Pope Francis' favorability among U.S. Catholics has fallen dramatically in the past 10 years, especially among churchgoers, according to the Pew Research Center.
A new Pew survey found that 75% of U.S. Catholics view Francis favorably, down from 90% in early 2015.
Only 26% of all Catholics say that they view the pope "very favorably."
In just the past three years, the pope's favorability has dropped 8 percentage points.
Practicing Catholics who attend Mass at least once a week are the least supportive of Francis, giving him 71% favorability.
The Pew survey found that 83% of U.S. Catholics want the church to allow the use of contraception, 69% say priests should be allowed to get married, 64% say women should be allowed to become priests, and 54% say the church should recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples.
Catholics who say the church should not take these steps predominantly are Republicans or lean Republican (72%), and many (59%) say they attend Mass at least once a week.
The Catholic League's Bill Donohue said Catholics unhappy with Francis are seeing his actions.
"In the few years since the last poll in 2021, the pope has endorsed civil unions, putting no conditions on its acceptance," Donohue wrote. "More provocative was his decision to allow the blessing of homosexual couples; it has led to unprecedented pushback by the clergy all over the world.
"He reorganized the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith as the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, appointing Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez to head it; he previously published a book that was seen by many as pornographic. More than anyone, he defended same-sex blessings."
Donohue also noted that the pope reinstated a priest who had been excommunicated for sacrilegious and sexual offenses, and failed to "deal forthrightly" with an Argentinian Jesuit sentenced to prison for sexually abusing seminarians.
Francis has limited the use of the Latin Mass, and granted former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a private audience after she was denied communion by San Francisco's archbishop. The pope removed Bishop Joseph Strickland, a strong advocate of traditional Catholic teachings, from his duties in the diocese of Tyler, Texas. and stripped conservative Cardinal Raymond Burke of his salary and his subsidized apartment in Rome.
"All of these issues, and others like them, are seen by many practicing Catholics as wrongheaded," Donohue wrote. "It is not likely that at this late date in his pontificate that Pope Francis will be able to substantially increase his favorability rating with these Catholics."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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