--- title: "6 facts about how U.S. Catholics see Pope Francis" description: "As Pope Francis approaches the fifth anniversary of his papacy, read six facts about how American Catholics view the pope." date: "2018-03-06" authors: - name: "David Masci" job_title: "Former Senior Writer/Editor" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/david-masci/" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/03/06/facts-about-how-u-s-catholics-see-pope-francis/" categories: - "Catholicism" - "Christianity" - "Pope Francis" - "Religious Leaders & Institutions" --- # 6 facts about how U.S. Catholics see Pope Francis [![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/05/FT_18.05.01_Politics_AmongRepublicans.png?w=172)](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/05/FT_18.05.01_Politics_AmongRepublicans.png) [![Cartrice Haynesworth, center, has a selfie taken with Pope Francis as he visits Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington in September 2015 in Washington, D.C. (David Goldman-Pool/Getty Images)](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/FT_18.03.06_pope6facts.jpg)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/03/06/facts-about-how-u-s-catholics-see-pope-francis/pope-francis-visits-catholic-charities-in-washington/) *Cartrice Haynesworth, center, has a selfie taken with Pope Francis as he visits Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington in September 2015 in Washington, D.C. (David Goldman-Pool/Getty Images)* Almost five years since his election, Pope Francis continues to make headlines around the world with his encyclicals and comments on a variety of issues, from the environment to human sexuality to poverty. At the same time, the first pontiff from Latin America has appointed many cardinals from the “global south” – that is, developing nations mostly in the Southern Hemisphere – which has [shifted](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/11/17/pope-francis-shaping-a-college-of-cardinals-that-is-less-european/) the church’s leadership structure away from Europe. As Francis approaches the fifth anniversary of his papacy on March 13, here are six facts about how American Catholics view the pope. **** [![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/03/FT_18.03.05_PopeFrancis_compassionate.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/03/06/facts-about-how-u-s-catholics-see-pope-francis/ft_18-03-05_popefrancis_compassionate/) Pope Francis remains very popular among U.S. Catholics, with 84% saying they have a favorable opinion of him, according to a [survey conducted by Pew Research Center in January 2018](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2018/03/06/pope-francis-still-highly-regarded-in-u-s-but-signs-of-disenchantment-emerge). This is similar to the 85% of U.S. Catholics who had a positive opinion of Francis in [2014](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2014/03/06/catholics-view-pope-francis-as-a-change-for-the-better/), 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, the last time we asked about these attributes. **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. **** [![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/03/FT_18.03.05_PopeFrancis_liberal.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/03/06/facts-about-how-u-s-catholics-see-pope-francis/ft_18-03-05_popefrancis_liberal/) A growing share of Catholics see the pope as being too liberal (34%) as well as naïve (24%), up from 19% and 15%, respectively, in 2015. This is especially true among Catholics who are Republican or who lean Republican; they are much more likely to see Francis as being too liberal than Democrats or those who lean Democratic (55% vs. 19%). A partisan gap also exists among Catholics on views about whether the pope is naïve (32% among Republicans vs. 18% among Democrats). **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%. **** [![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/03/FT_18.03.05_PopeFrancis_tolerance.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/03/06/facts-about-how-u-s-catholics-see-pope-francis/ft_18-03-05_popefrancis_tolerance/) 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. **Roughly 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 Francis has done an excellent or good job appointing new bishops and cardinals.