Pope pledges action on clergy child abuse in meeting with French survivors

What the report says

Pope Leo XIV met privately with seven survivors of clerical child abuse in Lourdes, southwestern France, during his four-day visit to the country, according to Al Jazeera’s report based on Vatican statements and wire service coverage. The nearly two-hour encounter came after the pope had earlier celebrated Mass near the pilgrimage site, where he spoke more generally about the Church needing courage to confront its past.

The survivors said the meeting was emotional and that they felt heard by the pontiff. Several described Leo as compassionate and well informed about their individual cases. One attendee said the pope embraced him during the encounter, while others stressed that they now wanted concrete follow-through rather than sympathetic words alone.

The meeting took place against the backdrop of France’s long-running Catholic abuse crisis. A 2021 independent inquiry found that hundreds of thousands of children may have been abused by clergy and other Church figures over several decades, a finding that has continued to pressure Church leaders in France and beyond. Some of the survivors involved in the Lourdes meeting were connected to abuse allegations at Notre-Dame de Betharram, a boarding school near the town.

Al Jazeera reported that Leo thanked the survivors for their testimony and reiterated his commitment to ending abuse in the Church. The pope was also said to have discussed the issue with French bishops in a closed-door session. The episode matters because it highlights both the Vatican’s efforts to address abuse and the ongoing demands from survivors for institutional reform and accountability.