Advertisement

Most Canadian Catholics want a liberal pope, survey says; How does Cardinal Marc Ouellet stack up?

Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet received a surprising endorsement to become pope over the weekend, when a group representing victims in the province's sex scandal threw their support behind the Canadian papal contender.

The Quebec Association of Victims of Priests held a rally on Sunday, urging the Catholic Church's papal conclave to choose Ouellet as Pope Benedict XVI's replacement because it would bring attention to their plight.

The Montreal Gazette reports that while Ouellet has previously apologized for the church's treatment of natives and Jewish people, and discriminating against women and homosexuals, he has remained comparably silent over a sex scandal that hit the Quebec wing of the Catholic Church in the 1960s.

A U.S. victims' group recently listed Ouellet among a dozen cardinals that have failed victims of the Catholic Church.

[ Related: Cardinals debate role of pope before 1st conclave vote]

You may think, therefore, that the Quebec rally was held facetiously, but it was not. Organizers said they truly support Ouellet in the lead up to Tuesday's conclave, where the selection of the next pope will commence.

Some 115 cardinals will hold a two-hour mass on Tuesday morning before entering into isolation and remaining there until a new pope has been selected to lead the Catholic Church.

There are more than a billion Catholics in the world, leaving Canada as a small fraction of the church’s membership.

Still with North America seen as being on the more progressive end of the spectrum, we could play a role in establishing any potential winds of change. A new poll suggested Canada Catholics and their American counterparts would prefer a more liberal pope.

The Angus Reid survey found that many North American weekly church goers would changes to church rules.

  • 71 per cent of Canadians (55 per cent of Americans) want to allow priests to marry

  • 62 per cent Canadian (52 per cent of Americans) want women to be ordained

  • 57 per cent of Canadians (43 per cent of Americans) want to allow birth control.

[More Brew: Cardinal Marc Ouellet’s humble answer on desire to be pope ]

Sixty per cent of Canadians who attend church at least once a week also said they would prefer a pope with liberal or "very liberal" leanings. Forty-seven per cent of their U.S. counterparts agreed.

In most cases, Catholics who attended church less than once a week were more likely to support the liberal changes.

See the full report here.

Of course, Canadians who want a more liberal pope may be out of luck.

Marc Ouellet, one of three Canadian cardinals and the only one considered to have a legitimate chance at becoming pope, is considered relatively conservative on many of the topics in question.

Ouellet told CBC News in an interview last week that he believes women should play a larger role in the Catholic Church, but not as ordained priests. He has also taken a stance against abortion, even in the case of rape, and spoken out against gay marriage.

So while Ouellet is the Great White North’s hope to lead the Catholic Church, he may not be the liberal champion many in North America desire. Then again, few are, when it comes to those in the running to be the next pope.