Polls find more Americans call themselves ‘pro-life’ than ‘pro-choice’
Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Less than four months into President Barack Obama’s term, opinion polls are finding that Americans are taking a dramatic turn toward greater opposition to abortion. A poll conducted May 7-10 as part of the annual Gallup Values and Beliefs survey found that a majority of Americans (51 percent) described themselves as “pro-life” with respect to the abortion issue, while only 42 percent said they were “pro-choice.” The results were made public May 15. It marked the first time since Gallup began asking the question in 1995 that more respondents said they were pro-life than pro-choice, and was a shift of 7-8 percentage points from a year earlier, when 50 percent said they were pro-choice and 44 percent said they were pro-life. Obama is a strong supporter of keeping abortion legal. Some groups that promote abortion have said his November 2008 election was a mandate to expand access to and federal funding of abortion. A separate Gallup Poll Daily survey conducted May 12-13 found that 50 percent of Americans described themselves as pro-life and 43 percent as pro-choice. The results were similar to another national survey made public April 30 by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, which found that the number of Americans who said abortion should be legal in all or most cases had declined to 46 percent in April 2009 from 54 percent in August 2008. Forty-four percent of respondents in the Pew poll said abortion should be illegal in most (28 percent) or all cases (16 percent), up from 41 percent in August 2008. The margin of error for each of the three polls was plus or minus 3 percentage points. POLLS, page 5
(CNS PHOTO/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO VIA REUTERS)
By Nancy Frazier O’Brien
Pope Benedict XVI prays in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem’s Old City, one of the last places he visited during his recent eight-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land. See story page 14.
Vatican accepts Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius Wang’s letter of resignation
San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius C. Wang
At a Mass May 16 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco, Archbishop George H. Niederauer announced that Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation letter of Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius C. Wang, which was submitted to the Vatican by Bishop Wang on his 75th birthday in February. The news was made public at a Mass of thanksgiving for Bishop Wang’s 50 years as a priest and his retirement as auxiliary bishop, which was organized by the Catholic Chinese-American community. At the Mass, Archbishop Niederauer presided, Bishop Wang was the primary celebrant and Auxiliary Bishop William J. Justice concelebrated. Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States, announced the papal decision May 16 in Washington, D.C. At age 75 bishops are required by canon law to submit their resignation to the pope. Earlier, the nuncio had asked the archdiocese for an appropriate date to make the announcement, and Archbishop Niederauer suggested the day of the special Mass for Bishop Wang. Bishop Wang, who has served in the Archdiocese of San Francisco for 35 years, was appointed auxiliary bishop in December 2002 by Pope John Paul II. At that time, he became the first priest of Chinese heritage to be named a U.S. bishop. San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer
said, “On behalf of the entire archdiocese, I thank Bishop Wang for his decades of service to the local Church as a priest and bishop. His dedication and service have been a blessing to the priests and people of the archdiocese and our many ethnic communities, particularly the Chinese Catholic community. Truly, Bishop Wang has been a hardworking and generous servant of the Church.”
See Archbishop’s Journal
Page 16
Bishop Wang expressed his gratitude saying, “I thank God and all the people I have met who have helped to shape and form me. Wherever I went, I met good people and I saw good examples.” With the acceptance of his letter of resignation, Bishop Wang says he now feels “more settled” and “pretty good about it.” He notes that he will continue to be active, but he will not miss the meetings and paperwork. In retirement, he plans to travel and continue living in San Francisco. Born Feb. 27, 1934, in Beijing, Bishop Wang (pronounced Wong) was the fifth of eight children in a Catholic Chinese family that was descended from a Manchurian emperor, the rulers of the last Chinese dynasty. BISHOP WANG, page 3
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION News in brief. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Pope leaves Holy Land . . . . 14 Obama at Notre Dame . . . . 15 Scripture & reflection. . . . . 18 Two good books . . . . . . . . . 20
Religious education teachers honored ~ Page 6 ~ May 22, 2009
Forming a new priest ~ Page 8 ~
Planning marriage in the Catholic Church ~ Page 12-13 ~
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Datebook of events . . . . . . . 21 Find it here: classified ads . .23
www.catholic-sf.org VOLUME 11
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