The Growing Gulf Between the Vatican and American Catholics

As the last post illustrated, the changing social views on gays and other issues is increasingly threatening the strength and political influence of far right denominations and falsely named "family values" organizations.   A prime example is the Roman Catholic Church which, but for the influx of Hispanic immigrants is losing members at a significant pace.  What ought to be equally disturbing to the bitter old men in Rome is that more and more American Catholics simply ignore the Vatican's pronouncements entirely. One can only hope that the trend accelerates.  A piece in the Wisconsin Gazette looks at the ongoing phenomenon.  Here are excerpts:

Frank Ferri made peace with God years ago. Last month, Ferri defeated the Roman Catholic Church.

The openly gay state representative led the fight to legalize same-sex marriage in what may be the most Catholic state in the most Catholic region in the U.S.

In early May, Rhode Island became the sixth and final northeastern New England state to allow gay couples to marry. The Democratic-dominated Legislature, led by an openly gay House speaker, overcame years of successful lobbying by the Catholic Church.

Ferri's victory marked the Catholic Church's most significant political defeat in an area where more than 40 percent of the population is Catholic.

Perhaps more problematic for the church is that state-by-state setbacks on gay marriage illustrate a widening divide between the church hierarchy and its members that may be undermining Catholic influence in American politics.

The disconnect plays out in polling.  In March, a Washington Post-ABC News poll found that a majority of Catholics, 60 percent, felt the church was out of touch with the views of Catholics in America today.

A CBS News/New York Times poll in February found that 78 percent of Catholics said they were more likely to follow their own conscience than the church's teachings on difficult moral questions.

That poll highlighted several areas where most Catholics break with church teachings: 62 percent of American Catholics think same-sex marriages should be legal, 74 percent think abortion ought to be available in at least some instances and 61 percent favor the death penalty.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a member of one of the most storied Catholic families in American politics,   .  .  .  . says the church's political influence will continue to wane unless it adapts.

"Gay marriage is part of a larger refusal on the part of the church to listen to, and to understand, the people in the pews,'' said Townsend, who regularly attends church and wrote the book, ``Failing America's Faithful: How Today's Churches Are Mixing God With Politics and Losing Their Way.''  Church officials in Washington, D.C., Boston and Providence declined to be interviewed for this report.

Silk suggested that some Catholic leaders in the United States may be eroding their influence by ``jumping up and down'' to fight gay marriage despite strong public support.

If the Vatican truly wants to regain any credibility, the first thing it needs to do is clean house of bishops and cardinals who participated in the worldwide conspiracy to cover up sex abuse and to protect predator priests.  That, of course, is never going to happen.