Pope’s Israel Trip Boosts Poll Ratings
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Pope John Paul II left the Holy Land with moderately higher ratings among Israelis for both the Catholic Church and Christianity, according to a poll from Israel’s Bar-Ilan University.
The percentage of Israelis with a favorable view of the church rose to 47% after the trip, compared with 39% before.
On the sensitive issue of the church’s actions during the Holocaust, 36% of Israelis now say they think the church has sufficiently atoned for its actions. Before the pope’s high-profile pilgrimage, only 29% felt that way. Still, 51% said the church has not sufficiently atoned, down slightly from 54% before the trip.
The number of Israelis who said the church had a favorable attitude toward Israel also rose to 47% from 39% before the trip.
The university polled 502 adults both before and after the trip. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
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