US Cath. Back Pope Despite Cover-up Accusal; New Poll: 79% of US Catholics Support Francis

A new Gallup poll finds that even in the wake of the upheaval caused by revelations of sexual abuse by hundreds of priests in Pennsylvania and allegations of a Vatican cover-up of sexual misconduct of a U.S. cardinal, 79 percent of U.S. Catholics hold a favorable view of Pope Francis -- unchanged from last month but down 8 points from when he visited the U.S. three years ago -- the America Magazine website reports today (September 18, 2018).

Just 12 percent of U.S. Catholics hold an unfavorable view of Francis.

When it comes to the general U.S. population, however, the summer of scandals seems to be punishing the pope: Just over half of all U.S. adults -- 53 percent -- hold a favorable view of the pope. That is down 13 percentage points from last month and down 23 points from a peak in February 2014.

The latest Gallup poll was conducted with 1,035 adults from September 4 to 12.