Washington Post

Pope Francis faces church divided over doctrine, global poll of Catholics finds

By Michelle Boorstein and Peyton M. Craighill, Updated: Sunday, February 9

Most Catholics worldwide disagree with church teachings on divorce, abortion and contraception and are split on whether women and married men should become priests, according to a large new poll released Sunday and commissioned by the U.S. Spanish-language network Univision. On the topic of gay marriage, two-thirds of Catholics polled agree with church leaders.

Overall, however, the poll of more than 12,000 Catholics in 12 countries reveals a church dramatically divided: Between the developing world in Africa and Asia, which hews closely to doctrine on these issues, and Western countries in Europe, North America and parts of Latin America, which strongly support practices that the church teaches are immoral.

This global poll of Catholics was conducted by Bendixen & Amandi International for Univision. Find more…