Pope Leo Promises Action Following Meeting With French Clergy Abuse Survivors

Pope Leo met privately with seven French survivors of abuse by Catholic clergy on Sunday and reaffirmed his commitment to preventing further harm, the Vatican said, hours after urging the Church to admit its own failings.

The two-hour meeting took place during the pope’s weekend stop in Lourdes, part of a four-day visit to France. He met each survivor individually and heard their proposals for improving the Church’s safeguarding measures, according to a Vatican statement, which said he thanked them for their painful testimony. The survivors described the meeting as emotional and said they felt listened to, and were struck by his compassion and knowledge of their individual cases, though they hoped words would be followed by action. Jérôme Guillement said the pope believes the Church in France has done a great deal but still has a tremendous amount left to do.

The visit carries particular weight in France, where a 2021 report found that some 330,000 children had been abused by Catholic clergy and lay leaders over seven decades, and where Church leaders hope the trip will help restore trust. Earlier on Sunday, the pope told an estimated 150,000 people at an open-air Mass near the Lourdes shrine that the Church must have the courage to face its past, saying it must humbly place itself under the Lord’s purifying gaze to heal deep wounds and painful errors. He referred to abuse in the homily without directly apologizing for it, which left survivor Véronique Garnier troubled and questioning why she had attended. After meeting the pope she said she was encouraged, and that she believes there is hope for a real change in which survivors are listened to deeply rather than met with beautiful words never followed by action.

In a closed-door meeting with French bishops, the pope thanked them for what he called courageous measures against the scandals and urged them to strengthen their safeguarding work and keep up the greatest vigilance. Bishop Pierre-Antoine Bozo, spokesperson for the French bishops, said the pope’s wish to hold the meeting shows the issue cannot be ignored and must always stay among the Church’s concerns. Leo has apologized directly for abuse scandals before, and told bishops in Spain in June to listen to survivors and offer them reparations.

The trip has drawn large crowds, including around 800,000 people at an outdoor Mass on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on Saturday. Lourdes, which welcomes about 3 million pilgrims a year, is also tied to a scandal that has troubled the Vatican: the shrine’s facade carries mosaics by Rev. Marko Rupnik, a prominent artist accused of sexual abuse by more than 20 women. He is not known to have commented publicly on the accusations. Five of his alleged victims wrote an open letter to the pope on Thursday sharply criticizing an ongoing Vatican trial of the cleric, and the mosaics have been covered with large yellow tarps for the visit.

The pope also restated the Church’s pro-life position in Lourdes, two months after France created a legal right to die for people with incurable illnesses. Speaking to volunteers who help sick pilgrims, he said health care is about caring for a suffering person, not eliminating that person.

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