Eight in Ten Canadians View Pope as Sincere (86%), Honest (84%), Forgiving (82%), and Humble (81%), As well As Conservative (83%)

However, Just Over Four in Ten (43%) Canadians Agree with the Pontiff's Pronouncements, While a Majority (56%) of Roman Catholics Do

Toronto, ONTARIO - With the upcoming arrival in Toronto of Pope John Paul II for World Youth Day celebrations, a new Ipsos-Reid/CTV/Globe and Mail poll released today indicates that Canadians in general view the Bishop of Rome in a positive light. In fact, eight in ten say that John Paul II can be described as `sincere' (86%), `honest' (84%), `forgiving' (82%), and `humble' (83%), as well as `a peacemaker' (79%) and a `force for good in the world' (79%). Two-thirds (66%) say that the Pope `cares about non-Catholics', while six in ten (58%) describe John Paul II as `effective'.

At the same time, a majority describe the Pontiff as `conservative' (83%), a `rigid theologian' (61%) and `not open to new ideas' (60%). Canadians are divided on whether or not the Pope is `practical' (50%), while half (48%) describe him as `judgmental', though fewer would go so far as to say he is `intolerant' (38%).

Overall, seven in ten (71%) Canadians approve of the Pope's performance as a spiritual leader. Canadian Roman Catholics are even more positive with eight in ten (81%) expressing approval. Canadians' current approval ratings of the Pope as a spiritual leader are slightly higher than they were in April 2000 (66%), however Roman Catholics' approval ratings have dropped marginally (down 3 points) - though they are still higher than those of non-Catholics (64%).

In spite of the Pope's high ratings as a spiritual leader, only 43% of Canadians say that they agree with his pronouncements and encyclicals on topics such as philosophy, abortion, birth control, and evangelism. This figure is comparable to that recorded two years ago (42%). A slight majority (56%; -3 points) of Roman Catholics themselves, report that they generally agree with the Pope's pronouncements, while 42% disagree with them.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/CTV/Globe and Mail poll conducted between June 25th and June 27th, 2002. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census data.

Eight in Ten Canadians View Pope as Sincere (86%), Honest (84%), Forgiving (82%), and Humble (81%), As well As Conservative (83%

Almost as Many Describe John Paul II as a Peacemaker (79%) and a Force for Good in the World (79%)

With the upcoming arrival in Toronto of Pope John Paul II for the World Youth Day celebrations, Canadians in general view the current Bishop of Rome in a positive light. In fact, eight in ten say that John Paul II can be described as `sincere' (86%), `honest' (84%), `forgiving' (82%), and `humble' (83%), as well as `a peacemaker' (79%) and a `force for good in the world' (79%).

• In general, Roman Catholics are more likely to describe the Pope as `sincere' (92% versus 83% of non-Catholics), `honest' (91% versus 81%), `forgiving' (86% versus 79%), `humble' (89% versus 76%), `a peacemaker' (88% versus 74%) and as a `force for good in the world' (87% versus 74%) than non-Catholics.
• Younger Canadians (85%) are more likely than their older (77%) counterparts to say that `forgiving' describes the Pope.
• Residents of Quebec (89%) are more likely to believe that `humble' describes John Paul II than do residents of British Columbia (72%).
• While, residents of Atlantic Canada and Quebec are more likely say that `peacemaker' (Atlantic Canada 91%; Quebec 90%) and a `force for good in the world' (Atlantic Canada 83%; Quebec 83%) describe the Pope than do residents of British Columbia (peacemaker 66%; force of good 65%).

Two-thirds (66%) of Canadians say that the Pope `cares about non-Catholics', while six in ten (58%) describe John Paul II as `effective'.

• Roman Catholics are more likely to describe the Pope using these terms than non-Catholics (Cares about non-Catholics: 77% versus 58%; Effective: 67% versus 52%).
• Regionally, the view that the Pope `cares about non-Catholics' is stronger among residents of Quebec (73%), while it is weaker among those in British Columbia (56%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (55%).
• Men (70% versus 62% of women) are more likely to say that the Pope `cares about non-Catholics'.

At the same time, a majority describe the Pontiff as `conservative' (83%), a `rigid theologian' (61%) and `not open to new ideas' (60%). Canadians are divided on whether or not the Pope is `practical' (50%). In addition, half (48%) of Canadians describe him as `judgmental', though fewer would go so far as to say he is `intolerant' (38%).

• There is statistically no difference between Roman Catholics and non-Catholics in describing Pope John Paul II as `conservative' (84% versus 82%), a `rigid theologian' (62% versus 61%), and `not open to new ideas' (59% versus 60%). However, more Roman Catholics (56% versus non-Catholics 46%) say `practical' describes the Pope, while about the same proportion of non-Catholics (50%) as Catholics (46%) say the terms `judgmental' and `intolerant' (40% of non-Catholics versus 35% of Catholics) can describe John Paul II.

Seven in Ten (71%) Approve of the Pope's Performance as Spiritual Leader, Including Eight in Ten (81%) Roman Catholics

Overall, 71% of Canadians approve of the Pope's performance as a spiritual leader. Canadian Roman Catholics are even more approving (81%). Canadians' current approval ratings of the Pope as a spiritual leader are slightly higher than they were in April 2000 (66%), however Roman Catholics' approval ratings have dropped marginally (down 3 points) -though they are still higher than those of non-Catholics (64%).

• Approval of the Pope's performance as a spiritual leader is higher among residents of Quebec (79%), followed by those in Atlantic Canada (72%), Ontario (70%), Alberta (68%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (66%), while residents of British Columbia (58%) are the least likely to express approval.
• Interestingly, with Pope John Paul II travelling to Toronto for World Youth Day celebrations, Canadians 18 to 34 (76%) are more likely to express approval of the Pope as a spiritual leader than Canadians 55 and older (66%).

However, Just Over Four in Ten (43%) Canadians Agree with the Pontiff's Pronouncements, While a Majority (56%) of Roman Catholics Do

In spite of the Pope's high ratings as a spiritual leader, only 43% of Canadians say that they agree with his pronouncements and encyclicals on topics such as philosophy, abortion, birth control, and evangelism, while 51% indicate they disagree. This is figure is comparable to that recorded two years ago (42% agree). A slight majority (56%; down 3 points) of Roman Catholics themselves report that they generally agree with the Pope's pronouncements, while 42% disagree with them.

• Regionally, residents of Atlantic Canada (56%) are the most likely to express agreement, followed by Quebec (50%), Alberta (44%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (44%) and Ontario (40%) residents, while those in British Columbia (27%) are least likely to express this view.

One in Five (21%) Canadians Indicate They Attend Religious Services At Least Once a Week, While Three in Ten (29%) Say They Did Not Attend a Regular Religious Services At All In Past Year

In another finding of the study, one-fifth (21%) of Canadians indicate that they attend religious services (other than for special occasions such as weddings, funerals or baptisms) once a week or more often. This compares to three in ten (29%) who indicate that they did not attend any regular religious services during the past 12 months. Twelve percent say they attend at least once a month, while 24% describe their attendance as a few times a year, and 12% say they attend religious services at least once a year.

• Regionally, Atlantic Canadians (30%) are the most likely to say they attend at least once a week, while residents of Quebec (14%) are the least likely to indicate this. British Columbia (48%) residents are the most likely to say they have not attended any regular religious services within the past year, while Atlantic Canadians (17%) are the least likely to report this.
• One-third (32%) of older Canadians say they attend services at least once a week. This compares to 19% of middle aged Canadians and 13% of younger Canadians. There are no differences between age groups as to not attending any services in the past year.

To view the complete release and tables, please open the attached PDF files.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

Andrew Grenville
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2900