Poll: Over 6 in 10 Americans favor Pope Francis

Pope Francis inspires “favorable” or “very favorable” opinions among more than six in 10 Americans, according to a new poll.

{mosads}The Quinnipiac University survey released on Thursday found that 66 percent of Americans respond positively to the Catholic leader.

Forty-eight percent of respondents have a “favorable take” on Francis, and another 18 percent saying they have a “very favorable” opinion instead.

Those responses are contrasted by 10 percent who have an “unfavorable” view of the pontiff and 4 percent who have a “very unfavorable” opinion.

Quinnipiac’s survey also found that the pope leadership is generating new enthusiasm for the Catholic Church among Americans.

It found that 43 percent of respondents say the religious institution is heading in “the right direction,” versus 21 percent who do not.

“Pope Francis is sparking a resurgent confidence in the Catholic Church as more Catholics, Protestants and those with no religion believe the Vatican is steering the Church in the right direction,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of Quinnipiac University’s polling agency.

Francis does best, Quinnipiac’s poll discovered, among America’s practicing Catholics. Eighty-seven percent of U.S. Catholics have a “favorable” or “very favorable” view of their spiritual leader, according to pollsters.

Another 70 percent believe the Catholic Church is moving in “the right direction,” versus 16 percent who do not.

Quinnipiac’s new sampling comes as America prepares for Francis’s address before Congress later this month.

It surveyed 1,829 U.S. adults from Aug. 20-25 with a 2.3 margin of error. That total includes 424 Catholics with a 4.8 margin of error, the polling agency added.