Pope Leo has reaffirmed his commitment to ending the abuse of children by Catholic priests during a meeting with French abuse survivors. The meeting, which took place on Sunday in France, was part of the pope's three-city weekend visit. According to a Vatican statement, the pope met privately with each of the seven survivors and heard proposals for improving the Church's safeguarding measures.
The survivors described the meeting as emotional and touching, saying they felt listened to by the pontiff and were impressed by his compassion and knowledge of their individual cases. However, they also expressed hope that the pope's words would be accompanied by action. Jérôme Guillement, one of the survivors, said the pope believed the Church in France still had a tremendous amount left to do to address the issue.
Pope Leo is on a four-day visit to France, where local Church leaders are hoping he will help repair the Church's standing after a 2021 report found that some 330,000 French children had been abused by Catholic clergy and lay leaders over seven decades. The report's findings have had a significant impact on the Church's credibility in France.
Earlier on Sunday, the pope told an estimated 150,000 people gathered for a Mass in a field near the famed Catholic shrine in Lourdes that the Church must have the courage to face its past. He urged the Church to humbly place itself under the Lord's purifying gaze in order to heal its "deep wounds."
During the Mass, the pope referred to abuse without directly apologizing for it, which troubled some attendees, including Véronique Garnier, one of the survivors who met with the pope. However, she said she was encouraged by her meeting with Leo, expressing hope that there could be change and that the Church would truly listen to survivors.
Pope Leo also spoke about the abuse scandals in a closed-door meeting with French bishops on Sunday, thanking them for their "courageous measures" to confront the scandals and urging them to buttress their safeguarding efforts. The pope has previously apologized directly for abuse scandals that have damaged the Church's credibility across the world.
The pope's visit to France has drawn large crowds, with around 800,000 people attending an outdoor Mass on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on Saturday. He has also urged the world to reconsider the development of artificial intelligence. Bishop Pierre-Antoine Bozo, the spokesperson for the French bishops, said the pope's message was an important one.
Key points
- Pope Leo meets French abuse survivors, reaffirms commitment to ending child abuse by Catholic priests.
- The pope urges the Church to face its past and heal its "deep wounds" in a Mass in Lourdes.
- The pope's visit to France aims to help repair the Church's standing after a 2021 report found widespread abuse by Catholic clergy and lay leaders.
