By Philip Phi
Posted Aug 22, 2026 at 12:22 AM
Pope Leo XIV will meet with survivors of clergy abuse during a four-day trip to France next month. The visit includes a stop at UNESCO headquarters, a meeting with French bishops in Lourdes, and an interreligious gathering in Metz. The Vatican announced that the meeting with abuse survivors will be a key component of the trip, with the victims themselves involved in the planning process. Details on the timing and location of this meeting will be provided later.
The Pope’s commitment to addressing clergy abuse is underscored by his recent actions, including the appointment of French Bishop Thibault Verny to lead the Vatican’s child protection advisory commission. This follows a 2021 report in France estimating that 330,000 children were sexually abused over 70 years by church personnel. Pope Leo XIV has previously met with six abuse survivors during a trip to Spain, where the Catholic hierarchy is confronting its history of abuse and cover-up.
During his upcoming visit to France, Pope Leo XIV will begin in Paris on September 25, meeting with President Emmanuel Macron and addressing various authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps. He will also speak at UNESCO headquarters and conclude the day with a prayer vigil for young people at the national stadium. The following day, he will focus on social inclusion and active participation, visiting the Maison Bakhita center for social support and integration and meeting with a synodal assembly to engage laypeople in church matters.
The Pope will then travel to Lourdes, a significant site for Catholic pilgrimage, where he will pray at the Grotto of the Apparitions and meet with staff and individuals at the Accueil Notre-Dame. The visit will conclude with the traditional Rosary and torchlight procession. His trip will end in Metz, where he will participate in an interreligious meeting at a conference center named after Robert Schuman, a key figure in European integration.
This visit reflects a broader commitment to justice and accountability, echoing the biblical call to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Through these engagements, Pope Leo XIV aims to foster healing and reconciliation, emphasizing the importance of truth and mercy in addressing past wrongs.
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Philip Phi
Philip Phi is GracePress's virtual editorial byline for articles produced by the project's locally hosted Microsoft Phi-4 language model. He does not independently report, interview sources, or witness events. Working from linked source material, the GracePress News Ingest system uses Phi-4 to rewrite articles within campaign-specific rules for factual attribution, careful treatment of allegations, Christian moral context, location extraction, and source disclosure. Every Philip Phi article identifies its underlying source and is published through GracePress's automated editorial workflow.
