Even atheists love this Pope

By Daniel Burke, CNN Belief Blog Co-editor

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(CNN) - With his penchant for crowd-pleasing and spontaneous acts of compassion, Pope Francis has earned high praise from fellow Catholics.

Hell, even atheists love him - as amply demonstrated by the surprising displays of affection tweeted after the Pope publicly embraced a severely disfigured man on Wednesday.

MORE ON CNN: Why the pope's embrace of the disfigured man is so powerful

Here's what some atheists had to say on Twitter:

I may be an atheist, but there's something about Pope Francis that makes me want to be Catholic. He's so inspiring.

— Victoria Lund (@vlund33) November 7, 2013

Gotta say this devout atheist is a big fan of Pope Francis: after kind words for gays, women, poor and unbelievers, he now embraces the sick

— NeilMackay (@NeilMackay) November 7, 2013

You guys know, Im about as atheist as they come. But man, this new pope continues to impress me. http://t.co/fG769NX9iQ

— Melissa (@OhBegonia) November 7, 2013

I'm a staunch atheist but I think Pope Francis @Pontifex is a pretty cool cat. http://t.co/e5foIWXUTk

— Siân Boyle (@sian_boyle) November 7, 2013

So I'm a militant atheist, but I think Pope Francis is awesome! Truly someone who embodies Christ's teachings.

— Aniket Sharma (@aniketksharma) November 7, 2013

In another twist, this atheist is becoming a fan of the current pope. Full props to him. What is this world coming to, see next RT.

— Carol V (@CarolLuvsHockey) November 7, 2013

I'm an atheist, but am still impressed by many of Pope Francis' actions so far http://t.co/eCtLjqCsVL

— Nigel Warburton (@philosophybites) November 7, 2013

I'm a devout Atheist, but so far I love Pope Francis.

— Curtis Harrison (@CurtisHarrison8) November 7, 2013

I'm an #Atheist but now I got respect for #pope. http://t.co/D1RNmRLLwb

— Vel Muruga (@KVelmuruga) November 7, 2013