POPE FRANCIS POPULAR AS EVER AMONG MAJORITY OF AMERICAN CATHOLICS

As Francis approaches the fifth anniversary of his Papacy next week (March 13), the Pew Research Center has published the following findings from a recently concluded (January 31, 2015) survey of American Catholics.

First, Pope Francis remains very popular among US Catholics, 84% of whom say they have a favorable opinion of him. This is statistically identical to the 85% of U.S. Catholics who had a positive opinion of Pope Francis in 2014, just a year after the start of his Papacy. Even larger shares of U.S. Catholics see the Pope as compassionate (94%) and humble (91%), exactly the same as in 2015.

Second, the expected “Francis effect" has never materialized.  The Pope’s consistently high approval ratings haven’t led to an increase in Mass attendance among U.S. Catholics. About four-in-ten (38%) now say they attend Mass at least once a week, slightly less than the 41% who said so in a series of aggregated surveys conducted in 2012 and the beginning of 2013, right before Francis was elected pope.

Third,  among self-confessed conservative Catholics, there is a growing trend to see the Pope as being too liberal (34%) as well as naïve (24%), up from 19% and 15%, respectively, in 2015. 

Four, fewer American Catholics now give Francis high marks for addressing one of the greatest challenges facing the church: the sexual abuse of minors carried out by priests. Between 2015 and 2018, the share of U.S. Catholics who give the Pontiff “good” or “excellent” marks for handling the sex abuse scandal dropped from 55% to 45%.

Five, most Catholics say Francis has done at least a little to make the Church more accepting of homosexuality as well as divorce and remarriage. About three-quarters of U.S. Catholics say Francis has done either a little (41%) or a lot (33%) to increase acceptance of homosexuality, while seven-in-ten say he has done either a little (43%) or a lot (26%) to increase acceptance of divorce and remarriage.

Finally, six-in-ten Catholics (58%) say the Pope represents a positive change for the church – down from 68% who felt that way early in his Papacy in 2014, but still quite high. About six-in-ten Catholics (58%) also say Pope Francis has done an excellent or good job appointing new Bishops and Cardinals.

I find these surveys very interesting for they are as much a “report card” on American Catholicism as they are on the Pontificate of Pope Francis.

One thing appears certain.

Long held moral teachings and standards (especially regarding the Sacrament of Marriage and human sexuality) have shifted in America as elsewhere among the nations of the West.  

How that shift will affect the practice and expression of the Catholic Faith among Americans is still anyone’s guess.

And, whether or not any attempt to reverse that shift by the election of a Papal successor who is more conservative will prove beneficial or disastrous to the American Church remains to be seen.