Catholics in the United States are standing by their man.

A new Gallup poll finds that even in the wake of the upheaval caused by revelations of sexual abuse by priests in Pennsylvania and allegations of a Vatican cover-up of sexual misconduct by a U.S. cardinal, 79 percent of U.S. Catholics hold a favorable view of Pope Francis—unchanged from last month but down about 8 points from when he visited the United States three years ago.

Just 12 percent of U.S. Catholics hold an unfavorable view of Francis.

When it comes to the general U.S. population, however, the summer of scandals seems to be punishing the pope: Just over half of all U.S. adults—53 percent—hold a favorable view of the pope. That is down 13 percentage points from last month and down 23 points from a peak in February 2014.

Just 12 percent of U.S. Catholics hold an unfavorable view of Francis.

Twenty-seven percent of Americans currently hold an unfavorable view of the pope, 8 percent have “never heard of” Francis and another 12 percent have “no opinion.”

Among non-Catholic Americans, 45 percent hold a favorable opinion of the pope, down from 63 percent last month and down from a high of 72 percent in 2014.

Among non-Catholic Americans, 45 percent hold a favorable opinion of the pope, down from a high of 72 percent in 2014.

“Similar drops in the pontiff’s favorability have occurred among most other groups,” Gallup said.

The poll is reminiscent of a similar drop in favorability of Pope John Paul II, who led the church during a wave of sexual abuse scandals in the early 2000s.

“The percentage of Americans with a favorable view of John Paul fell precipitously from 86% in 1998 to 61% in 2002, after a sexual abuse scandal was uncovered in 2002,” Gallup wrote.

Francis remains more popular among the general U.S. population than his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. The final Gallup poll asking about Pope Benedict, in 2010, found 40 percent of Americans held a favorable view of him and 35 percent held an unfavorable view.

The latest Gallup poll was conducted with 1,035 adults from Sept. 4 to 12. The margin of error was 4 points among the general population and 7 points among the sample of 221 Catholics.

Allegations that Catholic leaders mishandled sexual abuse by clergy rocked the church in the United States this summer, beginning in June when former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was removed from ministry after a complaint that he sexually abused a minor more than four decades ago was found credible. Later, a grand jury report detailing abuse by priests in Pennsylvania and a detailed letter from Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the former nuncio to the United States, alleging a Vatican cover-up of Archbishop McCarrick’s misconduct added to the tumult. Law enforcement officials in a number of states now have plans to investigate how the church handled historical abuse complaints.

For his part, Pope Francis hosted two U.S. cardinals and an archbishop to discuss the handling of complaints against Archbishop McCarrick earlier this month, and a team of his advisers said the Vatican is preparing to respond to the Archbishop Viganò’s claims.

Michael J. O’Loughlin is the executive editor and C.E.O. of National Catholic Reporter. Previously he was the national correspondent at America. He is also the author of Hidden Mercy: AIDS, Catholics, and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear.