4.2 Million Americans Abandon The Catholic Church In Protest Of Pope Francis
A Gallop survey discovered that Catholic church presence has plummeted
© press
In the midst of the most senior Vatican official embroiled in a child abuse scandal, Pope Francis's popularity has taken a dramatic nosedive as millions of American reject Catholicism.
The Pontiff's far left seemingly 'liberal' policies have not just infuriated conservatives, but also sparked a revolt which reflected in a poll revealing four million Catholics in the U.S. have abandoned the Catholic church since the Francis took control.
Francis, a mainstream media darling which many still see as 'modern Pope,' has crushed Catholic church attendance in recent years, so what went wrong?
A Gallop survey discovered that Catholic church presence in the United States between the pontificates of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis experienced the sharpest drop in years, because of the 1970s:
- In the early years of Benedict pontificate between 2005 and 2008,
- approximately 45% of U.S Catholics participated in weekly Mass
- That average fell to 39% throughout the heart of the Francis papacy, between 2014 and 2017.
- American Catholics between the ages of 50 and 59 saw the sharpest decrease in Mass presence in between the pontificates of Pope Benedict
- XVI and Pope Francis, falling from 46% to 31%, or a drop of 15%.
- Those aged 30 to 39 is the only age group that experienced an increase in church presence in between the pontificates of Benedict and Francis, from 40% to 43%.
READ MORE: The Vatican Quietly Pays Out Almost $4 Billion To Child Abuse Victims
The 6% drop can not credit for a decline in the worship of all U.S. Christians but is special to the Catholic Church because weekly church presence has remained consistent among Protestants.
Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D., of Breitbart, observes that it is unlikely that Pope Francis' "continuous deemphasizing of the value of obedience to church guidelines such as regular Mass attendance and adherence to Catholic teaching has not had a considerable impact on Catholic practice."
Williams indicates a recent study by the Pew Research Center which discovered "indications of growing discontent" with Francis are emerging among American Catholics.
The apparent trend is toward higher displeasure of Francis, with increasing numbers stating they see the pope unfavorably because he is "too liberal and naïve":
The portion of Catholics who say they disapprove of the pope has more than doubled in the last four years, from 4% in 2014 to 9% in 2018.
The variety of American Catholics who believe that Pope Francis represents a "major change for the even worse" has more than doubled from 2015 to 2018, from merely 3% in 2015 to 7% at present.
The share of U.S. Catholics who consider Francis "too liberal" has increased greatly from 19% in 2015 to 34% in 2018, while the number who consider him to be "naïve" has risen from 15% to 24% in the same period.
