Jesuit Magazine And Numbers

On American tour, pope puts his stamp on Catholic education
In a speech at Catholic University Thursday, he'll ask schools to strengthen their Catholic identity.

A national study released last year, "American Catholics Today," revealed how parishioners themselves define Catholic identity. Asked to rank the importance of 12 elements of Catholicism, more than 75 percent

chose four aspects: helping the poor, belief in the resurrection of Jesus, church sacraments, and the Virgin Mary, according to an article in America magazine, a Jesuit weekly.

In the same study, however, three-fifths of respondents said that one could still be "a good Catholic" and practice birth control, approve of abortion in some instances, remarry after divorce, cohabit in an unapproved marriage, and miss mass routinely.

Link here to Christian Science Moniter article (here)