Last year, I wrote in this column that my church had endorsed the Occupy movement in Fort Wayne, and I encouraged other churches to do the same.WASHINGTON – The University of Notre Dame made the right call to invite President Obama to speak and receive an honorary degree, most Catholics who have heard about the issue say.
But a new poll released Thursday found a deep division on the issue between Catholics who attend Mass at least once a week and those who attend church less often. The division matches the disagreement between the two groups on whether abortion should be outlawed and whether research should be permitted on stem cells.
Early in his administration, Obama lifted restrictions on stem cell research. He also said he will allow federal money be sent to international planning organizations that may also perform abortions or provide information about the procedure.
When the university announced March 20 that Obama will deliver the May 17 commencement address, reaction from some Catholics was sharp and immediate.
Bishop John D’Arcy of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese said he would boycott the event; a Catholic scholar who was to receive an award at the ceremony declined rather than appear and seem to support the university’s choice; and thousands have signed petitions asking the university’s president to reconsider.
But the poll by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life found that only about half the country’s Catholics have heard about the controversy.
Of those who knew about it, 50 percent said Notre Dame was right to invite Obama; 28 percent said it wasn’t.
Among Catholics who go to Mass at least once a week, however, 45 percent said it was wrong of Notre Dame to invite Obama and to give him an honorary degree, while 37 percent approved. Catholics who attend church less often had a different reaction: 56 percent said Notre Dame made the right choice, and 23 percent disapproved.
Two-thirds of Catholics who attend mass at least weekly said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. Nearly the same number of Catholics who attend less often said abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Fifty-five percent of Catholics who attend church at least weekly said it’s more important to not destroy embryos than to conduct medical research on stem cells. Nearly the same number of Catholics who attend less often said research is more important.
The general public was also polled about Notre Dame’s invitation to Obama. Slightly less than half said they had heard of the controversy. Of those who had, 48 percent approved of the invitation; 25 percent disapproved.
Obama outpolled Republican John McCain among Catholics in the 2008 election, getting 54 percent of their votes. The poll taken in April said two-thirds of Catholics think Obama is doing a good job as president, slightly more than the 63 percent of the public at large.
Only two other groups – black Protestants and people not affiliated with a religion – had a stronger positive evaluation of Obama’s first three months in office. The poll found that 96 percent of black Protestants approve of the job he is doing; 81 percent of those who are not members of a church approve.
But the poll said Obama’s approval rating among Catholics who attend church at least once a week has slipped. In February, 20 percent said they disapprove of the job Obama is doing; in April, 45 percent gave him a thumbs down.
