May 27, 2004 / 22:00 pm
About 66 percent of the Catholics surveyed in a recent national poll said U.S. Catholic bishops should not publicly pressure Catholic politicians on abortion; and 87 percent said the bishops’ comments would not influence their vote in November, according to a poll carried out independently by the Quinnipiac University.
The university’s survey polled 1,160 Americans. Of this total amount, about 71 percent believe the bishops should not publicly pressure Catholic politicians; and 85 percent said their view of Democratic Senator John Kerry was unchanged by bishops' recent criticisms.
As well, 55 percent of respondents said abortion should be legal in most or all cases.
Also according to the poll, Catholic voters favor President George W. Bush over Sen. Kerry 48 -- 41 percent with 3 percent for independent candidate Ralph Nader. Among all voters, Bush gets 43 percent to Kerry's 42 percent, with 6 percent for Nader.