Pope Leo XIV called on French bishops to root out the “scourge” of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, demanding that they maintain the greatest vigilance. The message was delivered during a private meeting at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, the third day of his four‑day official visit to France.
A 2021 inquiry found that clergy or lay members of the Church had abused about 330,000 children in France over 70 years. The Pope preached Mass in front of thousands before meeting survivors privately later.
He told the bishops, “You have faced the painful scourge of abuse of minors committed by members of the clergy or within an ecclesial context. It is important to persevere along the path you have begun, maintaining the greatest vigilance.” The gathering was behind closed doors; remarks were later released to the press.
Earlier, the Pope addressed a crowd of 700,000 at Paris’s Place de la Concorde and later met President Emmanuel Macron. He urged Catholics to let their faith overflow so that those they meet may be refreshed, praising young people as “today’s Church.”
Despite a decline in regular worshippers and priests, there is a recent uptick in adult baptisms, doubling in five years to 10,000 in 2025. He will later meet staff and residents at a Lourdes health facility and join a torch‑light procession. This visit marks his first official trip to France since becoming Pope.
