Pope Leo XIV called on the Catholic Church to reckon with its past during remarks made at the shrine of Lourdes as part of an ongoing four-day visit to France. Speaking to an estimated crowd of 150,000 people in a field near the shrine on Sunday, the pontiff referenced the need to address “deep wounds, infidelities and painful errors” within the institution, though he did not explicitly name child sexual abuse cases. He stated that the church must “humbly place ourselves under the Lord’s purifying gaze” to achieve healing.
Later that day, Pope Leo met privately with seven survivors of child sexual abuse perpetrated by French clergy members. Following the meeting, the survivors indicated the pope had listened attentively, demonstrated knowledge of their individual cases, and acknowledged that additional efforts were necessary in responding to abuse allegations. Five of the seven survivors subsequently held a press conference in Lourdes, with one survivor describing the papal meeting as “extraordinary.” The encounter took place after the pope led an open-air morning mass at the shrine, one of the world’s most significant Catholic pilgrimage sites.
The papal visit follows a 2021 independent inquiry that documented approximately 330,000 children sexually abused over seven decades by priests and other Catholic figures in France. The investigation concluded that crimes were systematically concealed through an institutional “veil of silence.” Recently, France’s Independent National Authority for Recognition and Reparation reported that roughly 2,000 individuals have sought compensation for abuse by clergy or church representatives. France’s Catholic bishops conference has agreed to provide compensation following these findings.
During his homily, Pope Leo also articulated the Catholic Church’s teaching opposing medically assisted dying, which he characterized as “false compassion.” This came after France formally adopted legislation allowing incurably ill adults the right to aid in dying, making it one of several nations with such laws. The pope stated: “It is impossible to regard causing death as something normal. What is legal is not necessarily moral.”
Some abuse survivors had expressed skepticism about the visit before it occurred, publishing an open letter questioning whether the papal engagement would produce substantive change. They criticized the selection of survivors chosen to meet the pope as “carefully selected” by the church rather than chosen by survivors’ groups. The visit marked the first official papal journey to France in 18 years.
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