Pope Leo to meet with clergy abuse survivors
Pope Leo XIV will meet with survivors of clergy abuse during a four-day trip to France next month that will include a visit to UNESCO headquarters, a meeting with French bishops in Lourdes and an interreligious meeting in the border city of Metz, the Vatican announced on Friday.
The Vatican issued a brief separate statement highlighting the meeting with several abuse survivors and noting that the victims themselves will be involved in preparations for the meeting. The timing and location will be provided at a later date.
Leo met with six abuse survivors during his recent trip to Spain, where the Catholic hierarchy has only recently begun reckoning with its legacy of abuse and cover-up after long dismissing the severity of the scandal. In France, a 2021 report estimated 330,000 children had been sexually abused over 70 years by church personnel.
The pontiff last month signalled commitment to continuing the fight against clergy sexual abuse by appointing French Bishop Thibault Verny to head the Vatican’s child protection advisory commission.
The September 25-28 France trip, which was confirmed in May, will be Leo’s fourth foreign voyage of the year. Leo made a day trip to Monaco in March, visited four African nations in April and Spain and the Canary Islands in June. The Vatican also confirmed this week that he will make his first trip to Latin America as pontiff in November, with visits to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, where he served for over three decades.
Leo will start his visit on September 25 in Paris, meeting with President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace, where he will address authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps before giving a speech at the headquarters of the UN culture agency, UNESCO. He will later celebrate vespers at Notre-Dame Cathedral and end the day with a prayer vigil with young people at the national stadium.
