Abstract
Pope Francis is a remarkably popular religious leader.
A term has even been coined to describe his presumed
positive impact on Catholicism worldwide: “The Francis
Effect”. On 25 and 26 August 2018, Francis visited
Ireland as part of the World Meeting of Families. But as
his visit approached, the national conversation became
dominated by the issue of abuse – so much so that the
visit seemed to have become an unofficial referendum
on the papal response to abuse.
This report outlines the results of a survey conducted a
few weeks after the papal visit which revealed that only
30 percent of Irish people thought Francis had done
enough to address abuse during his visit. But practising
Catholics, defined as those who attend religious services
at least once a month, differed from the rest of the
population: 50 percent thought that Francis had gone far
enough to address abuse.
A term has even been coined to describe his presumed
positive impact on Catholicism worldwide: “The Francis
Effect”. On 25 and 26 August 2018, Francis visited
Ireland as part of the World Meeting of Families. But as
his visit approached, the national conversation became
dominated by the issue of abuse – so much so that the
visit seemed to have become an unofficial referendum
on the papal response to abuse.
This report outlines the results of a survey conducted a
few weeks after the papal visit which revealed that only
30 percent of Irish people thought Francis had done
enough to address abuse during his visit. But practising
Catholics, defined as those who attend religious services
at least once a month, differed from the rest of the
population: 50 percent thought that Francis had gone far
enough to address abuse.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Type | Report |
Media of output | Report |
Publisher | Queen's University Belfast |
Publication status | Published - 16 Oct 2018 |
Keywords
- Catholic Church
- Pope Francis
- Francis Effect
- Ireland