Pope Francis, who changed the face of the papacy, was broadly popular with the more than 60 million U.S. Catholics, according to recent public opinion polling.
Seventy-eight percent of American Catholics expressed a favorable opinion of the pope in a Pew Poll conducted in early February, shortly before Francis’ lengthy hospitalization for a case of double pneumonia. The 88-year-old pope died on Monday
Francis’ popularity among American Catholics was constant throughout his dozen-year tenure as pope, with his favorability peaking at 90% in a February 2015 poll by Pew.
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“Pope Francis enjoyed broad support among American Catholics – certainly exceeding the popularity of any elected officials in the U.S.,” veteran political scientist Wayne Lesperance, the president of New England College, told Fox News.
U.S. Catholics also generally viewed Francis more positively than his immediate predecessor in the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI.
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Benedict’s favorability ratings ranged between 67% and 83% in Pew polling during his eight years as pope.
While popular with many Catholics, Francis’ attempts to make the church more inclusive made him an enemy to some in the conservative wing of the church. And there was plenty of pushback against the pope’s moves to overhaul a very divided church.
Those divisions may have contributed to a partisan divide when it comes to U.S. Catholics’ views of Francis.
According to the February Pew Poll, 88% of U.S. Catholics who identified as Democrats or leaned toward the Democratic Party had a positive view of the pope. But favorable opinions of Francis dropped to 69% among U.S. Catholics who said they were Republicans or leaned toward the GOP.
“His reform agenda, emphasizing values that sought to lift up the poorest, most marginalized individuals in the world, played better with Catholic Democrats than Republicans,” Lesperance noted.
“And despite being critical of the current administration’s position on building the wall, mass deportations, and migrants, the late pope enjoyed the support of nearly two-thirds of Catholic Republicans. His legacy will be one of reform and social justice for Catholics across the globe.”
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