Vatican Orders Survey of Catholic Attitudes on Marriage, Other Hot-Button Issues

NBC10 reports that the Vatican has ordered up a questionnaire to quiz Catholics on their views about gay marriage and other hot-button issues. “Such a survey that seeks a voice from the parish level on these controversial topics is considered a first for the Roman Catholic Church,” the station says.

The station adds:

“Just the fact that we are having a discussion like this is a remarkable significance,” says Fr. Kevin Gallagher, Pastor of St. Denis Parish in Havertown, Pa. “I think we should celebrate the fact that the church is bringing these socially-charged questions and discussing them before the pope.”

The questions will touch on attitudes toward divorce, same-sex marriage, and other hot topics within the church. There is no apparent deadline to complete the survey; as NBC10  notes, there are about 1.5 million Catholics in the Philadelphia area.