Pope Francis remains very popular in Latin America, according to a new survey, but saw a decline in favorability in Argentina.
Pew Research Center released a comprehensive study, titled “”How People in Latin America and the United States View Pope Francis.”” The survey surveyed 6,234 adults last year in six of Latin America’s most populous countries.
The survey found that attitudes toward the pope – in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru – remain largely positive, although overall less positive than a decade ago.
In Brazil and Mexico, for example, 68% of adults have a positive opinion of the Pope.
A child kisses Pope Francis during the weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on August 21, 2024. (Reuters/Yara Nardi)
The favor of the Pope in Argentina had the largest decline among the six countries surveyed.
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A decade ago, 91% of Argentines said they had a positive opinion of Francis. That number has dropped to an estimated 64% today.
Pope Francis attends a mass at the Esplanade in Tasitolu in Dili, East Timor, on September 10, 2024. ((Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP) (Photo by TIZIANA FABI / AFP via Getty Images))
The survey also found:
-IN Brazil and Mexico68% of adults have a positive opinion of the Pope.
-In Colombia, 72% share this opinion compared to 83% of adults at the end of 2013.
-In Chile, only about half of the adults have a positive view of Francis.
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The favorable impression of Francis among American adults peaked between 2015 and 2017 when seven in ten Americans viewed him favorably. Today, 57% of American adults have a favorable opinion of the Pope.
The survey showed that American Catholics (75%) are more probably than Protestants (51%) or religiously unaffiliated (56%) to have positive views of Francis today.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.