American Catholics Universally Say Pope Did Good Job;
Two-Thirds Believe Late Pontiff Will Be Made a Saint;
Marks on Leadership of American Church Slightly Lower;
Most Say John Paul Struck Right Tone Between Conservative, Liberal,
Le Moyne College / Zogby Poll Reveals

Pope John Paul II “did a good job” as leader of the worldwide Catholic Church, a new poll conducted jointly by Le Moyne College and Zogby International reveals. The Le Moyne College/Zogby Contemporary Catholic Trends Poll also finds American Catholics overwhelmingly believe the late pontiff will be made a saint. The survey of 888 American Catholics nationwide was conducted April 3, 2005, and has a margin of error of +/-3.4 percentage points.

Respondents to the Le Moyne College/Zogby Contemporary Catholic Trends Poll were nearly universal in saying they held a favorable impression of Pope John Paul, with 98% saying they either held a very or somewhat favorable impression of the late Church leader. American Catholics, are, however, somewhat more reserved in their praise for John Paul’s handling of the American Church, with 94% agreeing he did a good job leading the American Catholic Church—but a lower 64% choosing to strongly agree, versus the 86% who strongly agreed on his leadership of the worldwide Church. Similarly, while nine-in-ten (90%) American Catholics agree that the pontiff understood the challenges facing the American Catholic Church, a lower 59% strongly agree with the sentiment.

On the question of sainthood for the pope, two-in-three (67%) American Catholics believe the Roman Catholic Church will make the late pontiff a saint. Just one-in-eight (12%) believe he will not be. Belief in the eventual canonization of John Paul is strongest in the East and South, while in the Western states, a narrow majority holds this view. This view also is directly correlated to the frequency of a respondent’s Mass attendance—the more frequently a Catholic attends Mass, the more likely he or she is to believe that John Paul is destined for sainthood.

The pope does get somewhat weaker marks in one area, though. While seven-in-ten (70%) of American Catholics taking part in the Le Moyne College/Zogby Contemporary Catholic Trends Poll say the pontiff was an effective leader for improving the status of women in the Church, they are mixed in their intensity, with 39% strongly agreeing and 31% only somewhat agreeing with the sentiment. Additionally, nearly one-in-four (22%) disagree—the highest disagreement rate of any question in the survey. Women agreed that the pope had improved their status in the Church at a slightly higher rate than men, by a 72% to 68% margin. They were also more likely than men to strongly agree.

On numerous other questions, the late pontiff is rated favorably by American Catholics.

Three-quarters of American Catholics (76%) responding to the Le Moyne College/Zogby Contemporary Catholic Trends Poll say the pope struck the right balance between conservative and liberal governance of the Church; one-in-five (19%) say he was too conservative. Few (1%) say his reign was too liberal.

On the future of the Church, three-in-five (62%) American Catholics say that the Church should be more democratic in its decision-making. However, this was not an intensely-held position, with 30% strongly agreeing—slightly fewer than the 32% who only somewhat agreed, and the same number as disagreed (30%).

American Catholics are also somewhat muted in their opinion of the leadership provided by the Church’s bishops—while 65% say the U.S. bishops are doing a good job leading the American Church, this group is composed of 41% who somewhat agree and just one-in-four (24%) who strongly agree.

Le Moyne College/Zogby International conducted interviews of 888 American Catholics nationwide. All calls were made from Zogby International headquarters in Utica, N.Y., April 3, 2005. The margin of error is +/- 3.4 percentage points. Slight weights were added to region, age, race, and gender to more accurately reflect the Roman Catholic population. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups.