By Philip Phi
Posted Aug 22, 2026 at 11:21 AM
Pope Leo XIV will meet with survivors of clergy abuse during his upcoming four-day trip to France, which includes visits to UNESCO headquarters, a meeting with French bishops in Lourdes, and an interreligious gathering in Metz. The Vatican has emphasized that abuse survivors will play an active role in preparing for this meeting, although specific details about the timing and location will be announced later.
This initiative follows Pope Leo’s recent engagement with six abuse survivors during a visit to Spain, where the Catholic Church has been addressing its historical issues of abuse and cover-up. In France, a 2021 report estimated that approximately 330,000 children had been sexually abused over 70 years by church personnel. Demonstrating his commitment to addressing these issues, Pope Leo recently appointed French Bishop Thibault Verny to lead the Vatican’s child protection advisory commission.
The Pope’s trip to France, scheduled for September 25-28, is part of a series of international visits this year. Earlier, he visited Monaco, four African nations, and Spain and the Canary Islands. Additionally, a visit to Latin America is planned for November, marking his first trip to the region as pontiff.
In Paris, Pope Leo will meet with President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace, where he will address authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps. He will also deliver a speech at UNESCO headquarters and conclude the day with a prayer vigil with young people at the national stadium. This visit underscores the importance of social inclusion and active participation, aligning with the biblical call to “act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
On the second day, the Pope will visit the Maison Bakhita center for social support and integration, emphasizing the Church’s role in fostering community and care for the marginalized. He will also meet with a synodal assembly focused on involving laypeople in church matters and engage with recently baptized Catholics.
The visit to Lourdes will include a prayer at the Grotto of the Apparitions and a meeting with the staff and sick people at the Accueil Notre-Dame. The day will conclude with the traditional Rosary and torchlight procession, a testament to the enduring faith and resilience of the community.
The final day in Metz will feature an interreligious meeting at a conference center named after Robert Schuman, symbolizing the Church’s commitment to dialogue and reconciliation. This gathering reflects the biblical principle of loving one’s neighbor and seeking peace, as stated in Luke 12:48: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”
Source: Read the original report
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.
