Pope Francis, whose humility and warmth made him highly popular among U.S. Catholics and non-Catholics alike, is now rated no more favorably than his somewhat aloof predecessor, Pope Benedict.
A new survey by the Pew Research Center shows that roughly half of the U.S. public still says it has a favorable view of Pope Francis. That is down sharply, however, from early 2015, when 7 of 10 Americans saw him favorably. It puts Francis on a par with Benedict, who, according to Pew, was seen favorably by 49 percent of Americans when he resigned the papacy in 2013.
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