Pew Finds 78% of U.S. Catholics View Pope Leo XIV Favorably

The Pew Research Center has published a study finding that about 78% of Catholics in the United States have a favorable opinion of Pope Leo XIV. The survey was conducted from May 26 to June 1, 2026, among 9,750 American adults, of whom 1,848 identified as Catholic.

The figure is down slightly from the 84% recorded in the summer of 2025. The study says current views of Leo XIV are comparable to opinions of Pope Francis during the last years of his pontificate.

Donald Trump also figures in the analysis, against a background of public tension with the pope. The study looks at how American Catholics assess Leo XIV's posture toward Trump and Trump's posture toward the pope.

Leo XIV said in April that he opposed the war and accused certain leaders of having a "delusion of omnipotence." Trump responded on social media, calling the pope "weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy."

How do Catholics see the pope's posture toward Trump?

American Catholics are divided over Leo XIV's approach to the Trump administration. Some 19% say the pope has been too critical, while 16% say he has not been critical enough.

Another 35% say the pope strikes the right balance in his posture toward Trump. Thirty percent have no clear opinion or have not heard of him.

Views of Trump are more critical. Fifty-one percent of the Catholics surveyed say he has been too critical of the pope.

Four percent say Trump has not been critical enough of Leo XIV. Fourteen percent say he has struck the right balance in his criticism.

Mass attendance affects the strength of favorable views of Leo XIV, though favorable opinion holds across every group analyzed, among frequent attenders and less frequent ones alike.

Among Catholics who attend Mass weekly, 85% view Leo XIV favorably. The figure falls to 79% among those who attend once or twice a month and to 73% among those who rarely or never attend Mass.

What differences appear between Republicans and Democrats?

Catholic Democrats view Leo XIV more favorably than Catholic Republicans do. The study puts favorable opinion at 89% among Democrats and 72% among Republicans.

Seventy percent of Catholic Democrats say Trump has been too critical of the pope. Among Catholic Republicans, 32% say the same.

Catholic Republicans read the relationship between the pope and the Trump administration differently. Thirty-nine percent say Leo XIV has been too critical of the administration.

White and Hispanic Catholics together view Leo XIV favorably, as do both men and women. The study says it does not have sufficient data to analyze the views of Black or Asian Catholics separately.