American Catholics overwhelmingly approve of the way that Pope John Paul II has set a moral example, argued for human rights and encouraged democracy, says a new poll.
About nine in 10 approve of his handling of these three areas. Three-fourths of Catholics give the ailing pope credit for improving relations with other religions and almost that many, 67 percent, for gaining respect for the church, according to the ABC-Washington Post poll.
But a majority in the poll say he hasn't influenced their views, and they see the Catholic church as out of step with their own lives.
Two-thirds in the poll said the next pope should focus less on traditional policies and more on changing those policies to reflect attitudes and lifestyles of Catholics today.
Only four in 10 said the pope had influenced their religious beliefs and moral views, and only a third said he had influenced their personal behavior.
American Catholics have differences with the church on a number of social issues.
Two-thirds oppose the church's ban on married priests, while nine in 10 say condoms and birth control pills are morally acceptable, according to the poll. Catholics are divided on whether homosexual relations are morally acceptable.
Catholic opinion on these issues is close to the views of the American public generally.
The church's sexual abuse issue, in which many priests have been accused of molesting minors and bishops have been accused of cover-ups, continues to bother Catholics. Three-fourths said the pope should have done more about the problem.
The poll of 1,281 adults taken Oct. 9-13 had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, slightly more for the sample of 504 Catholics.