Pope Francis probably does not pay close attention to American opinion polls. He is not a politician, and he heads a worldwide institution. Moreover, he seems less concerned about the United States, and developed countries generally, than some of his predecessors have been. If he did look at the polls — perhaps one of his aides has thought to direct his attention to the Gallup results from July as he prepares to come here in September — he would be relieved to discover that 59 percent of Americans think favorably of him. That’s better than Pope Benedict did, if not as well as Pope John Paul II.
But his popularity here is dropping. In 2014, 76 percent of Americans viewed him favorably. American conservatives have led the downward trend, with only 45 percent now positive about him. By comparison, 68 percent of liberals like him.
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