Meeting with French bishops and survivors
French bishops took “courageous” steps when faced with “the painful scourge of abuse of minors,” Pope Leo XIV told high-ranking clerics before a scheduled meeting with survivors at the Catholic shrine of Lourdes.
The head of the Catholic Church was due to meet with seven adult survivors of sexual abuse later on Sunday. The meeting forms part of the Vatican’s ongoing reckoning with the widespread molestation of children by clergy members and the cover-up of the scandal by senior Church figures across multiple countries.
Earlier on Sunday, the pope met with French bishops and thanked them for listening, searching for truth, justice, forgiveness, and making amends. According to a Vatican readout, the US-born pope praised their “firm commitment to a culture of prevention and protection against these crimes” and urged them to maintain the greatest vigilance.
Mass at the shrine of Lourdes
Around 150,000 people attended a Mass celebrated by Pope Leo at the shrine of Lourdes on the third day of his four-day visit to France. The shrine is venerated as a place of healing, and numerous victims of sexual abuse have traveled to the site near the Spanish border in recent years to seek recovery from trauma.
During his address, the pope urged humility, respect for life, and care for the sick and frail. While he did not directly reference the abuse during the Mass, he called for humility among clergy ranks.
“The admission of our mistakes is indispensable for our spiritual growth,” Leo told the crowd. “In order to heal the deep wounds, infidelities and painful errors that have occurred within (the Church), we must humbly place ourselves under the Lord’s purifying gaze.”
Context of the visit and survivor response
A 2021 report found that around 330,000 children had been abused by Catholic priests and lay leaders between 1950 and 2020 in France.
Despite the papal visit and addresses, some survivors expressed doubt that rapid changes would occur within the institution. Michele Le Reun-Gaigne, co-leader of a French survivors’ association, told the Reuters news agency that “things are moving very slowly” and that changes will not happen overnight.
