Seven people who survived sexual abuse connected to the Catholic Church met privately with Pope Leo XIV in Lourdes. The meeting ran nearly two hours, included individual conversations and a group exchange, and left survivors cautious but heard.
Survivors said the pope listened closely, prayed with them, thanked them for testifying, and appeared familiar with their cases, but they are waiting to see whether concrete proposals lead to action.
The meeting took place amid France’s ongoing reckoning with clerical abuse, including a 2021 independent report estimating 216,000 people abused by clergy (1950–2020) and 330,000 when lay staff are included.
# Quick summary On September 27 in Lourdes, Pope Leo XIV met privately with seven people who survived sexual abuse connected to the Catholic Church in France. The group—four men and three women—spoke individually with the pope and then together. What was scheduled for about an hour extended to nearly two, giving each person time to describe their experience and present proposals for change.
# Who took part The seven were selected by the French bishops. Survivors represented different episodes in France's abuse history, including a person who said they were abused by Abbé Pierre, and a key witness in the Bétharram school scandal. Some participants are involved with survivor organizations such as Voix Libérées de Touraine and Foi & Résilience.
# How the meeting unfolded Each survivor had a private conversation with Pope Leo, followed by a group exchange. Afterward, five participants spoke to journalists. They reported that the pope listened attentively, thanked them for their testimony, prayed with some of them, and appeared to know the details of their cases. Olivier Mardi, cofounder of Voix Libérées de Touraine, said the pope "is no fool" and had responded positively to concrete proposals while making clear survivors would watch for follow-through.
# Proposals and immediate outcomes Survivors raised practical measures and accountability demands. One concrete proposal, put forward by Jean-Marie Delbos, was the dissolution of the Bétharram religious congregation, which operates institutions abroad. Participants said the pope appeared receptive to proposals but did not announce decisions during the meeting.
Survivors noted the importance of continuing to press the Church for implementation. They said they would monitor whether proposals discussed in Lourdes lead to concrete decisions and structural changes.
# Wider context in France
# What survivors said next Participants praised the pope's attentiveness and sincerity but emphasized that the encounter is a step, not an endpoint. They want concrete decisions and institutional follow-through, including accountability for congregations implicated in abuse and strengthened prevention measures across Church institutions.
# Bottom line Survivors left Lourdes saying they were heard and that Pope Leo engaged with their testimonies. They welcomed the tone of the meeting but made clear they will press for the translation of proposals into action and remain wary until they see results.
The Pope met with each person individually and in private, listening to their stories and the pain and suffering they endured -- at times, regrettably, with the complicity or silence of those who could have helped them -- as well as their proposals to ensure this does not happen again. The post Pope Leo XIV Spends Two
In the city of Lourdes, the pope met individually seven victims of sexual abuse — four men and three women selected by the Bishops' Conference of France — before addressing them as a group.
Seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse praised a meeting with Pope Leo XIV.
On Tuesday, Pope Leo XIV's first ever book in English was published.
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