[Breitbart] Pope Francis’s approval rating has fallen to an all-time low, according to a new CNN poll showing that fewer than 50 percent of Americans now have a favorable opinion of the pontiff.Fewer than half of Americans (48 percent) now say they have a favorable view of the pope, CNN reported, which represents a significant drop since January 2017, when the pontiff enjoyed a two-thirds approval rating. In December 2013, the year he was elected, Francis’spopularity was higher still, with 72 percent of Americans giving the pope a favorable rating.
Early in his pontificate, Francis stressed the themes of mercy, poverty, and evangelization, which gradually gave way to emphasis on more politically charged issues such as global warming and immigration.
More recently, however, the pope has come under fire for refusing to answer allegations that he was aware of the serial homosexual predation of U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and yet elevated him to a position of prominence, allowing McCarrick to influence the naming of American bishops.