Pope is ‘not a true Christian leader’,
most believers say
By Mark Greaves

17 July 2009

Two thirds of Christians in Britain do not think the Pope is a true Christian leader, according to a new poll.

The poll, conducted by ComRes, found that only 38 per cent of Christians surveyed agreed that "Catholic popes are true ambassadors of the Christian faith". The figure dropped to 16 per cent among Baptists.

Several Protestant ministers - some of whom are involved in ecumenical work - said they were not surprised by the low level of support for the Pope.

They said that even Protestants who work with Catholics at a grassroots level are still likely to find the idea of papal authority "particularly difficult".

The poll, which surveyed over 500 British Christians, found that 39 per cent of Methodists and 36 per cent of Anglicans who were polled believed that the Pope was a true Christian representative.

It also reported a high level of admiration for John Paul II, with just over two thirds of respondents saying they admired him "greatly" or "somewhat".

That figure was not matched when respondents were asked about Pope Benedict XVI. Only 47 per cent of those surveyed said they admired him.

The trend was followed by Catholics. Eighty-six per cent said they "greatly" admired John Paul II whereas 65 per cent said the same of Benedict XVI.

Among Baptists - who again showed the lowest level of support for the Pope - almost half said they admired John Paul but only 24 per cent said they admired Benedict XVI.

The Rev Mark Fisher, executive secretary of the Free Churches Group, said Protestant attitudes to the Catholic Church had "softened" in recent years. But he said that some Protestant groups would still not join ecumenical bodies if they included Catholics.

He said: "We still have denominations in membership [of the Free Churches Group] because they don't join the Churches Together in England because of the membership of the Roman Catholic Church."

He suggested that conservative denominations were more concerned with "the liberal division in Christianity" rather than the divide between Protestants and Catholics.

He asked that many Protestants would agree with the Pope on a number of issues.

"But, insofar as what the Pope says comes out of the history and tradition of the Catholic Church, they would not be quite so quick to jump on board," he added.

A Baptist minister, who preferred to be quoted anonymously, agreed that the figures were not surprising.

He said: "Some Baptists would not want to give the Pope any credence as a representative of the Christian faith. Others who are very open to working with the Catholic Church would not want to necessarily see the Pope as a representative with any kind of authority... The position of the Pope is a particularly difficult issue in working with local Catholics."

But he said relations had improved. "At one time Baptists would not want anything to do with the Pope," he said.

The Rev Jeremy Brooks, the director of ministry at the Protestant Truth Society, said: "All true Protestants believe the papacy to be unbiblical, unnecessary and unhelpful. Churches governed by scripture alone rather than the traditions of men or the fashions of the moment are what broken Britain so desperately needs."

Mr Brooks said the poll suggested that "despite a serious lack of clear moral and spiritual leadership emanating from Canterbury it would seem that Rome is not an attractive alternative" for many Christians in Britain.

In 1990 the Catholic Church joined Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.

The new ecumenical group replaced the British Council of Churches (BCC), set up in 1942.

The Catholic Church had never been a member of the BCC, although Catholics had worked with local BCC associations ever since the 1960s.

Theological dialogue with Anglicans began in 1967 and continued with the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission over the following three decades.

Progress has slowed in recent years after the ordination of women and gay men as Anglican bishops.

The ComRes poll was conducted online between June 30 and July 6. Data was weighted by denomination - Anglican, Baptist, Independent, Methodist, New Churches, Pentecostal and Catholic - according to the 2005 Church census.