Pope to meet with victims of clerical sex abuse during France trip

Pope Leo XIV is set to meet with victims of clerical sex abuse during his upcoming four-day visit to France, the first official papal visit to the country in nearly two decades. The 71-year-old pontiff is scheduled to meet privately with seven victims of clergy abuse in France after promising to advance reforms in response to the global sexual abuse scandal.

Among the victims expected to meet the pope is a former pupil of the Notre-Dame de Betharram school, which has faced accusations of physical and sexual abuse over decades.

The pope's visit comes a day after he led an open-air mass for hundreds of thousands of worshippers at Paris's Place de la Concorde, a massive white canopy serving as a makeshift altar. The mass was attended by around 800,000 people, many of whom traveled from abroad to see the pope. Days prior, the pontiff visited the holy shrine town of Lourdes, where he prayed at the Grotto of Massabielle, a site revered by Catholics as the location where the Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette in 1858.

Pope Leo XIV's visit to France precedes a presidential election, with far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Edouard Philippe among the presidential hopefuls. The pope's message prior to his visit emphasized the importance of dignity, peace, and the fundamental role of women in building a civilisation of love. Earlier in the visit, the pope met with migrants at an association supporting refugees, emphasizing the importance of dignity and peace.