Pope Leo Urges French Bishops to Maintain Vigilance Against Sexual Abuse
LOURDES, FRANCE: Pope Leo has urged French Catholic bishops to continue efforts to prevent sexual abuse within the Church, calling on them to remain highly vigilant and to build on measures already taken to address past cases.
The Pope delivered the message during a private meeting with senior French bishops at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes during the third day of his four-day visit to France.
He told the bishops that addressing abuse committed by clergy and others within Church settings required continued determination and vigilance.
Pope Meets Abuse Survivors
Following the meeting, Pope Leo met privately with seven survivors of abuse involving members of the French clergy.
According to the Vatican, the Pope listened to their accounts, thanked them for sharing their experiences and reaffirmed his commitment to preventing similar harm from happening to others.
One survivor, Jean-Marie Delbos, later described the meeting as an extraordinary experience and said the Pope listened to the survivors and was familiar with their cases.
The meeting comes after a major French inquiry published in 2021 estimated that around 330,000 people had experienced sexual abuse as children by clergy or other Church members over a period of about seven decades.
Mass Held at Lourdes
Earlier, Pope Leo celebrated Mass at the Lourdes sanctuary before meeting abuse survivors.
Large crowds have gathered during the Pope’s visit to France. An estimated 700,000 people attended a public event at Paris’s Place de la Concorde the previous day, where the pontiff addressed worshippers before travelling along the Champs-Élysées in an open-topped vehicle.
The Pope also held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday as part of his official visit.
The Church’s response to historical abuse cases remains a major issue in France, with survivors and advocacy groups continuing to call for accountability, safeguarding and stronger measures to prevent abuse.
