Pope urges church to admit failings and heal 'deep wounds'

Pope Leo has urged the Catholic Church to acknowledge its own shortcomings and mend deep-seated issues, hours before meeting with victims of child abuse by priests in France. The Pope, who will spend time in Lourdes near a famous Catholic mosaic shrine, faced criticism over sexual abuse allegations against Reverend Marko Rupnik, who has been accused of similar misconduct.

Addressing crowds of over 150,000 in Lourdes, the Pope urged the Church to have the courage to confront its past, though he did not directly reference the recent abuse scandals in France that have caused nationwide shock. Upon arriving in Paris, the Pope visited Lourdes on Saturday and will travel to Metz on Monday. During his stay, he reiterated the Church's stance on artificial intelligence and held an outdoor Mass on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, attracting 800,000 attendees.

Local authorities hope the Pope's visit will help restore the Church's reputation following a 2021 report which revealed that approximately 330,000 French children had been abused by Catholic clergy and lay leaders over the past seven decades. The Vatican released a statement following a private meeting with French bishops, expressing gratitude for their courageous efforts to address the issue, and urging them to strengthen their safeguarding measures.

The Pope is scheduled to meet privately with seven French abuse victims later in the day, although some survivors remain skeptical about the effectiveness of the encounter. Bishop Pierre-Antoine Bozo, spokesperson for French bishops, acknowledged that the Pope's willingness to meet with survivors demonstrates the Church's inability to ignore the issue and emphasized its continued importance.