AP-NORC poll details rift between lay Catholics and bishops


              A new AP-NORC poll finds that majorities of U.S. Catholics oppose denying communion to LGBT Catholics or politicians who disagree with the church's positions on issues including abortion and the death penalty.
            
              FILE - The Rev. Bryan Massingale gives a sermon on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022, at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. Massingale has received recognition for his work on racial justice, he supports the ordination of women, making celibacy optional for Catholic clergy, and as a gay man, he vocally disagrees with the church's doctrine on same-sex relations. According to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted in mid-May 2022, the hardline stances of many conservative Catholic bishops in the U.S. are not shared by a majority of lay Catholics. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski, File)
            
              FILE - Caroline McDonald, left, a student at Georgetown University, Lauren Morrissey, with Catholics for Choice, and Pamela Huber, of Washington, join a abortion-rights rally outside the Supreme Court, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021, as arguments are set to begin about abortion by the court, on Capitol Hill in Washington. According to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted in mid-May 2022, the hardline stances of many conservative Catholic bishops in the U.S. are not shared by a majority of lay Catholics. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
            
              FILE - Migrants watching Pope Francis' Mass in Juarez, Mexico, from a levee along the banks of the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas, take part in Communion, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016. According to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted in mid-May 2022, only 31% of lay Catholics agree that politicians supporting abortion rights should be denied Communion, while 66% say they be allowed access to the sacrament. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
AP-NORC poll details rift between lay Catholics and bishops