Speaking in Lourdes, the pope urged humility and vigilance from clergy, acknowledged abuse as a painful scourge, and prepared to meet victims amid ongoing scandals tied to the shrine and wider French Church reports.
Pope Leo urged the Church to face past failings and ‘place ourselves under the Lord’s purifying gaze’ to heal deep wounds.
He gave a closed-door message to French bishops urging continued vigilance on abuse and is due to meet seven abuse survivors in France.
The visit highlighted local controversies at Lourdes, including mosaics by Rev Marko Rupnik, accused by more than 20 women and covered during the pope’s visit.
# What happened Pope Leo addressed a large crowd at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes and urged the Catholic Church to admit its failings and heal "deep wounds, infidelities and painful errors" before a planned private meeting with victims of clerical child abuse in France.
# Where and when The remarks came in Lourdes during a multi-city, four-day visit to France. An estimated 150,000 people gathered on a field near the shrine for the pope's address. The trip follows a Mass on the Champs-Élysées that drew roughly 800,000 people the previous day.
# What the pope said and did The pope called for humility and a willingness to face the past: "In order to heal the deep wounds... we must humbly place ourselves under the Lord's purifying gaze," according to the Vatican text. In an earlier closed meeting with French bishops he explicitly referred to "the painful scourge of abuse committed against minors by members of the clergy," thanked bishops for measures taken, and urged sustained vigilance and strengthened safeguarding.
He is scheduled for a closed-door meeting with seven French victims of clergy abuse. Some survivor groups expressed skepticism that the meeting will produce quick institutional change, with at least one survivor leader saying progress is slow.
# Context and why it matters A 2021 French report found that about 330,000 children were abused by Catholic clergy and lay leaders over seven decades. Local Church leaders in France have been seeking ways to repair credibility and restore trust. The pope's comments in Lourdes and his private discussions with bishops and survivors are part of that broader effort.
The Lourdes site itself is tied to controversy: large mosaics by Rev Marko Rupnik, a religious artist with Vatican ties who has been accused of sexual abuse by more than 20 women, were covered with tarps for the pope's visit. Five alleged victims wrote an open letter criticizing the handling of Rupnik's Vatican trial.
# Additional positions voiced on the trip At Lourdes the pope reiterated the Church's pro-life stance, criticizing assisted dying laws as "false compassion" and saying medicine should be aimed at caring for suffering people rather than eliminating them.
# What to watch next
# Bottom line The pope used public and private moments in Lourdes to press for acknowledgement of wrongdoing, sustained reforms by bishops, and pastoral care framed by the Church's teachings. The visit also spotlighted local controversies that complicate efforts to restore trust.
LOURDES, France — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday urged French bishops to keep battling the “scourge” of clerical sex abuse during a trip to France, after repeated accusations against the Church in recent years. The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics was on a four-day trip to France, a secular country with deep Catholi
Pontiff also uses visit to Catholic shrine at Lourdes to criticise assisted dying as ‘false compassion’ The pope has called on the Catholic church to heal “deep wounds” and “painful errors”, before a meeting survivors of child sexual abuse as he continues his four-day visit to France. Addressing a crowd in a large fiel
Pope Leo XIV urged religious leaders on Monday to preach messages of peace and unity as he wrapped up a visit to France by recalling the forces of dialogue that contributed to Europe’s post-World War II integration.
France was previously known as the "first daughter" of the Catholic Church.
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