The National Catholic Reporter recently conducted a large survey about the Catholic faith and culture in the US. Among the findings:
Large majorities say that a person can be a good Catholic without going to church every Sunday (78 percent), without obeying the church hierarchy’s teaching on birth control (78 percent), without their marriage being approved by the church (72 percent), and without obeying the church hierarchy’s teaching on divorce and remarriage (69 percent).
Jana Bennett uses the survey to reflect on what it means to be Catholic:
I’ve always been suspicious, actually, of a charge of “cafeteria Catholicism” because it seems to suggest that there is such a thing as a “perfect” group of people called “Catholic." But in fact, I think the tradition would suggest otherwise. We are a collection of sinners – led by Peter, who surely sinned by denying Christ – but sinners always seeking forgiveness and seeking to forgive. Jesus talked about removing the logs from our own eyes in order to see clearly to remove the splinters from others. We are called, I think, to humility and a spirit of forgiveness.
The Dish 