Pope Leo urged the Church to face past failings and heal wounds in Lourdes on Sunday, hours before a planned closed-door meeting with seven French survivors of clergy abuse. Some survivors doubted the meeting would bring quick change.
In an earlier closed-door meeting with French bishops, Leo referred to the “painful scourge” of clergy abuse of minors, thanked the bishops for what he called “courageous measures,” and urged stronger safeguarding and continued vigilance. A 2021 report found that about 330,000 French children had been abused by Catholic clergy and lay leaders over seven decades.
Michèle Le Reun-Gaigné, co-president of a survivors’ association in western France, told Reuters she was skeptical the pope would solve the issue immediately and said progress was moving slowly. French bishops’ spokesperson Bishop Pierre-Antoine Bozo said the pope’s decision to meet survivors showed the issue could not be ignored.
