Things You Don't Talk About in Polite Company

Interestingly, a Cincinnati newspaper and TV station commissioned a poll on local Catholic reaction to sex scandals. Of those polled, 28 percent say it has had a negative impact on their faith, 26% attend Mass less often, and 25% donate less money, while 22% of parents are less likely to encourage their children to be Catholics. Meanwhile, the Church itself says that attendance is down. The majority of people claim to have lost confidence in the Church.

The poll measured those who self-identify as Catholic. Unfortunately, that seems like it does not measure those who once considered themselves Catholic, but who left the church, partly or wholly, because of the scandals. The closest you get is asking if the scandals have affected one's personal faith.

There are two ways to interpret this data. One is that the Church has screwed up bigtime. And I believe it has. On the other hand, there is also a significant percentage of Catholics who are willing to forgive the hierarchy, so long as they see positive steps being taken.