CNN poll: 88% approval rating for pope in US

Details from Daniel Burke at CNN: 

As Pope Francis prepares to celebrate his first Christmas at the Vatican, Americans’ opinions of the pontiff appear to be as high as the dome on St. Peter’s Basilica, according to a new survey.

A CNN/ORC International poll released Tuesday found that 88% of American Catholics approve of how Francis is handling his role as head of the 1.2 billion-member church.

The popular pontiff has also made a positive impression among Americans in general: Nearly three in four view Francis favorably.  The new survey suggests that the Pope is arguably the most well-regarded religious figure among the American public today, said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland…

…According to one study, Pope Francis was the most talked about person on the Internet this year, and even atheists have professed appreciation for the 77-year-old pontiff.

The breadth of Francis’ popularity was on display at American newsstands this month: he was named person of the year by both Time magazine and The Advocate, a gay and lesbian publication.

“While 2013 will be remembered for the work of hundreds in advancing marriage equality, it will also be remembered for the example of one man,” The Advocate said. In remarks that rippled across the globe, Pope Francis said in July, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”

While the Pope has not changed church doctrine, he has urged Catholics to shift their focus from culture war issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion to caring for people on society’s margins, especially the poor.

“I see the church as a field hospital after battle,” Francis said in September.

American Catholics appear to like the new course the Pope has set for their church. Nearly two-thirds agree with him about the amount of attention that should be paid to moral issues, according to the CNN/ORC poll.

More than 85% of American Catholics say Francis is neither too liberal nor too conservative, and 86% say he’s in touch with the modern world. By comparison, more than half of American Catholics said Pope John Paul II was out of step with the times in 2003, near the end of his 26-year-long papacy.

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