Nearly 3/4 Americans Think Catholic Church Has A Serious Problem With Sexual Predators

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano recently accused Pope Francis and other high-ranking Vatican officials of a “cover-up” involving accusations of sexual misconduct against the Catholic Church.

In the letter, Archbishop Vigano called on Pope Francis to resign, saying he and others were weaving a “conspiracy of silence” around former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, whom the Pope forced to resign last month after accusations that he abused a minor in the 1970s.

Now, according to a new poll, nearly 3 out of 4 (73%) American adults think the Catholic Church has a serious problem with sexual predators. Rasmussen Reports finds only 15% think the media is overhyping the church’s sex problems.

McCarrick, 89, retired as archbishop of Washington in 2006. Vigano alleges that former Pope Benedict XVI knew of the accusations against him and had McCarrick placed restrictions on him in both 2009 or 2010.

Meanwhile, the pope’s favorability numbers are heading in the wrong direction. While 50% have at least a somewhat favorable view of him, 35% have at least a somewhat unfavorable of him and another 15% were unsure or refused to answer.

Men (47%) are slightly less likely than women (53%) to hold a favorable view of Pope Francis. The same is unsurprisingly true of Democrats (65%) juxtaposed to Republicans (38%) and unaffiliated adults (45%).

The survey of 1,000 American adults was conducted September 3-4, 2018 by Rasmussen Reports. It has a sampling error of +/- 3% with a 95% Confidence Level.