a furthering
of disinformation about what can and cannot be done to move us all forward.
Finally, it was interesting to note that among the qualities of the
next archbishop of Boston offered to the respondents as most desirous,
there was no mention of “faith” or “holiness” or “belief
in Jesus Christ and the Church.” Instead, the characteristics sought
in the next archbishop were put forward as if he were some kind of a
candidate for political office. This is what happens when a secular institution
like the Globe treats the governance and teaching of the Church as just
the policies of one secular institution among many others.
Fr. Christopher Coyne
Spokesman, Archdiocese of Boston
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