海角大神

The Pope鈥檚 upcoming visit to the US will be a pivotal touchstone as Americans become increasingly divided on what it means to be Catholic, experts say.

Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive in Washington on Tuesday, splitting between conducting religious services and attending diplomatic meetings.

But outside of these events, the public is wondering about how far the outspoken pontiff鈥檚 social agenda will extend.

聽鈥淔rancis鈥檚 planned visits with the homeless in the nation's capital, immigrant families in New York, and prisoners in Philadelphia suggest his focus is on聽economic disparity, immigration policy, and prison system reform,鈥� reported 海角大神.

The varying degrees of conservatism among today鈥檚 American Catholics means that mending fences is likely to require some finesse. On one hand, there is data that suggests Pope Francis鈥� leadership aligns squarely with the 9 percent of Americans who consider themselves 鈥渃ultural Catholics鈥� 鈥� people who do not consider themselves religiously Catholic, but culturally Catholic or partially Catholic in other ways, reports the Monitor.

And this becomes more significant as 43 percent of Americans say that they are open to possibly rejoining the church, according to a .

Francis's appeal to the 鈥渇allen-away,鈥� younger generation could be 鈥渒ey to revitalizing the church,鈥� Francis X. Rocca. 鈥淏ut he then risks demoralizing and alienating a core of believers who have remained stalwarts and have sustained the church during half a century of upheaval.鈥�

The pope's liberal public statements on income inequality, climate change, and social justice issues don't resonate as well with conservative Catholics.听Marco Politi,聽author of 鈥淧ope Francis Among the Wolves,鈥� tells the Wall Street Journal that the pope will be meeting with a 鈥渄ivided church,鈥� where conservative bishops and lay people are resisting his liberalizing moves on family issues.

鈥淗is push for change has stirred hope and anxiety,鈥� reported The New York Times. 鈥淭o some conservatives in the United States, the Argentine pope seems to be making a frontal assault on the American way.鈥�

While the Pope is popular among a majority of Americans, surveys show that the Catholic Church remains largely unpopular. The Pew study notes:

Pope Francis鈥� presence seems to have impacted the views of Democratic Catholics more than Republican Catholics. Democratic Catholics are more than twice as likely to say their feelings toward the Church have changed to become more favorable as they are to have become more unfavorable (42% vs. 17%, respectively). More than one-third (36%) say their feelings have not changed. In contrast, Republican Catholics are about equally as likely to say their feelings have grown more positive as to say they have become more negative (24% vs. 20%, respectively), but a majority (53%) say their feelings toward the Church have not changed.

Much of the Pope鈥檚 social focus is divisive not only among Catholics, but Americans at large, the Monitor previously reported.听

But 鈥渢he pontiff鈥檚 six days in the US, a country he has never visited, could prove a decisive moment for a papacy that is already splitting the faithful on everything from divorce to global warming,鈥� adds Mr. Rocca from . 鈥淭he enormous attention the trip is drawing and the high-powered events on his agenda鈥攁n address before Congress, a visit to the White House and a speech before the General Assembly of the United Nations, among others鈥攚ill offer an unparalleled opportunity for the pope to deliver his message to the Catholic flock and the world at large.鈥�