Pope Leo XIV told 150,000 worshippers at Mass in Lourdes on Sunday that admitting the Church’s mistakes was indispensable for spiritual growth, citing “deep wounds” and a breach of trust. He was due to meet privately with clergy-abuse victims later that day.
According to an independent commission of inquiry, more than 200,000 people have been victims of abuse in France since 1950. Former Jesuit priest Marko Rupnik is suspected of sexually abusing nuns over several decades, and proceedings against him are under way before a special Vatican court. Rupnik co-designed mosaics at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Lourdes; they were covered with aluminium panels on the local bishop’s orders.
A day earlier, a papal Mass in Paris drew 800,000 people, according to figures from the Vatican and French authorities. Leo’s trip was due to end in Metz, where he planned to give a speech on Europe.
