American Catholics

As the priest abuse scandal continues to roil Europe, a growing chorus of American Catholics pressed the Vatican to adopt the same reforms that the U.S. Catholic Church did in 2002, following revelations of a similar abuse scandal. The American reforms, adopted by the U.S. Catholic bishops the same year the Boston, Massachusetts, scandal broke, include a zero tolerance approach toward priests who are known to have abused children; mandatory reporting of abuse allegations to authorities; and the creation of local boards of lay Catholics to respond to such allegations.

Most Americans -- and most American Catholics -- think Pope Benedict XVI has done a bad job of dealing with the problem of sexual abuse by Catholics priests, according to a new national poll. CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey results released Friday also indicate that recent revelations about that matter have hurt the pope's standing with the public. Fifty-nine percent of American Catholics questioned in the poll have a favorable view of the pope, down 19 points from February.

Most Americans -- and most American Catholics -- continue to hold a poor opinion of the Catholic Church's response to allegations of sexual abuse of minors by priests, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll has found. Catholics strongly call for the church to remove someone from the priesthood after even a single proven incident of sexual abuse. They say the pope should remove Cardinal Bernard Law as head of the Boston archdiocese and feel the same way about any bishop or cardinal who had known of sexual abuse by a priest and moved him to another parish rather than reporting it to the authorities.

Of all the critical factors in the November election, pay special attention to Catholics voters. They have an astounding track record, picking the winner in eight of the last nine presidential elections. There are nearly 70 million Catholics in the United States, about 20 percent of the electorate, and they can tip the balance in a close contest. They will be listening closely for guidance from Pope Benedict XVI during his first U.S. visit. "Benedict XVI is not a superdelegate riding into town to deliver a key endorsement," noted John Allen, CNN's senior Vatican analyst.

Almost three-quarters of American Catholics said they believe the Catholic Church has done a bad job handling the problem of sexual abuse committed by priests, according to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll. A slightly smaller percentage -- 70 percent -- said they believed embattled Boston Archbishop Cardinal Bernard Law should be removed. On Monday, 58 priests signed a letter asking Law to resign. The archdiocese faces an estimated 450 claims from alleged abuse victims and Law has been authorized to file for bankruptcy protection.

U.S. Catholic cardinals met at the Vatican for a second day Wednesday after being summoned to Rome by Pope John Paul II. Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president of the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops, issued the following letter to American Catholics after attending Wednesday's meeting: Dear Brother and Sister Catholics, During the Easter season, our liturgy recalls the image of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. In St. John's Gospel, the Lord tells us that the sheep follow the shepherd "because they recognize his voice.

A smiling Pope Benedict XVI arrived in the United States on Tuesday afternoon to start the six-day, two-city journey that will take him from the White House to the halls of the United Nations. The papal plane, Shepherd 1, touched down at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to cheers from a crowd of invited guests gathered for the event. After he stepped off the plane, Benedict did not kiss the ground, as his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, often did during visits. The pontiff was greeted by President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and their daughter Jenna, each of whom shook his hand.

CHICAGO CNN The Catholic Church in the United States is facing a dilemma like none other in its history swelling ranks of parishioners, yet dwindling numbers of priests to lead them.; Though they can barely speak English, for the eight Vietnamese students at St. Joseph Seminary in Chicago, the priesthood needs them almost as much as they dream of becoming priests. ;I think I will help the homeless, the poor the most, said Hien Nguyen. I would just like to bring the sheep back to the faith and help the faithful grow stronger in the future.

CNN.com asked users to share their thoughts about the political, spiritual, economic and other global issues the next pope will face. Here is a sampling from thousands of responses, some of which have been edited: The next pope has to be a member of the new church, coming from the region where Catholicism is a majority (Latin America) or where the church is growing faster (Africa). Ed Munz; Caracas, Venezuela I think that the next pope will face challenges of a secularized world, and spiritual indifference of the people.

Nearly three-quarters of American Catholics say they are more likely to follow their own conscience on "difficult moral questions," rather than the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI, according to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll. At the same time, most of those polled said they did not know enough about the new pope to form an opinion about him. The poll was conducted with 616 U.S. Catholics, hours after Pope Benedict XVI was named the successor to Pope John Paul II. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Most Americans -- and most American Catholics -- think Pope Benedict XVI has done a bad job of dealing with the problem of sexual abuse by Catholics priests, according to a new national poll. CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey results released Friday also indicate that recent revelations about that matter have hurt the pope's standing with the public. Fifty-nine percent of American Catholics questioned in the poll have a favorable view of the pope, down 19 points from February.

As the priest abuse scandal continues to roil Europe, a growing chorus of American Catholics pressed the Vatican to adopt the same reforms that the U.S. Catholic Church did in 2002, following revelations of a similar abuse scandal. The American reforms, adopted by the U.S. Catholic bishops the same year the Boston, Massachusetts, scandal broke, include a zero tolerance approach toward priests who are known to have abused children; mandatory reporting of abuse allegations to authorities; and the creation of local boards of lay Catholics to respond to such allegations.

Of all the critical factors in the November election, pay special attention to Catholics voters. They have an astounding track record, picking the winner in eight of the last nine presidential elections. There are nearly 70 million Catholics in the United States, about 20 percent of the electorate, and they can tip the balance in a close contest. They will be listening closely for guidance from Pope Benedict XVI during his first U.S. visit. "Benedict XVI is not a superdelegate riding into town to deliver a key endorsement," noted John Allen, CNN's senior Vatican analyst.

Almost three-quarters of American Catholics said they believe the Catholic Church has done a bad job handling the problem of sexual abuse committed by priests, according to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll. A slightly smaller percentage -- 70 percent -- said they believed embattled Boston Archbishop Cardinal Bernard Law should be removed. On Monday, 58 priests signed a letter asking Law to resign. The archdiocese faces an estimated 450 claims from alleged abuse victims and Law has been authorized to file for bankruptcy protection.

Most Americans -- and most American Catholics -- continue to hold a poor opinion of the Catholic Church's response to allegations of sexual abuse of minors by priests, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll has found. Catholics strongly call for the church to remove someone from the priesthood after even a single proven incident of sexual abuse. They say the pope should remove Cardinal Bernard Law as head of the Boston archdiocese and feel the same way about any bishop or cardinal who had known of sexual abuse by a priest and moved him to another parish rather than reporting it to the authorities.

U.S. Catholic cardinals met at the Vatican for a second day Wednesday after being summoned to Rome by Pope John Paul II. Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president of the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops, issued the following letter to American Catholics after attending Wednesday's meeting: Dear Brother and Sister Catholics, During the Easter season, our liturgy recalls the image of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. In St. John's Gospel, the Lord tells us that the sheep follow the shepherd "because they recognize his voice.