US EditionPope Leo Holds Hours-Long ‘Profound and Painful’ Meeting with Abuse Survivors
Pope Leo XIV engaged in a nearly three-hour dialogue with 15 Belgian clerical abuse survivors to address abuse prevention and support efforts, Vatican officials said.
- On Saturday, Pope Leo XIV spent almost three hours with 15 victims from Belgium in a meeting focused on dialogue and listening.
- The Belgian Catholic Church has been rocked by scandals including a former bishop who abused two nephews, and most who met the pope had previously met Pope Francis during his Apostolic Journey to Belgium in September 2024.
- Accompanied by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, the group met earlier in the day, while the Holy See Press Office described the meeting as profound and painful in a spirit of closeness and dialogue.
- The meeting concluded with an intense moment of prayer, and the pope took careful note of requests and concerns days after a Vatican commission report urged more help for survivors.
- Since his election six months ago, Pope Leo XIV has called for a church culture that refuses to tolerate abuse and last month held his first meeting with survivors in the Vatican, continuing Pope Francis's engagement on the issue.
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On Saturday afternoon, Pope Leo XIV received 15 people from Belgium who, as minors, had been victims of sexual abuse by clerics. According to the Vatican Press Office, the meeting took place in "a climate of closeness, listening and deep, painful dialogue." The meeting lasted three hours and ended with a joint prayer.Already on 20 October, Leo XIV had received a group of abuse victims in the Vatican for the first time, belonging to the internati…
The Press Office of the Holy See, late this Saturday, has reported that Pope Leo XIV has had a meeting with 15 people "from...
Pope Leo XIV meets with victims of sexual abusePope Leo XIV spent nearly three hours meeting with Belgian victims of sexual abuse by clergy, listening to their testimonies of trauma. Belgium's Catholic Church is facing a crisis over hundreds of abuse cases, and the Pope has pledged to fight violence and silence.
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