Poll: 9 of 10 view pope positively

MANILA, Philippines - Before his visit to the country in less than a month, Pope Francis enjoys a “favorable” view among nearly nine out of 10 Filipinos, equivalent to 88 percent.

Only six percent of Filipinos gave him “unfavorable” ratings, while the other remaining six percent offered no opinion.

This was according to a global survey released on Dec. 11 by the Pew Research Center, an independent research group based in Washington.

The survey was conducted in the Philippines last May with 1,008 Filipino respondents and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.

Survey results also showed that the Philippines, whose population is dominantly Catholic, placed third among countries that viewed the pontiff positively.

The strongest support for Pope Francis came from Poland with a favorable rating of 92 percent. Poland is also the place of birth of recently canonized St. John Paul II. The late pope visited the Philippines twice, in February 1981 when he beatified the first Filipino saint Lorenzo Ruiz, and in January 1995 when he celebrated World Youth Day.

This was followed at 91 percent by Italy, which includes Rome and Vatican City, the center of Roman Catholicism, and Pope Francis’ birthplace Argentina.

France is tied with the Philippines at third spot with 88 percent.

In the 43 countries surveyed, it was also observed that Catholics tend to express more support for the pope than non-Catholics.

According to the same report, 95 percent of Catholic Filipinos showed favorable views toward Francis, while only 52 percent of non-Catholic Filipinos held positive views. These figures posit a difference of 43 percent.

Following a global trend, however, the report noted that “the gaps in favorability do not necessarily mean that non-Catholics view Francis unfavorably... Non-Catholics are more likely to have no set opinion of the pope than a negative one.”

Asians are generally seen to be unfamiliar with Francis, with only an average of 41 percent supporting him and 45 percent showing no opinion.

The Philippines recorded the highest favorable rating toward the pope in Asia, followed by South Korea with 86 percent.

Francis receives most support from Europe, with an average of 84 percent showing positive opinion, while his most negative ratings come from the Middle East, with less than one-third viewing him favorably.

Overall, the survey report stated that Francis “enjoys a broad support across much of the world,” with an average of 60 percent giving him a favorable rating, 11 percent viewing him unfavorably and 28 percent providing no opinion.

Tagle: Manila priests have ‘spiritual diseases’

Meanwhile, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle admitted that even some of the priests in the Archdiocese of Manila have some of the “15 spiritual diseases” mentioned by Pope Francis, the CBCPNews reported yesterday.

The spiritual diseases are “feeling immortal, immune or indispensable excessive activities; mental and spiritual petrification; overplanning and functionalism; bad coordination; spiritual alzheimer’s; rivalry and vainglory; existential schizophrenia; gossip and chatter; defying leaders; indifference; funeral face; hoarding; close circles and worldly profit and exhibitionism.”

Tagle gave the comment during the Christmas party of Manila’s clergy, according to Fr. Carlos Reyes, executive secretary of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Interreligious Dialogue.

Reyes said Tagle mentioned the pope’s recent message to the Vatican Curia and commented that even the priests of the archdiocese are guilty of some of the 15 spiritual diseases that Pope Francis discussed.

Tagle then led the clergy in an examination of conscience, which he did in a “very positive way,” Reyes recounted.

Tagle also took time to apologize to his priests for whatever hurt he may have caused.With Evelyn Macairan