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Almost eight in 10 Canadians say the Catholic Church has done a poor job of handling clerical sexual abuse and more than half of practising Catholics agree, a new poll says.

The Angus Reid survey questioned 1,611 Canadians about how the decade of abuse allegations has affected their beliefs and opinions on the church.

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Half of those polled said it has changed their view of the Catholic Church for the worse, with 17 per cent saying it has “ruined” their opinion of the institution. Just seven per cent said the church is being as open and up front as possible.

Angus Reid, chairman of the Angus Reid Institute, called some of the results “astounding.”

“I think I was amazed at how much this issue of clerical sexual abuse is still with us,” Reid said in a phone interview.

“There’s a general perception of a coverup and a lack of transparency.”

This is a dark stain on many practising Catholics

The survey found 78 per cent of respondents think the church is doing a poor or very poor job of managing the crisis. Most — 60 per cent — said Pope Francis hasn’t done enough and that current efforts need to be stronger to stop future sex abuse.