Pope Leo XIV to meet clerical sex abuse victims during France visit
Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to meet with victims of clerical sex abuse during his four-day visit to France. The trip also includes public masses and prayers at the Lourdes shrine, amidst a backdrop of political tension in France.
Why it matters
The meeting underscores the Catholic Church's ongoing efforts to address historical systemic abuse scandals and the Pope's role in navigating secular political landscapes.
Pope Leo XIV will meet on Sunday (September 27, 2026) with victims of clerical sex abuse, a day after holding an open-air mass for hundreds of thousands of worshippers and praying at a holy shrine in Lourdes during his official visit to France.
The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics is on a four-day trip to France, a secular country with deep Catholic roots, marking the first official papal visit there in nearly two decades.
He is expected to meet privately with seven victims after promising to further efforts to reform the Church in the wake of the global sexual abuse scandal.
A 2021 inquiry found that clergy or lay members of the Church had abused about 330,000 people as minors in France over the span of 70 years.
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