Religious Leaders & Institutions

55% of Catholics rated Francis positively on addressing sex abuse, and 53% gave him high marks on environmental issues. But these were two out of nine areas in which Francis drew the least positive ratings.

Pope Francis will publish an encyclical addressing environmental issues and climate change this Thursday, a subject that continues to deeply divide Americans, including Catholics, along partisan and ideological lines.

A solid majority of U.S. Catholics believe that Earth is warming. But climate change is a highly politicized issue that sharply divides American Catholics, like the U.S. public as a whole, mainly along political party lines.

Popes have written encyclicals on an array of topics, ranging from the nature of work to the virginity of Jesus’ mother, Mary.

Seven-in-ten Americans rate him favorably, including two-thirds of those with no religious affiliation, a Pew Research Center poll finds.

Nearly two years into his papacy, Pope Francis continues to be widely popular: Seven-in-ten Americans view him favorably, including 90% of U.S. Catholics.

Next weekend, Pope Francis will make his first visit to the home of Asia’s largest Catholic population, the Philippines. The pontiff, who also will be making a stop in Sri Lanka, is very popular in the Philippines and should expect an enthusiastic welcome during his five-day visit. The Philippines’ Catholic majority has its origins in […]

In naming his second group of cardinals, Pope Francis has continued to shift the balance of Roman Catholic Church’s leadership away from the continent it has long called home.

Pope Francis, leader of the world’s nearly 1.1 billion Catholics, enjoys broad support across much of the world: a median of 60% across 43 nations have a favorable view of him. Only 11% see the pope unfavorably, and 28% give no rating.