The question of embryonic stem-cell research was very mixed. 33 people believe that embryonic stem-cell research is wrong no matter what. 12 persons believe that using existing embryonic stem-cell lines for research is acceptable. There were 7 people who believe embryonic stem-cell research is acceptable because it saves lives. Unfortunately, the reality is that it doesn't save lives. No cures or even potential cures have come about through embryonice stem-cell research. Furthermore, killing one life to save another life is immoral.

In asking persons what beliefs of the Church they agree with, the results were not too unexpected. The one that seemed to bother me the most is that only 36 people believed that the Church should have the authority to determine what is moral and what is immoral. That means 35% of respondants believe morality should be determined in another way. I am not going to assume anything but it would seem that the only other options left for who should determine morality is society or each individual. Society tends to follow whatever is popular or supported by the people. Individuals determining what is moral or not is an even scarier issue. Moraly based on the individual boils down to each person choosing whatever suits their wants and desires. Very disturbing.

On the question of women being ordained priests, it is sort of a non-issue. The Church has already stated definitively that women cannot be ordained to the priesthood. However, I posed the question to see what people think, which is why it is worded 'I believe that...' in the question. Surprisingly, 22 persons answered that they believe women SHOULD be ordained to the priesthood. Even if you remove the 7 non-Catholics that leaves 17 Catholics who believe women should be able to be priests. That is nearly 1/3 of Catholic respondants. Like I said, it's a non-issue, but I was blown over by the number of people who supported it.

The question about the bishops response to the priest scandal was, by far, the most surprising to me. Nearly 80% of respondants said that the bishops had responded somewhat or better. There were 12 persons who believe they have responded poorly or very poorly. Most persons (61% or 34 people) believe that they have responded somewhat. I actually fall into category myself but I was surprised so many others felt that way too. I had expected this question to overwhelmingly be poor or very poor.

The last question about the impact of the Catholic Church on society was mostly for my own curiousity. I wanted to see how people felt about the entity I have chosen (actually God chose me) to dedicate my life to serving. The fact that nearly 70% believe the Church has an marginal or positive impact is encouraging to me. It gives me hope that God continues to be a part of the lives of people, especially in a society that tries and tries to reject God.

Overall, the results of the survey were very informative. I learned a lot about how the beliefs of the Church are viewed by others, both Catholics and non-Catholics. Thank you all for taking the survey. I appreciate you doing that.

I will be away at our priest retreat in Atchison, KS from June 2 through June 5 so my next post will not be until after June 5th. Until next time...God bless.