Vatican News / Fr. Łukasz Bankowski
Seven personal meetings
The meeting began after 5:30 PM at the Bishop’s House in Lourdes. Seven people came to see Leo XIV: four men and three women who had experienced sexual abuse by members of the clergy and the Church in France.
They were accompanied by Bishop Gérard Le Stang, Bishop of Amiens and President of the Council for the Prevention and Combating of Pedophilia of the French Bishops’ Conference.
The Pope did not meet with them simply as a group. He received each of the seven individuals in a private audience in Lourdes.
Listening to pain and suffering
As communicated by the Holy See Press Office, Leo XIV listened to their stories, pain, and suffering. The accounts also revisited a particularly painful experience, which, according to the victims, was the silence and sometimes complicity of those who could have come to their aid.
They also spoke to the Pope about what needs to change to prevent similar situations from happening again in the Church. With some of them, Leo XIV prayed individually.
“So that this evil does not happen to others again”
After 7:00 PM, the Pope met with all of them again. He thanked them for the courage to speak and reiterated his commitment to action so that the evil they suffered would not befall others.
Leo XIV assured them of his closeness. Through them, he also extended it to all people who have suffered and continue to suffer from the wounds inflicted by sexual abuse.
The Pope also spoke about the need to work together so that the community of believers becomes a place where people, regardless of age, can find comfort and healing.
At the end, he asked the victims to pray for him and gave them his blessing.
When they left the Bishop’s House, it was around 7:30 PM. Leo XIV dedicated nearly two hours of the third day of his apostolic journey to France to listening to those whose harm took place within the Church.
