Pew: 83 percent of American Catholics have favorable view of Pope Francis. U.S. bishops are failing miserably to convey their message

… few heard about, or care about, Latin Mass

According to a poll from the Pew Forum about the views of American Catholics, Pope Francis has a very high approval rating, much higher than the American hierarchy who have been trying to demean him on any number of issues. 

The Pew analysis found that 83 percent of American Catholics have a favorable opinion of the pope even as right-wing bishops try to undermine him on a variety of issues. 

That is an increase from March in approval and only 14 percent express disapproval of him. After all of the negative attempts by bishops to denigrate the pope on Latin Masses and his desire to support Vatican II. 

[Pope] Francis remains a very popular figure among American Catholics, with about eight-in-ten continuing to express a favorable view of the pope, little changed since March.

Overall, 83% of U.S. Catholics say they have a favorable view of Pope Francis, compared with just 14% who express an unfavorable view of him. That’s little changed from March 2021 (82% vs. 14%, respectively.)

Among U.S. Catholics who say they attend Mass at least weekly, 83% express a favorable view of Pope Francis, virtually indistinguishable from the 84% who said this in March. And among Catholic Republicans, 71% now express a favorable view of him, little changed from the 73% who said the same in March.

Gregory Smith, “Two-thirds of U.S. Catholics unaware of pope’s new restrictions on traditional Latin Mass,” Pew Forum, October 7, 2021

Changes

The survey looked at the decision to support Vatican II and outlaw the Latin Mass. Not surprisingly, almost two in three Catholics did even know about the pope’s edict. 

Pew talked about the “controversy,” but there is really little true evidence of a controversy when 65 percent have not even heard about it and 23 percent have heard just a little. The controversy is one being generated by right wing Catholic organizations like the political organization EWTN.

Here is a summary of what Pew said about the changes,

Most Catholics around the world attend Masses conducted in the vernacular (or local language), but some prefer the traditional Latin version that was used for centuries prior to the Second Vatican Council. In 2007, Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, expanded access to the traditional Latin Mass by allowing priests to use the older form “without any further permission from the Vatican” or their bishop, according to Catholic News Service. Francis said in July that the new limitations, which reverse Benedict’s move, are designed to promote unity within the Church.

Francis’ decision requires priests currently using the traditional Latin rite to “request authorization from their bishop to continue doing so,” according to Catholic News Service. The new rules also require bishops to “determine if the current groups of faithful attached to the old Mass accept Vatican II,” and forbid bishops from authorizing “the formation of any new pro-Latin Mass groups in their dioceses,” The Associated Press reported.

Gregory Smith, Pew Forum, October 7, 2021

Failure of bishops not surprising

After the release of the Pennsylvania report by the attorney general in 2017 that detailed the horrific amount of clerical sexual abuse by priests, the approval rate of Francis fell, but not nearly as much as the approval of the American Catholic clergy. 

The approval of the clergy’s honest and ethical standards fell precipitously, and it has remained low,

Amid turmoil in the Roman Catholic Church in the ongoing fallout from priest sex abuse scandals, a record-low 31% of U.S. Catholics rate the honesty and ethical standards of the clergy as "very high" or "high." This marks an 18-percentage-point drop between 2017 and 2018, when more sexual abuse allegations against priests surfaced and questions arose about the Vatican's response.

Gallup has measured the public's views about the clergy's ethical standards since 1977 as part of its broader "honesty and ethics of professions" poll. Initially high ratings of the clergy have been declining steadily among all adults since 2012.

The latest findings, from a Dec. 3-12 Gallup poll, come after a Pennsylvania Grand Jury report in August detailed accusations of sexual abuse involving more than 300 Catholic priests over 70 years. The report indicated that Catholic bishops and other high-ranking church leaders covered up these incidents.

Megan Brenan, “U.S. Catholics’ faith in clergy is shaken,” Gallup, January 11, 2019

Politics play role in approval rankings

What political party a Catholic affiliates with is vital in their look at Pope Francis and the Latin Mass,

The study continues to find political polarization in the way Catholics view the pope: The share of Catholic Democrats who have a favorable view of Francis is 20 percentage points higher than it is among Catholic Republicans.

Political polarization also extends to views about Pope Francis’ personal characteristics.

Catholic Republicans are less inclined than Catholic Democrats to say “yes” when asked whether positive words like “compassionate,” “humble” and “open-minded” describe Pope Francis – though majorities of Catholics in both parties say the pope does embody these traits.

And Catholic Republicans are more likely than Catholic Democrats to ascribe certain negative attributes, including “out of touch” and “naive,” to Pope Francis. Nearly half of Catholic Republicans say Pope Francis is “too liberal” (49%), while just 16% of Catholic Democrats say this. There is also a difference in how Catholic Republicans and Democrats view the state of the pope’s health. In July, before Francis announced the new rules about the traditional Latin Mass, he underwent surgery to remove half his colon and spent 10 days in the hospital.

Gregory Smith, Pew Forum, October 7, 2021

However, when 83 percent of American Catholics express approval of the pope and have low respect for the American clergy, the bishops must realize that they have lost this battle.