Gallup: US See Pope in Favorable Light, 76%-9%.

Francis essentially matches John Paul II's soaring popularity at end of his tenure

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The liberal media keeps blowing up smoking up the Chillax Pope ass, what has he actually done? He is like the Obama Pope, might as well give him the Nobel Peace Prize.

It would appear that he has better ratings among Catholics than his predecessors ever had.

Though it's always interesting to me that there is ever any dissent among Catholics when it comes to Popes. Popes are referred to as infallible due to the belief that God speaks directly to them. So if that's the case shouldn't everything thing they do technically be correct seeing as how their actions are what God directly instructed them to do? Doesn't that mean that if Catholics take issue with the Pope that they are taking direct issue with the word of God itself?

Not entirely true. Pope's are only infallible when teaching on universal church teachings in conjunction with the rest of the magisterium. I believe there have only been 3 or 4 instances in the history of the Church where a specific papal teaching has been put through as infallible. There is no teaching that God speaks directly to the pope or in anyway differently then anyone else. He's simply the appointed leader of the Church. And so long as he puts forth a universal teaching while at the same time with the rest of the magisterium then we believe that teaching is infallible. Otherwise he can be wrong just like anyone else. In fact I believe the Pope's recent exortation has all sorts of incorrect opinions. But it's not a universal document so there is no reason to consider it infallible.

Although you are right, to consider yourself Catholic while at the same time disagreeing with official Church teachings as taught but the Pope and Bishops seems very contradictory.

What has he done? Nothing really, that's what

He's replaces Catholic Leadership in the Vatican, he's removed Bishops who have abused their posts, he spoken extensively on love and the importance of treating everyone with dignity rather then condemning them. He's written an apostolic exhortation. He installed quite a few bishops in vacant positions around the world, and set a good example of serving one's fellow man, all the while running the day to day operations of the worlds largest organized religion. He's seems to have done quite a bit.

Yet the church is still neck deep in corruption and illegal actions. I don't care if he defrocked or excommunicated child molesters...that's not enough, they need to be arrested and thrown in prison. He's also still very socially conservative and not even as progressive as some past popes. He's an incredibly outgoing and friendly guy, and this gives people something nice to say about an institution in desperate need of it.

agreed, it's incredibly unfair to argue that he hasn't done anything.

He's done stuff for sure

He makes the right wing conservatives fringe hate him, that's reason enough for me to like him.

Why Do Conservatives Hate Pope Francis So Much? Just Read These 20 Quotes

Pope Francis is a different pontiff than his predecessors, and that’s a good thing that the world has badly been in need of. While not an absolute liberal, Pope Francis does hold many views in opposition to many conservative policies. Conservatives are largely prejudice, anti-poor, anti-women, anti-education, anti-healthcare, anti-peace, anti-gay, anti-immigrant, and against other religious beliefs. Pope Francis is none of these things. And that’s why conservatives hate him. He doesn’t fit the extreme mold that the right-wing demands. In other words, he’s not a cold-hearted lunatic. He’s the compassionate and inclusive pontiff that a majority of the people have been waiting for.

The Pope can't arrest priests and bishops or throw them in prison. That is the job of the local governments if they aren't going to do it then no one can. Not to mention 95% of priests that have been accused of pedophilia are now dead so they can't be tried or thrown in jail. Also, apparently you didn't read his apostolic exhortation. He condemns capitalism in that exhortation and supports universal healthcare as well as easy access for immigrants. He's certainly more liberally minded then 99% of US politicians.

people are ecstatic that there is a pope that is not an ex-nazi or a child ****er for a change.

what a breath of fresh air for the catholic church.

The real question is where do I currently stand with Americans.

Well do you run from terrorists, hate the military, think welfare is great, cheer homos, boo Christians, and measure progress based on how many drugs were legalized this year?

Shit, I forgot about illegal immigration supporting, baby killing, MSNBC watching.....

Where do you stand?

Shit, I forgot about illegal immigration supporting, baby killing, MSNBC watching......

^this is a troll account, right?

I assure you I am serious as a heart attack, this is socialist, liberal America. This is what they stand for....anti-religion, pro-gay, pro-drugs, pro-illegal immigration, pro-abortion, pro-liberal media, anti-drones killing terrorists, pro-military cuts till we are impotent, pro-welfare......do I need to go on? Does anyone actual argue this is not true? Please do.....pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease do.

so that's a yes

He's not a asshole, that right there will make people like you.

Interestingly enough, the Bible prohibits the worshipping of idols. So what does the Catholic church do? Oh wait....

The whole thing is a gigantic fucking joke. When are we going to stop buying into this fakery?

No, that is a tell me why I am wrong or stfu, looks like you are the troll here. What point have you made other than the one QQing troll because you don't like what I say?

Vfib how old are you and why are you falling apart because of people's posts?

No, you just sound like a troll, or a whackjob

All in all, this is a bad thing for religion.

How so?

The more attention brought to religion, the more open it is to scrutiny, which hasn't been helping lately.

shouldn't religion be open to scrutiny?

Yes, and that scrutiny could bring more questions than answers for those of faith. A lot of those questions have no real world answers which may leave some feeling dissatisfied.

That's kind of the point of faith

That's the issue, not having an answer makes people upset, so they fill in the blanks with garbage instead of trying to find a more probable answer

Sounds like they're not very strong in their faith

@lostrib: If that's really the point of faith, then I can only see more people straying away from it because we can learn, experience, and observe things that counter teachings of old texts. When that happens I think it can only lead to more questioning and seeking out of real answers for a thinking person; things they won't find in religious texts.

So when people "see the Pope in a favorable light" there are people out there who may ask why now? or why this pope? and why not before? Oh, it's because he's challenging the foundations of an established religion with some odd teachings. If you're Catholic, you may dive in further and continue asking yourself and your friends more questions and seek out answers to help you make sense of things around you. In 2014 it's harder for religion to help people make sense of the real world around them when other avenues provide better and more consistent answers.

I don't think this new pope is gonna change much for true Catholicism. He's just another guy with opinions, some of which are cause for concern.

I'm optimistic in our future generations (kids) using reason, scientific methods, and observation to guide their lives with all the information they will have access to, in the US at least. It's seems easier to share shit nowadays on the net as opposed to sharing a profound idea or thought, but I hope that changes in our lifetimes.

Only because I disagree with you. You see, this is what your kind does when someone expresses a different view. You don't counter the view with logic, you attack the person and their credibility. This is why I don't have reasonable conversation with you socialist libtards any longer, why bother? If I disagree with the president I am racist, if I am against welfare I am a racist, if I think the Redskins should not change their name I am a racist. if I go to church I am a nutjob who believes in the invisible man in the sky, if I think marriage is between a man and a woman I am a homophobe, if I am against illegal immigration I am a xenophobe, if I think drones should be taking out al qaeda in other countries I am a warmongerer.....................post a post stating these facts and I am a "whackjob" right? Anything to discredit the other side, then you don't have to actually come up with a logical counterpoint.

.....this is how the left in America operates. Now if you have something to counter my points here go for it, if not then YOU sir are the troll.

Please, show me the exact points I disagree with you about, and don't forget to provide evidence

lmao so butthurt

What's the matter? You can dish it out but can't take it?

ROFL, is this what you have been relegated to?

Hilarious to me not one of you can deny what I say, in fact you are only bolstering it.

vfibsux I'm nearly 100% sure that you've called more people "anti-american" or "lemmings" or "socialist" or "libtard" or some creative remix of those words than people have called you racist, homophobic, ect.

And then you cry about it when someone calls you a name, pathetic. Grow some skin comrade

@vfibsux: myeah I gotta say vfib politics is largely series of tense discussions that can get quite heated. Now it can get quite interesting involving real substance or it can devolve into arguments, but you're almost assuredly going to be arguing if you start out with name calling. Which for the record is exactly what you did in this thread.

vfibsux is boring. At least kraychik was entertaining.

These numbers don't necessarily mean that there is a high approval rating for the Catholic Church, just Pope Francis. I think people like him because he seems more relatable and has more understanding of the modern world.