A new study by Durham University suggests the scandal of abuse in the Catholic Church has been a direct cause of people distancing themselves from the Church by reducing attendance at Mass and stopping financial donations.
Over 3000 adults in England and Wales who identify as Roman Catholic responded to the survey by the university’s Centre for Catholic Studies. A third of those who previously went to Mass said they had reduced their attendance or stopped going altogether as a result of the child sexual abuse crisis. A third also said they had stopped donating financially for the same reason.
More than three-quarters (79%) of people surveyed said they thought the Church needs to change a great deal to prevent further cases of child sexual abuse.
32% of regular Mass-goers said they felt Catholic Bishops in England and Wales haven’t handled abuse cases well. However, initiatives from Pope Francis to handle child sexual abuse cases were viewed more favourably.
Those attending Mass regularly were more likely to consider child abuse in the Church to be a thing of the past (32%) compared to those who never attend Mass (17%). Regular Mass-goers were also more likely to view the abuse as being about the same at other institutions that work with children (48%) than those who never attend Mass (41%).
The study says that regular Mass-goers hold significantly more positive attitudes regarding the Church’s response to the crisis and have changed their practice less than occasional or non-attenders.
59% of those surveyed said they supported a Day of Prayer for Victims and Survivors of Abuse.
Co-author of the study, Dr Marcus Pound from the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University, said: “Overall, our analysis of the data shows that the Catholic community feels abuse is not a uniquely Catholic or clerical problem. However, there is also a conviction that the Church needs to make changes to prevent such abuse happening in the future.”
The research is part of a wider project, called Boundary Breaking, looking at the implications of the abuse crisis for the Catholic community.