The problems of the Catholic Church in Poland - sociological aspects
The Public Opinion Research Center (CBOS), a publicly funded independent research centre, is one of the largest and most renowned public opinion research institutes in Poland. CBOS has published in 2013 a report entitled "Problems of the Catholic Church" in Polish Public Opinion, October 2013.
It appears that the hierarchy of problems facing the Catholic Church in Poland is related, on the one hand, to the weight of the issues and their prominence in the media and, on the other hand, to the inability of the Church to credibly handle such cases. Although cases of paedophilia are incidental, they appear to the public opinion as particularly significant and appalling, as they concern the people entrusted with educating the younger generation. Inaction or inappropriate reaction of senior priests to such cases aggravate the problem. Homosexuality of the priests is increasingly in the focus of interest of journalists and artists, and becomes an issue for the public opinion.
Paedophilia among priests
The problems of the Catholic Church most commonly mentioned by respondents are related to misbehaviour of priests and issues related to their sexuality. Over two-fifths of respondents (43%) consider cases of paedophilia among priests to be the biggest problem facing the Church. More than a quarter (29%) consider homosexuality of priests to be such an issue. In this context, the failure to live up to the vow of celibacy seems to be a less glaring problem (18%).
Excessive political activity of the institutional Church
Another controversial issue is the excessive political activity of the institutional Church (28%). When the activities of individual Church representatives is added to this, e.g. expressing political views during religious service (16%), the problem of political involvement in political life appears to be a significant weakness of the Catholic Church.
The process of secularization of the society
A little more than a quarter of respondents (26%) perceive the process of secularization of the society (decrease in religiosity and in the number of believers) as a serious challenge for the Church. A slightly smaller group is appalled by the excessive, in their opinion, standard of living of the priests (23%), and too high financial expectations from the faithful, connected, for instance, with administering sacraments (22%). About a fifth (19%) consider alcohol abuse by the priests to be a serious challenge.
Source: "Problems of the Catholic Church" in Polish Public Opinion, October 2013.
More information about this topic can be found in the CBOS report in Polish: "Problems of the Catholic Church" in Polish Public Opinion, October 2013.
The problematic issues for the Catholic Church in Poland
| Which of the following issues are problematic for the Catholic Church in Poland? | |
|---|---|
| Peadophilia of priests | 43% |
| Homosexuality of priests | 29% |
| Involvment of the church in politics | 28% |
| Decline of religiosity | 26% |
| Lavish standard of living of priests | 23% |
| Exessive payments for sacraments | 22% |
| Alcohol abuse of priests | 19% |
| Breaking the celibate | 18% |
| Priests expressing political views during religious service | 16% |
| Conflicts among priests | 10% |
| Media hostility to the Church | 6% |
| Low income of some parishes | 5% |
| Lack of democracy inside the Church | 5% |
| Insufficient involvment of the laity in parish affairs | 4% |
| Insufficient financing of the Church | 3% |
| None of the above | 4% |
| Don’t know | 5% |
Fieldwork for national sample: August 2013, N=904. The random address sample is representative for the adult population of Poland.
Source: "Problems of the Catholic Church" in Polish Public Opinion, October 2013.
More information about this topic can be found in the CBOS report in Polish: "Problems of the Catholic Church" in Polish Public Opinion, October 2013.
29 June 2016 Michał Zawiślak
