@Vatican Media

I hadn’t planned to write another post today. My intention was to focus on family and the Lord throughout the rest of today and the Sabbath.

But this news is too good not to share right away.

A new Gallup poll shows that Americans — battered, angry, frightened Americans — are taking to Pope Leo. He tops both Trump and Zelenskyy. One person who surprised me by being in the running was Bernie Sanders.

Yes, Pope Leo tops him, too. But I find it interesting that in this time when all our freedoms, and all the basic morality which has underpinned those freedoms, is under direct attack from one of our political parties and our own president, that such a large contingent of Americans are turning to Bernie for hope.

I am guessing Americans are attracted to Bernie’s obvious sincerity. He cares about people like you and me. I don’t agree with Bernie on every issue, but I believe he’s sincere. Evidently, do a lot of other people believe it too.

The reason I’m writing this post is to give a shout out to the exceedingly good news that our Holy Father, Pope Leo, is the one person above all others that Americans approve of. The percentage of Americans who give Pope Leo a thumbs up far exceeds — in fact it doubles — the percentage of Catholics in this country.

I’m not only gladdened by this, I am relieved to see it. More and more, our churches are vesting the authority of their teaching in right wing politics, specifically in the insane, racist, misogynist, profoundly corrupt lies and ramblings of Donald Trump.

Right wing Protestants have given the authority they once gave to the Scriptures over to right wing podcasters and any lie Trump decides to blast out at the moment. If Trump switches lies and says something diametrically opposed to what he said the day before, they just tack right along behind him.

Many Catholics, including a fair share of “star” priests with their internet presences and quite a few bishops, have done essentially the same thing as the Protestants. If the teachings of the Church or the Pope conflict with right wing cant, they teach the right wing cant as Truth.

This is horrifying. It will inevitably lead to government controlled churches.

It matters who or what authority you accept for your moral and religious guidance. I, for one, am not going to throw out 2,000 years of Christian teaching to follow after the fascist right wing and their elderly Pied Piper.

I have been very vocal about how betrayed I feel because of the Church’s refusal to call rape a sin. I am more than angry over the eagerness to dismiss the cries of victims and support rapists and sexual predators for high office in this land. If the churches — including my own Catholic Church — had just followed Christ, we wouldn’t be in this mess right now.

But I am not going to throw the Church over because it is so mired in the sin of misogyny that it backs rapists. The Eucharist has a hold on me. That’s part of the reason I don’t just leave. Another part of the reason I stay is simply that I believe what the Catholic Church teaches.

What I mean by that is the 2,000 year teachings of the Church. I mean the creeds. I mean the Scriptures. I mean the clear rational teaching in the Catechism. I do not mean the demagoguery of an individual priest or bishop who is under the influence of power and money.

I find this movement toward government control of religious authority horrifying and terrifying, both at once. I think it is satanic all the way through. Pope Leo is the antidote to that great evil.

He is Peter.

The simple fact that most Americans, whether they are Catholic or not, “approve” of Pope Leo, is a hopeful sign that they are not as suicidal as they sometimes seem.

I know that simple “approval” in a Gallup poll is both nebulous and changeable. I also know that it is early days for Pope Leo. But I remember that, for all the hate-filled attacks that the billionaire-financed right wing hurled at Pope Francis, he never lost majority support of all the people.

Pope Francis gave hope to so many people by simply telling them that God loves them, no matter what they had done or what has been done to them. He lifted people out of the mire and told them they were children of God.

Pope Leo hasn’t defined himself yet. But he is the Holy Father. He is Peter. He is the only clearly Christian and Christ-following religious authority still standing in the shambles of American Christianity with the scope to speak for everyone.

He is the bulwark against the rapidly evolving government-owned, government-dominated fake anti-Christ “christianity” that is coming at us.

So, when I get the good news that Americans are looking at Pope Leo with approval, I have to share it. It’s more than a popularity poll. It’s hope.

From National Catholic Reporter:

Pope Leo XIV tops a new Gallup poll on world leaders, appealing to U.S. residents broadly in a politically divided — and divisive — nation.

The poll found that 57% of respondents viewed Pope Leo favorably, with 11% disapproving of him and 31% having no opinion.

Respondents gave Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a 52% approval rating, with 34% disapproving and 14% indicating no opinion. Behind him was Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who was viewed positively by 49% and negatively by 38%, with 14% having no opinion.

Of Americans surveyed 41% approved of U.S. President Donald Trump, with 57% disapproving and 2% having no opinion. Vice President JD Vance scored a 49% disapproval rating, with 38% viewing him favorably and 13% having no opinion.

Of the 31% of respondents who had no opinion of Leo,18% said they were not familiar enough with the pope to weigh in, while the remaining 13% had not heard of him.

In addition, said Gallup, Leo is viewed more favorably across party lines, “unlike the political figures measured in the latest poll.”

At the same time, Gallup noted that, “consistent with the ideological differences in his ratings, he is liked better by Democrats than Republicans.”