78% of US Catholics view Pope Leo XIV favorably despite Trump criticism

By Seo Ji-yeon, The Herald Business

Nearly eight in 10 American Catholics view Pope Leo XIV favorably, and more than half believe Donald Trump has been too critical of the first American-born pope, according to a new survey.

The Pew Research Center released the findings Friday, showing 78 percent of US Catholics hold a favorable view of Leo XIV. That figure is down slightly from 84 percent recorded last summer, when anticipation ran high over the election of an American pope, but is roughly in line with approval levels seen toward the end of Pope Francis's pontificate.

The survey was conducted from May 26 through June 1, shortly after Leo XIV and Trump clashed publicly over the war with Iran.

In April, Leo XIV criticized what he called "delusions of omnipotence" as a driver of the conflict. Trump fired back, calling the pope "weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy," setting off a public war of words. Trump also drew controversy after posting an AI-generated image on social media that appeared to liken himself to Jesus.

On the question of who bore more blame for the dispute, American Catholics were more critical of Trump than of the pope.

Thirty-five percent said Leo XIV had struck "the right balance" in his stance toward the Trump administration. Nineteen percent said the pope was too critical of the administration, while 16 percent said he was not critical enough.

By contrast, 51 percent said Trump had been too critical of the pope. Only 14 percent called his tone appropriate, and just 4 percent said he should be more critical.

Support for Leo XIV was broadly high across levels of religious observance and demographic groups. Among Catholics who attend Mass weekly, 85 percent viewed the pope favorably, compared with 79 percent of those who attend once or twice a month and 73 percent of those who attend less frequently.

Politically, Catholic Democrats were more favorable toward the pope than Catholic Republicans.

Seventy percent of Democratic-leaning Catholics said Trump had been too critical of the pope, while only 3 percent said the pope had been too critical of Trump.

Among Republican-leaning Catholics, opinion was more divided: 39 percent said the pope had been too critical of Trump, while 32 percent said Trump had been too critical of the pope.