- A newly released survey finds most U.S. Catholics trust their local parishes and pastors but express significantly less trust in dioceses and bishops, especially regarding transparency and accountability.
- A large majority value openness and involvement from parish leaders (82% say pastors are open to feedback; 73% say pastors seek out volunteers), yet fewer believe bishops lead with financial transparency (47%) or include laity in decision-making (49%).
- Over half of respondents think some abusive clergy remain active (53%), and nearly half worry their donations may go toward legal fees or abuse settlements (45%).
- Transparency and accountability ranked as the top priorities for Catholics (77%), with young adults showing both high engagement and high willingness to leave the Church due to scandals and value differences.
A recently released survey found that U.S. Catholics have high levels of trust in their local parishes and pastors, but most do not trust that their dioceses and bishops are open about financial operations or issues facing the Church.
The Leadership Roundtable said its survey, conducted July 10-12 among more than 3,000 U.S. Catholics, found that “Catholics today are engaged, and show strong and deep trust, particularly in their local parishes and leaders.”
“But their trust and engagement is tenuous, and they are hoping to see continued progress in building transparency and accountability from their Church,” the Leadership Roundtable said of the report.
According to the survey report, 77% of Catholics say they trust their pastor to protect children and a similar amount say they trust parish staff or volunteers to do the same. Eighty-two percent say their pastor is open to feedback, 73% said their pastor seeks out volunteers for leadership roles within the parish community, and a similar percentage said their pastor values input from the laity.
However, the same levels of trust do not extend to dioceses and bishops, the survey found. While the majority of Catholics (60%) generally said they trust their diocese to communicate transparently about abuse allegations, fewer said they trusted bishops to be open about their dioceses and actions.
Forty-seven percent said that they believe U.S. bishops “lead with financial transparency” and 45% said that they worry their donations to the Church will be used by their diocese for legal fees or clergy sex abuse settlements with survivors. Sixty percent said their diocese communicates openly about abuse, and 49% said that U.S. bishops do well in involving the laity in solving issues facing the Church.
The survey also discovered that a majority of U.S. Catholics (53%) believe that clergy who abused children still remain active and protected, and 24% say that abuse allegations have not dropped since 2002, even though 77% of dioceses currently have no credible abuse allegations.
Catholics overwhelmingly ranked transparency and accountability as their top priority for the future of the Church (77%), ahead of serving the poor (75%), raising younger generations in the faith (74%), and even adhering to Church doctrine and tradition (34%).
According to the survey, young adults is the age group most likely to be involved and engaged with the Church and religious activities. However, they are also one of the most likely demographics to say they often think about leaving the Church, largely due to differing values, a lack of a sense of belonging, or a belief that the Church is “in too much crisis or scandal.”
Nonetheless, the survey report considered the “unexpected resurgence of young adult engagement” a symbol of hope for the Church’s future. The report also predicted that a shift in priorities will be key for the Church moving forward, saying, “The data suggest that transparency, accountability, and co-responsibility are not peripheral concerns but central prerequisites for institutional vitality, with direct consequences for financial support, long-term retention, and the Church’s ability to form the next generation of believers.”
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