MIAMI (FL)
Crux
November 14, 2018
Though Catholics in America continue to have an overall favorable opinion of Pope Francis, according to the director of the Pew Research Center, the Argentine pontiff has tripled his negative ratings for his handling of clerical sexual abuse in the most recent survey and today is ranked below Pope emeritus Benedict XVI at his worst.
Speaking with the Crux of the Matter, which airs every Monday on the Catholic Channel, Alan Cooperman said the drop in the pope’s favorability is directly related to his handling of the clerical sexual abuse crisis.
The share of Catholics who think the pope is doing a “poor job” has tripled from what it was in 2015, according to the Pew findings, reaching 36 percent of American Catholics.
“Back in 2014, 54 percent of American Catholics thought he was doing a good or excellent job [handling the abuse crisis],” Cooperman said. “Today it’s down to just 3 in 10, 30 percent of U.S. Catholics giving him a good or excellent, dropping 24 points in four years, 14 points just from the beginning of 2018.”
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