APRIL 26, 2024
mississippicatholic.com
Pew finds Catholics diverge by political parties, Mass attendance on many, but not all, issues By Gina Christian
(OSV News) – A new study of U.S. Catholics suggests that Mass attendance and political affiliation are associated with their views of Pope Francis and Catholic teaching on key moral issues. The findings were released by the Pew Research Center April 12 from a study that surveyed close to 12,700 respondents, 2,019 of whom self-identified as Catholic. The sample was designed to be representative of the nation’s self-identified Catholics, who constitute 20% of the U.S. population, about 52 million U.S. Catholic adults out of the nation’s 262 million adults counted by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2023. Most (57%) of the nation’s Catholics are white, while 33% are Hispanic, followed by Asian (4%), Black (2%) and Catholics of other races (3%). Racial and ethnic distribution of Catholics varies in the U.S., with greater numbers of U.S. Hispanic Catholics living in the South and West, where they respectively represent 40% and 55% of the Catholic population in those regions.
A majority of U.S. Catholics (58%) are age 50 and above, as compared to 48% of all U.S. adults in Pew’s survey. Hispanic Catholics tend to be significantly younger than white Catholics, with 57% of Hispanic Catholics under 50 as compared to 32% of white Catholics. Regionally, 29% of U.S. Catholics live in the nation’s South; 26% in the Northeast; 24% in the West; and 21% in the Midwest. Pew found that nearly three in 10 (28%) of U.S. Catholics reported attending Mass weekly or more often, similar to results reported by a recent Gallup poll in which 21% of U.S. Catholics said they attend weekly and 9% almost every week. Daily prayer was reported by 52% of U.S. Catholics, while 46% described religion as “very important” in their lives. According to Pew, 20% of U.S. Catholics reported weekly Mass attendance, daily prayer and a regard for religion as “very important” in their life. Politically, a majority of Catholic registered voters (52%) identify with or lean toward the Republican Party, and 44% with the Democratic Party.
The data showed that 75% of U.S. Catholics regarded the pope favorably, which is down from 83% in 2021, and 90% in early 2015. The report said that 89% of U.S. Catholics who are or lean Democrat approve of the pope, while just 7% disapprove of him. In contrast, just 63% of U.S. Catholics who are or lean Republican give the pope a thumbs-up, while 35% view him unfavorably. Those unfavorable views among Catholics who are or lean Republican are higher than 2018, the year a new wave of sex abuse scandals, including abuse accusations involving former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, broke out. “The partisan gap in views of Pope Francis is now as large as it’s ever been in our surveys,” said the report. Despite the church’s teaching against abortion, some six in 10 U.S. Catholics support legalized abortion in all or most cases, with Hispanic Catholics (63%) slightly more approving of keeping abortion
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Cowbell Catholic leads Eucharistic Procession across University campus By Sydni Vandevender
STARKVILLE – Over 100 Mississippi State University (MSU) students participated in Cowbell Catholic’s semesterly Eucharistic Procession across the university campus on Thursday, April 4. The procession route began at the Chapel of Memories, crossing the Drill Field and ending in the Junction outside Davis Wade Stadium. The procession concluded with 30 minutes of Eucharistic Adoration in the Junction and a talk from Father Rufino Corona, TOR, a friar at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Father Rufino said it was an honor and privilege to get to process with the Blessed Sacrament around Mississippi State and spoke on why the procession was important to him. “The fact that our Lord makes himself vulnerable even to be presented among those that don’t know who he is. It’s more important for him to be present,” Father Rufino said. Casey Dinkle, who serves as a Liturgical Coordinator for Cowbell Catholic alongside Griffin Mahoney, noted that they delegated over fifty roles to students to facilitate the procession. Dinkle said the procession is now one of his favorite college memories. “There is something really beautiful about walking with our STARKVILLE – Members of Cowbell Catholic lead a procession through the campus of Mississippi State University on Thursday, April 4. (Photo by Annalise Rome) Lord and Savior,” Dinkle said. “Proceeding with Him invites us to be a public witness to the faith INSIDE THIS WEEK and to our belief in the true presence in the Eucharist.” Kester Nucum, who led the schola cantorum for the procession, reflected on his experience preparing for the event. “I’ve served in the Music Ministry at my home parish for many years, yet this is the first time I organized music, headed rehearsals and led the choir by myself,” Nucum said. Nucum said that while leaving the procession, he was stopped by a group in a car curious about Youth 18 Plenary Indulgence 7 Abuse Prevention 8 the event. “[They] asked what was going on and I was Youth photos from around Pope grants indulgence for April is Child Abuse Pre-
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