A poll commissioned by the U.S. Spanish-language network Univision of more than 12,000 Catholics in 12 countries reveals a church dramatically divided: between the developing world in Africa and Asia, which closely follows the doctrine on a range of issues; and Western countries in Europe, North America and parts of Latin America, which strongly support practices that the church teaches are immoral.
The widespread disagreement with Catholic doctrine on abortion and contraception and the hemispheric chasm lay bare the challenge for Pope Francis’s year-old papacy and the unity it has engendered.