The Increasing Irrelevance Of Organized Religion

Studies continue to show that Catholics' opinions on social issues are falling in line with the general public, in opposition to the teachings of the U.S. bishops. According to a recent Pew poll, Catholics are giving high job approval ratings to Obama, and their attitudes about abortion and stem-cell research have come to largely mirror the public's.

"I think the bishops who believe abortion is the ultimate litmus test look at the polls and realize Catholics are not listening to them," said the Rev. Mark Massa, co-director of the Curran Center for American Catholic Studies at Fordham University. "They're playing a very dangerous game because they do not have the moral authority they had before the sex abuse crisis, and they're trying to find a toehold and get heard."

So far, the Notre Dame saga doesn't seem to be resonating either. Only about half of Catholics surveyed by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life from April 23 to 27 had even heard about the controversy.

In my opinion, most people have left church leaders behind-- on issues that should matter most (unjustified war, hatred, bigotry, torture, e.g.) the Catholic leadership has been relatively silent. At the same time, the Pope and his minions have been preoccupied with grabbing headlines on matters that don't affect Catholics that much (gay marriage, condom use in Africa).