FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2024
CONTACT: Vicki Yamasaki
vicki@realpresencecoalition.com
A newly formed group of Catholics, with the support of Bishops Athanasius Schneider and Joseph Strickland, as well as famed exorcist Fr. Chad Ripperger, is today announcing the launch of a survey aimed at reaching the U.S. laity. The new group, called the Real Presence Coalition (RPC), has released the survey to discover why Catholics have lost faith in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and what measures they believe will best foster an increased belief in the Real Presence.
The survey can be found at LaySurvey.com.
The coalition has engaged Public Opinion Strategies to assist in the survey design and the analysis of the results. Since its founding in 1991, POS has conducted over 11 million interviews and is among the 50 largest research firms in the country.
According to a 2019 Pew Research survey, the vast majority of U.S. Catholics no longer believe in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. In response, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops launched a three-year Eucharistic Revival campaign to address this issue.
“As Catholics, we believe the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith,” said Bishop Joseph Strickland, a member of the coalition. “We need to better understand why there’s been a loss of faith in the Real Presence, and I’m hopeful this survey will provide some valuable insights.”
“The Blessed Sacrament is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ, and for this reason the Sacred Tradition has always labeled it THE mystery of faith,” said Fr. Chad Ripperger, another member of the coalition. “As the bishops have set in motion a program to draw greater attention to the belief in the Eucharist, it is important to know the causes of the decline in the belief in the Real Presence. I encourage all Catholics to take the survey so that the Real Presence Coalition can assist the bishops in obtaining accurate information.”
“We applaud the U.S. bishops’ campaign to help restore belief in the Real Presence,” said Vicki Yamasaki, spokesperson for the coalition. “We hope that our survey will support the bishops by providing valuable input on concrete changes that can be enacted to achieve measurable results.”
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