Pew Study show It's Sex Abuse that most bothers Catholics

This study shows that Catholics see the sex abuse scandal as the crucial issue facing the church today.  We need to do all possible to try and reestablish trust and credibility.  This is the challenge facing the chrurch and whoever will be elected Pope.  the Good News is that many are aware of the service rendered by the Church.  Still, there is much to ponder.  In 1970 there were 419,728 priests and 1,004,304 religious sisters worldwide.  In 2012 there were 412,236 priests and 721,935 sisters.   In 1965 in the USA there were 58,632 priests and 179,954 sisters; in 2012, there were 38,964 priests and 54,018 sisters (CARA 2013).     - Fr. Rick
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 http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Catholic/US-Catholics-See-Sex-Abuse-as-the-Churchs-Most-Important-Problem-Charity-as-Its-Most-Important-Contribution.aspx

As the Roman Catholic Church prepares for a conclave to elect a new pope, Catholics in the United States tend to view the scandal over sex abuse by clergy as the most important problem facing their church today. Asked to say in their own words what they think is the Catholic Church’s most important problem, 34% of U.S. Catholics mention sex abuse, pedophilia or some other reference to the scandal. No other problem garners more than 10% of responses. When asked about the main way the church helps society today, U.S. Catholics most commonly refer to charitable efforts to aid the poor, feed the hungry and heal the sick.
In a nationwide Pew Research Center survey conducted Feb. 28-March 3, 2013, that included 184 Catholics (out of a total of 1,003 adults), nearly one-in-ten U.S. Catholics (9%) say that the church faces a lack of credibility or trust. And 7% cite low attendance at Mass, a loss of followers or a general loss of faith in society as the most important problem facing the church at this time. An equal number (7%) say the church’s most important problem is that it is outdated or out of touch and needs to become more modern or adapt to changes in society. Just one-in-twenty U.S. Catholics (5%) mention the temporary lack of a pope or the need to choose a new pope as the church’s most important problem today. About one-in-six (17%) decline to offer an opinion or say they do not know what is the most important problem facing the church.
More than a quarter of U.S. Catholics (27%) say the most important way the Catholic Church helps society today is by serving those in need through charitable works. This includes those who cite efforts by Catholics in general to help the poor, feed the hungry and heal the sick as well as those who mention Catholic Charities or other organizations providing services in the United States or overseas.

About one-in-ten U.S. Catholics say the church’s most important contribution to society is providing moral guidance and values (11%). A similar percentage (9%) say the church helps society the most by acting as a source of faith and spreading Christianity or the Catholic faith.

Nearly three-in-ten U.S. Catholics decline to offer an opinion or say they don’t know what is the most important way that the Catholic Church helps society today (29%).