The rating of Pope Francis in the U.S. went down in the past year, according to Gallup's last poll. Liberals taking notice of the slow implementation of church policies is one reason for this low rating. In addition, conservatives continuously disagree with the pope's recent criticism of capitalism, climate change and income inequality. The pope's approval rate went from 72 percent in February 2014 to 45 percent in the recent survey taken from July 8 to July 12, Fox News reported.
This poll was different from the one conducted by Pew Research in February showing a slightly higher result. Time's 2013 Man of the Year had been favored by nine out of 10 Catholics in Pew's survey, according to NBC News.
During Pope Francis' term, he made sure to steer away the focus from other forms of culture wars. Members of the church in the United States, like Catholic bishops and their communities have focusing on issues like abortion, different forms of contraception and homosexuality. Catholic politicians, on the other hand, do not see his opinions on climate change favorable. Jeb Bush even suggested that the Pope should not meddle with political issues and pay more attention Catholic value, the Huffington Post reported.
Catholic conservatives in the U.S. also expressed criticism on how the pope delivers his sermons and how he expresses himself regarding the issues against consumerism and technology dependence. The editor of the Catholic World report, Carl Olson, wrote that the criticism stems from how his listeners grew tired of his "haranguing, harping, exhorting, lecturing and grating," according to Fox News.
A Boston College moral theology professor, Rev. James Bretzke, said that the upside of the rating's decline means people are still all ears to the Pope. Most Catholics may not always agree, but at least they are listening, Reuters reported.
