Pope Leo XIV keeps strong favorability among US Catholics amid partisan dip

A Pew Research Center survey released on June 18 finds that 78 % of US Catholics hold a favorable view of Pope Leo XIV, matching the high approval historically enjoyed by his predecessors. The poll, conducted May 26‑June 1, also shows that 51 % of Catholics think President Donald Trump has been too critical of the pope, while only 4 % think he has not been critical enough.

Support remains strongest among weekly Mass‑goers (85 % favorable) and Democratic Catholics (84 % favorable). Favorability among Republican Catholics fell from 84 % last year to 78 %, a decline linked to the pope’s recent criticism of war in Iran, which he described as driven by leaders “gripped by a delusion of omnipotence.” Trump responded with social‑media attacks, labeling the pontiff “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy.” The findings illustrate a growing partisan split in opinions of the religious leader within the US Catholic community.