Pope Leo urges Church to face failings before meeting French abuse survivors
He called for humility and safeguarding reforms after a 2021 inquiry estimated 330,000 French children were abused by church personnel over seven decades.
- On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV urged the French Catholic Church to acknowledge its failings and heal "deep wounds" during Mass in Lourdes, hours before meeting privately with seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse.
- A 2021 inquiry found that clergy or lay members of the Church abused about 330,000 minors in France over seven decades, a legacy compounded by the ongoing Vatican trial of Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik, whose mosaics at the Lourdes basilica were covered before the papal visit.
- During his four-day apostolic journey, Pope Leo XIV led tens of thousands in a candlelight rosary procession, describing himself as "a pilgrim among pilgrims" presenting "our dearest and most urgent intentions" to the Virgin Mary.
- Survivor associations expressed skepticism about the meeting's impact, with co-leader Michèle Le Reun-Gaigne telling Reuters, "Things are moving very slowly. It isn't going to happen overnight," despite Vatican characterization of it as ongoing outreach.
- Lourdes receives some 3 million pilgrims annually, with Pope Leo XIV becoming the third pontiff to visit as the Church continues a reckoning with its history of abuse and efforts toward institutional reform.
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Pope urges religious leaders in France to preach peace as he recalls f
Pope Leo XIV, center, arrives, with, from left, Christian Krieger, president of the Protestant Federation of France, Bishop Dimitrios (Ploumis), the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of France, Haïm Korsia, Chief Rabbi of France, President of the French Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, Chems-eddine Hafiz, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Anthony Boussemart, representing French Buddhists, and Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect …
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During a private meeting in France, Pope Leo thanked victims of sexual abuse for their "painful testimony."
At Lourdes healing shrine, Pope Leo addresses ‘wounds’ of clerical abuse
LOURDES, France (RNS) — With clerical abuse scandals and the Vatican trial of the Rev. Marko Rupnik looming over the pope's visit to France, Leo encouraged the church to 'have the courage' to recognize its failures, while calling on bishops to remain vigilant.
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