UNITED STATES
Washington Post
By Peter Steinfels September 11
Peter Steinfels is the author of “A People Adrift: The Crisis of the Roman Catholic Church in America” and a former religion correspondent for the New York Times.
When Pope Francis arrives in Washington this month, he’ll be greeted enthusiastically. Among American Catholics, the pope is remarkably popular — 87 percent have a favorable opinion of him — and he’s the U.S. church’s best chance of overcoming a bad case of spiritual anemia.
But excitement alone cannot heal one of the deepest rifts in Catholic life, not only among American Catholics but worldwide. It has to do with sexuality, although not the priest abuse scandals that have quite properly received attention in recent years. Nothing has divided the church more than its prohibition against contraception, even among married couples.
Approximately 80 percent of U.S. Catholics, including the thoroughly devout, disagree with that stance (support for changing the ruling is nearly as high around the world). And the vast majority ignore the teaching altogether — one study suggests that 68 percent of sexually active American Catholic women have used birth control, sterilization or IUDs.
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