Pope Leo XIV held a private, two-hour meeting with seven survivors of clerical abuse in the pilgrimage town of Lourdes, France, on Sunday. During the encounter, the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics thanked the survivors “for their painful testimony” and “reaffirmed his commitment” to addressing the systemic harm caused by priests, according to Vatican officials.
The meeting marked part of the pontiff’s four-day trip to France. The survivors described the session as an emotional and touching experience, noting they felt personally heard by the Pope, who demonstrated a deep understanding of their individual cases.
Survivor Jean-Marie Delbos, 80, recounted an especially poignant moment: “When he saw the state I was in, he took me into his arms. It was an extraordinary moment.” Delbos was a student at the Notre-Dame de Betharram boarding school, where historical records indicate staff committed physical and sexual abuse over several decades.
Reflecting on the discussion, Jerome Guillement, who has documented his own experience of abuse by a priest, emphasized that the Pope recognized the institutional nature of the crisis. “From his point of view, the perpetrators are individuals, but what allows it to continue is the systemic dimension within the institution,” Guillement noted at a subsequent press conference.
Guillement added that while the Pope acknowledges the significant work already undertaken by the Church in France, he remains aware that substantial efforts are still required. Local leaders expressed hope that this engagement will assist in mending the institution’s reputation, particularly following a 2021 independent inquiry that identified approximately 330,000 children as victims of abuse by clergy and lay leaders over the previous seven decades. “He certainly believes that the Church has done a great deal in France, but he also believes that the Church in France still has a tremendous amount left to do.”.
For some survivors, the meeting offered a necessary glimmer of hope for authentic change. Veronique Garnier, who attended, admitted that the preceding public Mass—where the Pope addressed abuse without offering a formal apology—had been difficult for her. However, her private interaction with the pontiff proved encouraging. “I do indeed believe there is hope—hope that there can be change and truly listening to us at a deep level, rather than just superficially, with beautiful words that are never followed by any real action,” she stated.
Beyond the survivor meetings, the Pope addressed the broader Church hierarchy during a closed-door session with French bishops on Sunday. Earlier in the day, he spoke to a crowd of roughly 150,000 at the Lourdes shrine, urging the Church to maintain the courage required to confront its past.
During the same visit, the Pope took a firm stance against France’s recent legalization of medically assisted death, which was passed in July. He characterized the law as immoral “false compassion” and argued that legal status does not equate to morality. “What is legal is not necessarily moral,” he told the crowd during his Mass, where he sought to remind those suffering in “terrible pain” that they possess inherent dignity that no law can strip away.
Catholic doctrine maintains a strict opposition to abortion, euthanasia, and medically assisted dying, advocating for the protection of human life from conception until its natural end.
