Why Do People Now Hate Pope Francis? Approval Ratings For Holy Father Drop Sharply In USA Just Ahead Of First Visit


Since becoming the Holy Father in March, 2013, Pope Francis has been widely praised for his actions. However, that appears to have all changed over the last few months, after it emerged that Pope Francis’ popularity has dropped rapidly in the U.S. since the turn of the year.

A new poll from Gallup has revealed that only 59 percent of Americans now have a favorable view of the pope. This is down from 76 percent in February, 2014. Breaking down these figures even more, it’s been revealed that Pope Francis has been losing the faith of political conservatives, whose opinion of Francis has dropped from 72 percent to 45 percent. Meanwhile, Francis’ approval rating has dropped from 89 percent to 71 percent amongst Catholics.

It’s believed that opinion in Pope Francis has dropped because of his views and comments on both climate change and the world economy. Writing for the Catholic World Reporter, editor Carl Olson criticised Francis’ sermons and statements, calling then “haranguing, harping, exhorting, lecturing,” and “grating.”

It’s also believed that Pope Francis has experienced a huge drop in his numbers sheerly because of just how popular he was at the start of his reign.

Christopher Bellitto, a church historian at Kean University in New Jersey, explained, via the Guardian, “Who can sustain those numbers for that long? Whether liberal or conservative, you love the pope when he agrees with you. And he’s been saying things that annoy both sides.”

In the first few months of his tenure, when he was quizzed about gay priests, Pope Francis famously asked, “Who am I to judge?” before he then added that the church “shouldn’t marginalize these people.” These raised the hopes of gays and lesbians immeasurably, and it also suggested that they had a friend in the Catholic Church in Pope Francis.

Francis has maintained his stance on being more open to gays and lesbians, while he has also encouraged a more complex teaching on both marriage and abortion.

However, some liberals seem to think that Pope Francis still isn’t doing enough, and John Gehring, who works as the Catholic program director at Faith in Public Life, a liberal advocacy group in Washington, recently insisted, via Fox News, that “some progressives naively expected him to overturn church teaching on abortion, contraception, and same-sex marriage.”

The release of these figures from the U.S. come just a few days before Pope Francis is due to arrive in America for his first trip to the country. Francis is due to arrive in Washington on September 22, before he will then travel to New York and Philadelphia.

[Image via Franco Origlia / Getty Images]

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