Pope Leo XIV Calls for Continued Vigilance on Church Abuse in France
Usagevpn.com – Pope Leo XIV urged France’s Catholic Church to keep confronting sexual abuse and to recognise the harm caused within its own institutions during an open-air Mass in Lourdes on Sunday.
The service marked the latest stage of the pontiff’s visit to France. After nearly 800,000 people gathered in Paris on Saturday, large crowds also travelled to Lourdes, where about 150,000 people attended Sunday’s Mass.
In his homily, Leo said the Church’s response must begin with an honest examination of its own failures. He presented acknowledgement of wrongdoing as a necessary part of spiritual renewal and of repairing the damage suffered by victims.
The Church must have the courage to be the first to undergo this conversion. To heal the deep wounds, the acts of infidelity and the painful deviations committed in its midst, we must stand humbly under the Lord’s purifying gaze.
He added that admitting faults was indispensable to spiritual progress. The message placed responsibility for reform directly on the Church, rather than treating abuse as an issue external to its structures.
Meeting with French bishops
Earlier in the day, the Pope held a private meeting with France’s bishops. He commended steps taken in recent years to address abuse involving minors committed by clergy members or in Church settings, while stressing that the work required sustained attention.
In recent years, you have faced with determination the painful scourge of abuse against minors committed by members of the clergy or in an ecclesial context.
Leo said the bishops had introduced significant measures centred on hearing survivors, establishing the truth, seeking justice, offering forgiveness and reparation, and building stronger prevention and protection practices.
He encouraged them to continue with the highest level of vigilance. At the same time, he said priests and other clergy needed support and encouragement, noting that their welfare remained part of the bishops’ pastoral responsibility.
It is important to continue along this path while maintaining the greatest vigilance. At the same time, your clergy needs to be supported and encouraged; I know it is the focus of your fatherly concern.
The Pope’s remarks come as the French Church continues to face intense scrutiny over its historic handling of sexual abuse allegations and the systems created to support survivors. Calls for accountability have focused not only on individual perpetrators, but also on the institutional decisions that allowed abuse to remain hidden or inadequately addressed.
Planned discussion with survivors
Leo was also due to meet seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse on Sunday. The group included one person who had been abused as an adult.
The planned meeting prompted criticism from some survivors, who questioned the process used to choose those participating. In an open letter published in Libération on the day the Pope arrived in Paris, survivors argued that Church authorities should not control selection for such an encounter.
The Church must relinquish its position as both judge and party to the proceedings.
The concern reflects a wider demand that survivor voices be represented independently in conversations about redress and reform. For many people affected by abuse, the way meetings are organised can carry as much significance as the public commitments made during them.
Monsignor Pierre-Antoine Bozo, spokesperson for the French bishops’ conference, said survivors’ organisations had proposed two of the seven participants. He said the Pope deliberately opted for a limited group so that the discussion could be more personal and attentive.
When it comes to listening to them, you can’t have 50 people in front of you.
Bozo said he believed the Pope’s intention was to listen in a way that could lead to more effective action and responses. The differing views over the meeting underline the difficult balance between intimate dialogue and broader survivor representation.
Scale of the crisis
An independent inquiry published in 2021 estimated that about 330,000 children had experienced sexual abuse over seven decades involving priests, other Church employees and people connected with Catholic institutions in France. The inquiry identified roughly 3,000 alleged perpetrators among priests and Church workers.
Its methodology and conclusions have faced criticism, but the findings intensified pressure on the Church to address the scale of abuse and its consequences. French bishops subsequently created an independent compensation process for survivors.
That system has so far recommended that the Church provide more than €20 million in compensation. Financial redress is only one element of the response, alongside truth-seeking, safeguarding measures, survivor support and accountability for failures in Church governance.
By raising the issue prominently in Lourdes, a place of major religious significance for Catholics, Pope Leo linked the Church’s public witness to its willingness to face painful realities. His appeal to French bishops made clear that past measures cannot be treated as a completed chapter, and that prevention, listening and institutional responsibility must remain ongoing priorities.
Related Reading
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pope Leo XIV urges French Church?
Pope Leo XIV urges French Church is the main topic of this guide. The article explains the context, practical details, and next steps readers should understand.
Why does Pope Leo XIV urges French Church matter?
Pope Leo XIV urges French Church matters because readers are looking for a useful answer, not just a short summary. Good content should match search intent and help them decide what to do next.
