Pope to meet victims of clerical sex abuse on France trip

Pope Leo XIV is on a four-day official visit to France, the first papal trip in nearly two decades. He arrived in Lourdes on Saturday evening and met believers on his way to mass on Sunday.

The Pope is set to meet victims of clerical sex abuse in Lourdes. According to Le Monde English, he is scheduled to meet with seven survivors of sexual abuse. A 2021 inquiry found that clergy or lay members of the Church had abused about 330,000 people as minors in France over 70 years.

One of the victims, Domitille Bardoul, 26, expressed her support for the meeting, saying it's "very beautiful that the pope is going to listen to them" and that it's a way of acknowledging that every possible measure is being taken to prevent abuse. The meeting with victims comes as the Church faces criticism for its handling of the abuse scandal, with some associations denouncing a step backwards despite efforts by French bishops to acknowledge the systemic nature of the abuse.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch, Punch Nigeria, South China Morning Post, The Local France, Le Monde English — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.