Pope Leo XIV has called on the Catholic Church to address and heal its “deep wounds” and “painful errors” related to past abuses as part of his four-day visit to France. Speaking to an estimated crowd of 150,000 near the Lourdes shrine, the pope urged humility and reflection under what he referred to as the Lord’s purifying gaze, though he did not specifically mention the sexual abuse scandals that have shaken the French Church.
Later on Sunday, the pope met privately with seven survivors of child sexual abuse by French clergy. The survivors reported that Pope Leo had listened carefully to their experiences and acknowledged the need for further action in response to the ongoing scandal.
Papal Meeting with Survivors and Public Response
Among those who met the pope was Jean-Marie Delbos, a former pupil of the Catholic boarding school Notre-Dame de Bétharram, linked to one of the largest child abuse cases in French school history. Delbos described the encounter as “extraordinary” after the pope blessed a photo of his grandmother.
Five of the survivors held a press conference in Lourdes following their meeting. However, some survivors’ groups criticized the Vatican’s selection of the seven survivors as too narrow, expressing concern in an open letter published in the newspaper Libération that the pope’s visit risked being symbolic without real change. They emphasized that forgiveness is not sufficient and called for accountability.
Context of Abuse Scandals and Church Response
France’s Independent National Authority for Recognition and Reparation recently disclosed that about 2,000 people who reported sexual abuse by clergy or other Church representatives are seeking reparations. A landmark 2021 report estimated that roughly 330,000 children were sexually abused over seven decades by French Catholic priests and other figures, with abuse and cover-ups operating as a systemic, institutional issue.
The bishops’ conference in France has agreed to provide compensation, but the Church’s legacy of abuse continues to provoke public outrage and demands for transparency and justice.
Additional Papal Remarks and the Significance of Lourdes
During a homily in Lourdes, Pope Leo also condemned medically assisted dying as immoral “false compassion,” reaffirming Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. France recently legalized aid in dying for incurably ill adults, joining a small number of countries with such laws.
Lourdes, a major Catholic pilgrimage site famed for its healing waters and the Virgin Mary apparitions reported in 1858, has attracted millions of believers seeking cures. Yet the pope’s arrival came amid reminders of the Church’s painful history, including boarded-up mosaics by Jesuit priest Marko Rupnik, who faces trial on allegations of spiritual, psychological, and sexual abuse spanning more than three decades. The bishop of Lourdes ordered the mosaics covered so as not to distress abuse survivors visiting the shrine.
The pope attended multiple events in Lourdes, including an open-air mass and meetings with patients and staff at the shrine’s care center. The visit marks the first papal visit to France in 18 years, spotlighting unresolved issues within the Church and the broader call for healing.
