- Feb 5, 2002
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A 2025 survey of more than 1,100 American priests found high rates of self-reported personal flourishing, strong confidence in Pope Leo XIV, and a mixed level of trust in U.S. bishops.
The National Study of Catholic Priests, published on Oct. 14, was commissioned by the Catholic Project at The Catholic University of America and conducted by Gallup. Researchers surveyed the same priests who were surveyed in The Catholic Project’s 2022 survey to examine the U.S. priesthood.
The survey showed strong confidence in the first-ever American pope. About 43% of those surveyed expressed “a great deal” of confidence in Leo and another 43% reported “quite a lot” of confidence in the pontiff. About 13% said they have “some” confidence, and only 1% expressed “very little” confidence.
Most priests also predicted the U.S. Church’s relationship with the Vatican will improve, with 51% saying it will improve significantly and 28% saying it will improve somewhat. About 17% said it would likely stay the same, and 3% think it will worsen.
Continued below.
The National Study of Catholic Priests, published on Oct. 14, was commissioned by the Catholic Project at The Catholic University of America and conducted by Gallup. Researchers surveyed the same priests who were surveyed in The Catholic Project’s 2022 survey to examine the U.S. priesthood.
The survey showed strong confidence in the first-ever American pope. About 43% of those surveyed expressed “a great deal” of confidence in Leo and another 43% reported “quite a lot” of confidence in the pontiff. About 13% said they have “some” confidence, and only 1% expressed “very little” confidence.
Most priests also predicted the U.S. Church’s relationship with the Vatican will improve, with 51% saying it will improve significantly and 28% saying it will improve somewhat. About 17% said it would likely stay the same, and 3% think it will worsen.
Priests lack trust in U.S. bishops
Continued below.
U.S. priests report high confidence in Pope Leo XIV, less trust in bishops
A 2025 survey of U.S. priests found strong confidence in Pope Leo XIV and a mixed level of trust in bishops.