Pope Leo XIV on 2026-09-27 urged the Catholic Church to acknowledge its failings in the clergy sexual abuse crisis while in Lourdes, France, then met privately with seven abuse survivors on 2026-09-28. The pontiff pledged action on clergy abuse and praised French victims for their accounts, calling the Church to face its "deep wounds."
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LOURDES, France, Sept 27 - Pope Leo on Sunday urged the Catholic Church to admit its own failings and heal \"deep wounds\" inflicted within its ranks, hours before he was set to meet victims of child abuse by priests in France.
Pope Leo urges Church to face failings before meeting French abuse survivors Reuters
Pope Leo called on the Catholic Church to have the courage to face its past before he met with victims of child abuse by priests in France.
this outlet adds: meeting, sexual, survivors
Pope Leo has urged the Catholic Church to admit its own failings and heal "deep wounds" inflicted within its ranks, hours before he was set to meet victims of child abuse by priests in France.
Pope Leo commits to ending abuse by priests in meeting with French survivors, Vatican says Reuters
Pope Leo XIV on Sept. 27 condemned France’s new assisted-dying law during a visit to Lourdes, calling it “false compassion” and saying legal permission does not make an act moral. The legislation allows adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication [pbs.org#1][cbsnews.com#1][digi24.ro#1]. Leo also met seven French survivors of clergy sexual abuse and pledged to prevent further harm,
The pope met privately with each of the victims and heard proposals for how to improve the Church’s safeguarding measures.
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Head of the Roman Catholic Church holds 'emotional' two-hour meeting with seven abuse victims in French town of Lourdes.
Survivors of clergy abuse are calling for an investigation into Pope Leo XIV during his tenure as bishop of Chiclayo in Peru, alleging he played a role in covering up how priests and clerics accused o...
French victims of clerical abuse called their meeting with Pope Leo XIV on Sunday "extraordinary", praising him for listening deeply to their experiences. The Pope said he was committed to preventing further harm.
Pope Leo XIV understood the "systemic" character of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, an adult who was abused by a priest as a teenager told journalists Sunday after he and six other survivors met the pontiff. f24.my/CBU1 Pope Leo XIV understood the "systemic" character of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, an adult who was abused by a priest as a teenager told journalists Sunday after he and
p.dw.com/p/5NMOt French bishops took "courageous" steps when faced with "the painful scourge of abuse of minors," Pope Leo XIV told the high-ranking clerics before his scheduled meeting with survivors at the Catholic ...