Carmen Álvarez Cuadrado
Pope Leo XIV will meet with victims of abuse during his trip to France. The Holy See announced the meeting, with one important caveat: it's not part of the pope's official schedule.
GFX
Pope Leo XIV will meet privately with several victims of abuse within the Church. The victims themselves will be involved in preparing for this meeting. Further details will be provided at a later date, if necessary.
The news isn't a surprise, especially in France. The bishops had already announced that this would take place, but so far, they haven't provided any more details about how, when or where the meeting will occur.
Local media report that the most likely location is Lourdes. The pope will be there on Sunday, September 27th, where he will address the French Conference of Catholic Bishops.
A meeting in Lourdes would carry special significance. Just 9 miles from the sanctuary is the Catholic center of Bétharram, the school at the heart of one of the most high-profile abuse cases after it came to light in 2023.
According to complaints filed, more than 200 students suffered abuse by members of the clergy between 1950 and 2010; and the cases are still in court. The group of victims has already requested a meeting with the pope and is now helping to organize it.
In France, the biggest scandal came in 2021, when an independent commission released a report requested by the bishops. An estimated 216,000 minors were sexually abused by priests and religious figures between 1950 and 2020.
This will be the pope's second meeting with abuse survivors during a papal trip. The first was in Spain, in Madrid. It was his first stop on that trip, and Pope Leo XIV spent nearly an hour behind closed doors at the nunciature. Six survivors took part in that meeting.
The difference from Spain is how far in advance the meeting was announced. Last time, the Vatican confirmed the encounter one day before the trip began.
For France, preparations are well ahead of schedule. The Holy See announced the meeting when it released the pope's itinerary, more than a month and a half before Pope Leo begins his sixth apostolic journey, from September 25 to 28th.
