http://www.beliefnet.com/story/161/story_16170_1.html
Half of Catholics in Poll Say Pope Should Serve Until He Dies
By Cathy Lynn Grossman
USA Today
Five in 10 U.S. Catholics say the ailing Pope John Paul II should remain as
pontiff until he dies, according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll. Meanwhile, one
in four say it doesn't matter much to them who is chosen as his successor when
the time comes.
As popular as John Paul is here -- 93% of Catholics in the poll have a
favorable opinion of him -- the survey also finds most U.S. Catholics don't
rate him among the greatest world leaders of their lifetime.
[Click to learn more...]
The survey of 1,008 adults last weekend included 241 Catholics. The margin of
error for questions asked of Catholics was +/--7 percentage points.
Among the findings:
* 51% of Catholics say John Paul should remain in his job until he dies. In a
poll taken in October 2003, 49% said so.
* 43% say he should step down for health reasons, compared with 50% in the 2003
poll.
* 6% have no opinion, compared with 1% in 2003.
The pope may be unable to speak for at least several days. But the Vatican says
he's able to communicate his thoughts to his aides. That's all church law
requires in determining whether a pope is still performing his job. Major
decisions -- from recognizing saints to naming bishops -- ultimately belong to
the pope. But a vast and complex bureaucracy, the Curia, runs the global
church's day-to-day operations.
Living as a witness to faith even in times of suffering is a theological job
description, says George Weigel, a theologian and author of the papal biography
Witness to Hope.
''The world should take the pope at his word. He's here for the job God led him
to,'' Weigel says. ''But if he concludes that for the good of the church he
needs to step aside as pope, he'll do it.
''He could continue to give witness . . . and teach about suffering and show
how Christians should approach death, and not be pope. Human life is
meaningful, but it doesn't mean you have to keep your job.''
A little more than a third of Catholics in the poll, 38%, say they see John
Paul II as one of the greatest world leaders of their lifetime. Twenty-five
percent call him simply great. But 45% rank him good, average or below average.
William D'Antonio, a sociologist at Catholic University of America in
Washington, D.C., says he's not surprised by those results.
''It's not 1958, when (Pope) Pius XII died and 70% of Catholics still attended
Mass weekly. . . . Today, one in three Catholics attend Mass. Many are not
swayed by the pope's teaching authority, and nearly half don't think they need
a pope at all,'' says D'Antonio, who studies Catholic views.
In the poll, 44% of Catholics say it matters a lot who succeeds this pope when
he dies or steps down; 30% say it matters moderately. But 17% say it doesn't
matter much, and 8% say it doesn't matter at all.
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"[M]y ministry is that of servus servorum Dei."
--Pope John Paul II (Ut Unum Sint, no. 88)
"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock
I will build my church, and the powers of death
shall not prevail against it."
--Matthew 16:18
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