Gallup Poll shows Pope Francis is not so “Laudato” these days

cover laudato siHave you seen the Gallup Poll on Pope Francis’ popularity? HERE

His favorability has, essentially, crashed.

Laudato NO!

Back in February 2015, Pew Research showed that 70% of all Americans and 90% of Catholics viewed Francis favorably.

Today, according Gallup, his favorability is at 71%.

So, in about 6 months – half a year – Francis’ popularity in these U.S.A., has, among Catholics, fallen nearly 20% (19% to be exact).   That’s in only 6 months.

Let us ask:

What happened between February and now?

Laudato si’.

There’s more.

Francis lost 14% among liberal Americans.

Let us also ask:

How do these numbers compare with polls from the beginning of Francis’ pontificate in March 2013?

In April 2013, among Americans, his favorables were at 58% and unfavorables at 10%. Today, his favorables are at 59% and unfavorables at 16%.

In other words, Americans like him as much now as when they knew nothing about him.

In that same period, however, his unfavorables have increased 6%.

Let the liberal excuses begin!

One possible excuse will be that Francis’ hasn’t been as prominent in the media as he was in 2013, so these numbers are superficial. In other words the media will blame the media. “If only the Pope could be on the cover of TIME a few more times!”

Speaking of the media blaming the media, this is from the David Gibson piece at the ultra liberal RNS:

“Stephen Schneck, head of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at Catholic University of America in Washington, blamed pundits on the right and left, like Rush Limbaugh and Rachel Maddow, for “politicizing” the pope’s teachings.”

And this from the same liberals who assure us that talk show hosts don’t really have much influence!  Now they want to blame talk shows for the Pope’s loss of 19 points among Catholics since February?

REALLY?!?

Couldn’t it be that Americans are tired of being berated?

Consider:

According to the Public Religion Research Institute only 40% of white Catholics – who make up 2/3 of all Catholics in these USA – believe in global warming as a result of human activity.

So, it could be that the more people heard about Laudato si’ the less they liked the Pope.

Mind you, liberal catholics, such as the writers and readers of the National Schismatic Reporter (aka Fishwrap) will try to explain away this huge drop in popularity because Francis’ is being prophetic: “Francis has challenged Americans and taken them out of their complacency!”

Mind you, liberals don’t include themselves among normal Americans. They understand things far better than the hoi polloi. So, watch the Left get out the climbing equipment and oxygen tanks as they struggle up to even loftier moral high ground.

The Pope will probably get popularity bumps from his U.S. trip.

Right now, however, he’s trending downward.

It will be interesting to see how – and if – Pope Francis and his team will adjust their message.

Comment moderation is ON.  I’ll let some comments stack up before releasing them.

UPDATE 1608 GMT:

I just saw the risibile story at Reuters.  HERE

First, the headline…

Pope Francis’ approval rating dips in U.S. ahead of September visit – poll

Firstly, what is a dip? This looks like plummet to me. What would the media say if the stock market “dipped” 19% in 6 months? How about you? How about if your 401K “dipped” 19%? Would you call that a “dip”?

Second, then take in, with popcorn, the quote from a Jesuit at Boston College. If you were wondering what people mean by “jesuitical” in regard to logic, this is the sort of antics they have in mind:

“This [i.e, the Pope’s talk about climate change] is making people uncomfortable,” said the Rev. James Bretzke, a professor of moral theology at Boston College, who like Francis is a Jesuit.

“These poll numbers are not surprising and as a matter of fact you could even say there is an upside to them in the sense that it shows people are listening to the pope,” Bretzke said. “They’re not always agreeing with him but they are clearly listening.”

Yep.  Remember the upside, friends!

upside heart attack cartoon

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43 Comments

  1. Supertradmum says:

    Sunday, July 28, 2013, Address to the World Youth Day Volunteers Pope Francis: “God calls you to make definitive choices, and he has a plan for each of you: to discover that plan and to respond to your vocation is to move forward toward personal fulfillment. God calls each of us to be holy, to live his life, but he has a particular path for each one of us. Some are called to holiness through family life in the sacrament of Marriage. Today, there are those who say that marriage is out of fashion. Is it out of fashion? In a culture of relativism and the ephemeral, many preach the importance of ‘enjoying’ the moment. They say that it is not worth making a life-long commitment, making a definitive decision, ‘for ever’, because we do not know what tomorrow will bring. I ask you, instead, to be revolutionaries, I ask you to swim against the tide; yes, I am asking you to rebel against this culture that sees everything as temporary and that ultimately believes you are incapable of responsibility, that believes you are incapable of true love. I have confidence in you and I pray for you. Have the courage ‘to swim against the tide’. And also have the courage to be happy.”

  2. KRD says:

    Not sure why his approval ratings should be relevant. Whether you agree with him or not, a Pope changing his message based off of polls is a dangerous precedent.

  3. ckdexterhaven says:

    Pope Francis is kind of like those “Very Special Episodes” of Golden Girls, Designing Women, Family Ties, etc in the 80’s. Need to harangue Americans about the urgency of AIDS? Quick! Let’s have Blanche and Dorothy find out Rose is gay! Wait, it’s 1989, and Americans don’t realize that the oceans are rising and global warming will kill all the dolphins…. Here’s the Very Special Episode of Designing Women where Suzanne Sugarbaker finds out her sister Julia leaves the lights on and throws cigarette butts out the window. Pope Francis is too “preachy”, he’s an Afterschool Special.

    I know he’s the Pope, but we Americans like our Pope to stick to the issues, God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost. He needs to be less Kardashian and more Greta Garbo.

  4. mikeinmo says:

    The most likely reason is the “sin” of air conditioning.

    Some people actually think it MIGHT be more productive to hear clear teaching on abortion, selling body parts of aborted babies, the importance of weekly Mass attendance and Confession, marriage being a sacrament ONLY between a man and a woman, teaching your children by good example and praying together, to name a few things.

    Despite being a Neanderthal, I take comfort in the fact I am not a Kumbaya Catholic!

  5. jdskyles says:

    I may be completely off on this, but maybe a factor is that he may not be too fond of Americans either. In his two and a half years as Pontiff, he has not advanced a single American Archbishop to the College of Cardinals.

  6. Joseph-Mary says:

    Far too many in our hierarchy seem intent on building the ‘city of man’ and not the ‘city of God’. Christians are being exiled, tortured, murdered and the focus is on the air conditioner. Millions of people have left the Church, many more reject many teachings and are not in a state of grace and our leaders say ‘bravo’ to sodomy and another comments ‘it is the law of the land’. We need our spiritual weapons to combat the evils in this world and all we are getting is focus on passing things. Frustrating and disconcerting. Must keep my own focus and prayer life!

    I wish the pope and bishops would call forth a rosary crusade and extra hours of adoration and Masses in atonement for the grave evils confronting us. Families are shredded and we hear talk of how to accommodate those in sinful state. That is not what we need.

  7. Papabile says:

    Schneck was one of my Politics professors at CUA in the late 80’s, early 90’s. Risible liberal. He would probably claim to be centrist at this point. However, I distinctly remember him having no problem whatsoever when some students attempted to bring an abortionist to campus. (I’ll probably remember the guy’s name later tonight.) It was up to several Student’s for Life types to go begging – at that time – Monsignor Lori (Cardinal Hickey’s chancellor – I believe) to have the Cardinal intervene to prevent it.

  8. CharlesG says:

    I think the Commie crucifix might also have played a role in the drop.

  9. JuliB says:

    I cannot imagine giving a negative response about the Pope. I disagree with him on many things, but he is the Holy Father and deserves my public respect. And answering a poll question is a public response, even if anonymous.

    My feelings, for what little they are worth – different popes are needed by different types of people. I was blessed by being converted by our wonderful Benedict XVI. I am soo happy to have lived during his reign. He was the Pope that spoke to my heart. Francis speaks more directly to other peoples’ hearts, and that is fine. It’s not all about me.

    How to answer that in a poll? A mildly positive rating would be the worst response I could give.

  10. Robbie says:

    Speaking to an aunt last week who had been very fond of Francis, she spoke of why she’s soured. First, she complained about the encyclical. Second, she was greatly offended by the hammer and sickle Crucifix. I think the second part is playing a bigger role than some might suspect, especially with older Catholics.

  11. Athelstan says:

    The reality is that most Catholics aren’t as wired in and paying as close attention as, say, many readers here, and so the drop in enthusiasm is probably not always driven by the best concerns, like the highly problematic string of appointments in Rome or in the U.S. episcopate, the attempted hijacking of the Synod last fall for progressive shifts in moral doctrine by the Synod’s own papal-selected leadership, the problematic oversight of religious orders, etc. Many are likely reacting to surface questions most commonly treated in the larger media, which are going to be the more political stuff, like climate change, condemnations of capitalism and American consumerism, etc.

    But then it may be fair to suggest that if you are serious about making your papacy seriously raise its radar profile on political issues, you do stand at risk for being treated like a political creature, with all that that entails. From time to time that may be necessary (as it was in Germany in 1937, or in Poland in 1979-83), but the perils are there, the further you venture into areas at the margins of the Pope’s competency.

  12. moon1234 says:

    Most educated people see the climate change “issue” as a made up/trumped up reason to tax people, restrict what they can buy or otherwise swindle them in some way. Government and scientists have been caught many times changing, falsifying or otherwise manipulating climate information.

    Pope Francis did not personally write most of Laudato Si. Many of the people who did contribute to it were from the point of view that man made climate change is settled science. Fr. Seán McDonagh, part of the “administrative team” of the ultra-liberal and theologically dissident “Association of Catholic Priests” (ACP) in Ireland, was one of the main consultants regarding Laudato Si. This was reported by Vatican Radio and on Rorate.

    Most educated people realize that yes, there may possibly be some type of minor climate change happening. They do not agree however that Man has had any significant contribution to this change. We know from history that the earth goes through cycles of warming and cooling. To somehow jump to the conclusion that the earth is going to die unless we act now is just paranoia.

    Should we treat the planet properly, yes. Should be keep our lakes, rivers, soil, etc. clean, yes. Do we need to give up air conditioning? Really? Make my words that subscribing to any type of man made climate change theory will lead to calls for population reduction, abortion, killing of the elderly or infirmed, etc. It is all a logical extension of the liberal mindset.

    The Pope is including a lot of very theologically left minded people in key aspects of the Church. People are not blind to this. When political ideas become more important than getting souls to heaven, people start to question the motivations of those who lead the Church.

    I, personally, do not agree with much of what is in this encyclical. I personally think it is a politically motivated document. It is MUCH too long, too wordy, imprecise and not practical to apply to ones daily life. Encyclicals should be 3-5 pages long, direct and to the point and easy to understand. They should be written directly by the pope in consultation with experts on topic. Not ghost written by others and then simply signed off. The revelations that the latter occurred gives this ready much pause in believing that much of what this encyclical contains actually came from the mind of the Pope.

  13. djc says:

    1) I like the pope.

    2) I pray for him daily.

    3) I don’t believe in global warming though I am open to change if it can be proved statistically.

    4) I realize he is a South American Jesuit and he see’s the world thru those lenses. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad man even though I see the world thru a different set of eyes. We both want to fight poverty, he is more of a left-winger and I’m more of a middle of the road person. We differ on how to solve the same problems.

    I think the more the pope talks about Satan and Catholic Doctrine the more the Radical lefties will turn on him.

    The SSPX, ironically, will become more understanding of the pope and may even come to an agreement with the Vatican quicker than anyone imagines. Sort of a Nixon/China thing.

    I believe Pope Francis likes “making a mess” and that the real dissent will soon be coming from the “Cruxites”.

    djc

  14. Benedict Joseph says:

    A quote from the current National Geographic article on the Holy Father reads thus:
    “To Wals, his former press aide, Bergoglio’s careful entry into the papacy is completely unsurprising. Indeed, it was foreshadowed by the manner in which he vacated his previous office. Realizing there was a chance the conclave would elect him—after all, he had been the runner-up to Ratzinger after John Paul II’s death in 2005—the archbishop left for Rome in March 2013, says Wals, “with all letters finished, the money in order, everything in perfect shape. And that night before he departed, he called just to go over all the office details with me, and also to give me advice about my future, like someone who knew that maybe he would be leaving for good.”
    The cake was baked, as Ivereigh’s “The Great Reformer” inadvertently alluded in its first “incorrect and pulled” edition.
    The icing is melting off the cake.

  15. danidunn says:

    In addition to the many commenters openly hostile to Pope Francis on this website and others, I personally know many “conservative” Catholics who are unhappy with him too. In addition to his latest encyclical, these conservatives are also angry with many of his statements, such as the “who am I to judge” statement. These are the same people who criticize their bishops and priests for not preaching the Gospel forcibly enough are angry that the Pope is actually preaching the Gospel.


    Yes, even if I caused you pain by my letter, I am not sorry for it. Perhaps I was tempted to feel sorry, when I saw how my letter had caused you even momentary pain, but now I am glad; not glad of the pain, but glad of the repentance the pain brought with it. Yours was a supernatural remorse, so that you were not in any way the losers through what we had done.

    Technically, a 20% drop in the market is considered a crash, so at 19% we are still in dip territory. Sorry, just a poor attempt at levity. But, as when the stock does crash by 20%, there is usually broad agreement to the crash. The market doesn’t tank in one sector but across multiple sectors. So, when the Pope’s “approval” drops 19%, there is going to be both conservative and liberal agreement in the perceived disapproval, but of course, for different reasons.

    People should spend more time trying to understand what he says then being critical. He did not say that under no circumstance should people not use air conditioning. Too much of something that is good or beneficial can be a bad thing. Too much alcohol is a bad thing. Unfortunately, the trend today (at least in America, stemming from our protestant heritage) is that if something can be abused then it should be banned altogether A few such products that spring quickly to mind are soda, alcohol, and guns.

    However, regardless of the merits of global warming, the resources used to produce the goods and services that we in the West take for granted are causing huge negative consequences for the countries like China. Does anybody not see the pollution that rapid industrialization is causing in China? Yes, good things are happening to the some of the Chinese people, but, bad things are also happening. Everything in moderation.


    as for these brethren of ours, they are the envoys of the churches, the glory of Christ: give them proof, then, of your charity, and of the good reason we have to be proud of you, for all the churches to see.

  16. Clinton R. says:

    According to the July 22nd edition of the New York Times, arch liberal Bill DeBlasio is quite a fan of Pope Francis. There, DeBlasio is quoted as saying: “… he noted with pride that his daughter, Chiara, attends a university run by Jesuits, ‘who are legendarily good at teaching people to question the church’.” And also this gem: “He refers to Francis’ remark about homosexuality — ‘Who am I to judge?’— as a ‘seismic moment,’ and has joked to friends that the line was ‘possibly the greatest quote in Catholic history’.”

    So liberals may here and there bemoan the Pope is not changing the Church fast enough for their tastes, but it seems by and large, he is popular with them because in their warped perception, The Catholic Church has been this mean ol’ institution that for far too long did not do as Christ commanded. They see the Church as having been too legalistic, too narrow minded, too patrisitic, too triumphant and not ‘inclusive’. Now, they see the Pope sharing their critiques and they believe he is bringing the Church back to “it’s roots”. So thus, he is far more popular with liberals than with those favoring the traditional doctrine and praxis of the Church. I wonder how popular Pius X would have been in today’s times? Or any pontiff who spoke of Catholic doctrine in clear and concise bulls and encyclicals.

  17. Jackie L says:

    I agree that “liberal catholics, such as the writers and readers of the National Schismatic Reporter (aka Fishwrap) will try to explain away this huge drop in popularity because Francis’ is being prophetic”
    They might also try to dominate the opposition and say that he’s all talk no action, as they have convinced themselves he’s on their side, yet he hasn’t done the impossible: ordain women, redefine marriage, endorse artificial birth control, etc.

  18. discens says:

    Well if people don’t like Laudato Si’ they’ll hate Rerum Novarum, Populorum Progressio, and Centesimus Annus. Francis is probably now receiving locutions of commiseration from Leo XIII, Pius XI,and JPII, “Don’t worry, old chap. We’ve been there too. Keep preaching anyway.”

  19. maryh says:

    I don’t think the 14% drop among liberals would be due to not believing in climate change.

    I would tend to attribute that to Pope Francis making quite clear that the environment may not be saved by birth control and abortion. Which always seemed to me one of the important planks of the environmentalists. Too many people. Especially too many of the wrong kind of people – the poor third world kind.

  20. discens says:

    Sorry, got my popes and their social encyclicals mixed up. Populorum Progression is from Paul VI. Pius XI wrote Quadragesimo Anno. Anyway locutions to Francis also from Paul VI, who really got the brickbats because of Humanae Vitae — the greatest encyclical, for my money, of the twentieth century.

  21. Polycarpio says:

    The pope has a right and duty to “berate” us (they don’t call it pontificatin’ for nuthin’). “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required.” (Luke 12:48.)

  22. Gerard Plourde says:

    I tend to take opinon polls with a grain of salt. I seem to remember that the son of a carpenter from Nazareth went from being hailed as a king to being crucified by the authorities with the support of the crowd within the space of a week. What is true will survive. What is not true will be revealed as such.

  23. RAve says:

    I understand that an archbishop for a see whose retired cardinal archbishop is still living doesn’t normally get a red hat. How many cardinal-suited arbishoprics even have openings? Is it such a bad thing that +Cupich doesn’t wear a red hat? Be careful what you wish for.

  24. Andkaras says:

    The mainstream media dragon has, in it’s blood lust to make a meal of anything in it’s path, gotten hold of it’s own tail. And by the time it has chewed up to it’s own a–, no one on either side will trust them and happily return to original sources for the true story. I think we are seeing a rebirth of intensely investigative journalism, as the more reliable sources are gaining in popularity. This will translate to a better informed public. As for the Papacy , most know by now to wait out all the possibly biased reports for the more reliable translations and clarifications. Does anybody really believe most polls anymore? It is easy to crush the head of a dragon whose a– is in it’s mouth.

  25. Polycarpio says:

    One last tidbit from me: the minor “dip” (can we call it a statistical “dimple”?) seems to have occurred very recently. There was a June Pew poll which gave Francis an 86% favorable rating amongst Catholics–slightly down from the 89% in May, but not nearly the 71% in this last poll. That may still point to the encyclical, or the encyclical in tandem with the Commie Cross, or some kind of polling anomaly (with a nod to Gerard Plourde above), as the cause of the “dint.” The information in the June Pew poll suggests that the encyclical may explain the drop: the editors noted that “the poll shows that climate change is a highly politicized issue that sharply divides American Catholics,” with 62% of Catholic Dems. vs. only 24% of Catholic Reeps. thinking global warming is caused by Man.

  26. Gail F says:

    And Pope Francis cares about American opinion polls? I saw that and laughed — if ONE person in the world does what he thinks he’s supposed to do without regard to opinion polls, I assume it is the Bishop of Rome.
    As to why the drop or plummet or whatever… who knows? Most Americans don’t know anything real about him, so my guess is that a certain number are upset that he didn’t do whatever it is they were sure he was about to do any minute now.

  27. stephen c says:

    Jerusalem was a big city, and there is no reason to think the crowd that we all love from the Palm Sunday part of the Bible is the same crowd that we criticize for having shown up for Pontius Pilate and his vicious open-air State of the Nation “should I kill Jesus or the other famous prisoner” speech. There are cities in the United States where many precincts have never voted for a pro-abortion Democrat but where the city as a whole has always gone for the neo-Roman abortionist Democratic party. Those cities, like ancient Jerusalem, are areas where the good and the bad are in conflict. Similarly, the disapproval of the Pope expressed in the poll Father Z quoted includes those who disapprove of him for being insufficiently pro-abortion and those who disapprove of him, as many good people do, for being insufficiently pro-life. Ancient Jerusalem and the modern world are complicated.

  28. Bea says:

    He says one thing today and has to have it explained on the tomorrow.
    Maybe this confusion is what has turned people off.
    “hagan lio” he said and he’s following his own advice.
    Maybe some people don’t want “lio”. There’s enough “lio”in the world to add it also to the Church.
    Some want solid catechism and we’re not getting it from Rome. Lets close some windows and circle the wagons with the message of Salvation, and not compromise the Church with the message of the world.

  29. ZZMike says:

    Jesuitical: I took a subscription to “America” – run by the Jesuits – and let it run out when the year ended. It was largely liberal, arguing for (among other things) strict gun control. I graduated from a Jesuit high school (some many years ago). That education was first-rate. Something seems to have changed in the order since then.

    I read Laudato Si in its entirety. (I would have loved to have read it in Latin, but my command of that language has declined considerably since high school.) The ratio of climate evangelism to theology is astounding.

    Not only that, but the Vatican recently held a conference on the subject – to which a dissenting scientist was disinvited. Then there’s the meeting with U.S. mayors (and California’s governor (once an aspirant to Jesuit orders)) to raise our consciousness about this impending doom.

    I suggest that Laudato Si doe not encompass matters of faith and morals (perhaps briefly), so we may conclude that it does not carry the weight of the magisterium .

    A short aside on the recent history of the Papacy: my sainted grandmother, Boston Irish Catholic, lived at the time the Church did away with the ban on eating meat on Friday. She said, “The Pope can eat meat on Friday if he wants, but I will not!” (She said the exclamation mark.)

  30. MrTipsNZ says:

    jdskyles: indeed – and its also worth remembering that the Pope is aware that the USA makes up 4% of a world torn apart by war, misery and all the things we know go on. And none of those things are happening in the USA right now. They could, but they aren’t right now.

    Personally, I think Pope Francis’ is way too complex for most media – they really don’t get him. And the polls might well as be done by Wile E. Coyote.

  31. Mjay says:

    I will be very disappointed if PF comes does not address same sex marriage and Obergefell when he comes to the U.S. in September, and instead addresses climate change. He will have the eyes and ears of our politicians and populace. The Church in the U.S. is in dire need of direction and it would be a great platform.

  32. Sword40 says:

    He IS the Pope but he has not spoken “Ex Cathedra” so its OK to disagree with him as long as I show him respect due his position. Opinion polls mean nothing to me.

  33. Phil_NL says:

    A pope’s job is not to ride high in opinion polls. His job is to proclaim Christ, in season and out of season. Well, thus far the 21st century can definitely qualify as ‘out of season’. That alone accounts for much, no doubt. Don’t expect attitudes towards His Holiness to remain constant if he would do nothing (and, as noted above, many in the general public will not get word of most papal controversies, for example, outside this site, I never saw a single reference to that ludicrous commie ‘crucifix’).
    So I suspect there’s a downward drift in the pope’s ratings anyway, simply for not delivering on the impossible demands liberals place on him. Probably it’s more pronounced with Francis, as more people thought he’d do revolutionary stuff such as womyn priests or allowing contraception. Benedict probably had a much lower ‘annual drift down’; as he scored lower on the impossible expectations to begin with.

    So, we’re out of season. Not much new there. What is new(ish), and the thing that does irk me, is that part of his popularity is wasted on unforced errors. Perhaps given his background, much of it is understandable, but it’s easy to sigh in dispair every time Francis says something about economics, politics or the environment. Taken by itself it is often not that bad (though the air conditioning remark was rather silly; here in Europe AC never really caught on – we need it just a few weeks a year max – but every heatwave kills of thousands of elderly for no good reason) but you just know that everytime he says something about Greek debt or capitalism, someone is going to take that and run circles around the Church with it. That’s not needed.

    Let His Holiness spent his time, and popularity, on proclaiming matters of grave importance, of undeniable moral standing. Not on matters of prudential judgement. There’s plenty of the former to go around (abortion, anyone?), and likely to be much more in years to come as tehnology moves once again faster than our moral development.

  34. Pingback: Morning Catholic must-reads: 24/07/15 | CHRONICA

  35. JKnott says:

    The beauty of Truth/truth resides in Christ and moral absolutes. The only opinion poll that counts for the Pope is that of the Trinity. I wonder if Father, Son and Holy Spirit are pleased with the high percentage of new conversions to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church for the one and only important purpose of the salvation of their souls, and not politics and sex. Should we care what the numbers are if their is not true conversion?
    Luke 21:17
    Everyone will hate you because of me.
    John 15:18
    “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
    John 15:19
    If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

  36. juergensen says:

    After John Paul’s and Benedict’s unequivocal affirmations of important tenets of the faith, this has been a depressing pontificate.

  37. LarryW2LJ says:

    I respect and pray for the Pope, because he is the Pope. I do not dislike him, but I also am not a Francis “groupie”. What bothers me the most are the off the cuff remarks. I love plain speaking, but still- you have to be careful how you say what you say, lest it be twisted by those with an agenda. The “Who am I to judge” and “breeding like rabbits” comments were not the wisest things to say. On the other hand, I love the fact that he accentuates the Sacrament of Confession and is not afraid to speak plainly about the devil. The world needs to be reminded about ol’ Scratch as much as possible.

    Fr, I loved your line, “Mind you, liberals don’t include themselves among normal Americans. They understand things far better than the hoi polloi.” As my grandfather was so fond of saying, “Those people might have a lot of book learning, but they don’t have a lick of common sense.”

    I’m 58 years old. In my lifetime, I remember Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II and Benedict XVI. I believe Pope Pius XII was still alive the year I was born, but died the next year, so I don’t remember him at all. If I was of “fan” of any of them it would be Benedict XVI and John Paul II.

  38. Imrahil says:

    As for berating U. S. Americans,

    it must be conceded to His Holiness that the path that stays clear of both berating Americans for being too American, and berating non-Americans for not being American enough, is hard to find if it exists at all.

    Plus, if you suffer the cynicism, berating Americans (or Germans for that matter) seems to be an effective way of getting into the good books elsewhere.

  39. Benedict Joseph says:

    A previous comment contributes this phrase to the discussion: “People should spend more time trying to understand what he says then being critical.” Really? May I comment that there is already far too much time devoted, on the part of the faithful, to “trying to understand” the Holy Father. Among his other duties it is his job to make himself understood while facilitating the proper understanding Holy Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition, and the Magisterium of the Church. That is the job of the Holy Father. If all the rest is not secondary, it is an impediment to the proclamation of the Holy Gospel of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.
    I can never tire of presenting this jewel Fr. Hunwicke brought to the attention of so many of us, from the documents of Vatican I: “The Holy Spirit was not given to the Roman Pontiffs so that they might disclose new doctrine, but so that they might guard and set forth the Deposit of Faith handed down from the Apostles.”
    Popularity. I would pray to see the Holy Father’s popularity collapse as he abandons the zeitgeist presently held in esteem, while he boldly proclaims the unchanging, life giving Gospel of Our Lord, the true doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church.

  40. jacobi says:

    It would have been better if the Pope had stayed out of uncertain, selective, predictive science and stuck to what he knows about, the Magisterium of the Church and the saving of souls.

    His popularity, a passing phenomena, is not important. I doubt if it will evangelise many non-Catholics.

    The message of Salvation will attract some serious attention.

  41. AnnTherese says:

    In Genesis, God’s Covenant with Adam and Eve:
    Love and trust God above all
    Be good stewards of all that God created– our Earth, all creatures, and all humanity

    I’m not sure why the Pope’s encyclical has everyone all worked up. It’s rooted in the first book of the Bible and Catholic Social Teaching! It is a social and political issue, and also a faith and moral issue. We run our air conditioners, our electricity, our water– as much as we want, without thinking –because we can. If we all tried to not waste resources and care for the world –just in our little daily lives –everyone in the world would be better off. How can this be in opposition to our Catholic faith, or even deemed unimportant?? Whether you believe one group of scientists or another about global warning– the truth is, we as humanity are disrespectful to our Earth, which is disrespectful to God the Creator.

    As for the Pope’s fall in popularity ratings– who cares? Isn’t a priest unpopular with some people when he teaches the Truth about marriage, abortion, sin, etc.? This is what it means to be a Christian: when we speak the Truth and when we witness to God’s love, we might become unpopular, even be persecuted.

    Even be crucified! Pope Francis, I’m sure, isn’t worried about ratings. He knows he’s in good company– Jesus fell victim to ratings, too. But even death didn’t have the final word on that.

  42. don’t care about polls on the Pontificate. they’re not running for office.
    pray for our Holy Father. Much needed.
    the first official poll ever taken was. who do people say that I am?

  43. Fr. Vincent Fitzpatrick says:

    Losing “popularity”? How about “respect.”

    There is a holocaust of Christians and Jews going on, carried out by Muslims, financed by the West, including the U.S., and the Pope is talking about air conditioning, while continuing the baby-talk about Islam.

    All but about ten American bishops are committing the mortal sin–and coercing their priests to commit the mortal sin–of giving Communion to pro-abortion politicians–and the Pope appoints new bishops (Cupich, McElroy) who have publicly argued for continuing to commit this precise mortal sin. And the distribution of Communion to adulterous couples and gay couples is RIFE.

    The Earth will, in September, enter its 21st year with NO WARMING. (Cf., satellite data–the most accurate temperature data available.) The Pope says, in an encyclical, that the Earth is warming.

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