By Philip Phi
Posted Aug 13, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Pope Leo XIV is set to embark on a four-day visit to France next month, during which he will engage with survivors of clergy abuse. This meeting, highlighted by the Vatican, underscores the Pope’s commitment to addressing the legacy of abuse within the church. The specifics of the meeting’s timing and location remain undisclosed, but it is noted that the survivors will play an active role in its planning.
This visit follows a similar engagement during Pope Leo’s recent trip to Spain, where he met with six abuse survivors. The Spanish Catholic hierarchy has been grappling with its history of abuse and cover-ups, a challenge that resonates with the broader church’s efforts to confront these issues. In France, a 2021 report estimated that 330,000 children were sexually abused over 70 years by church personnel, highlighting the gravity of the situation.
In a significant move, Pope Leo recently appointed French Bishop Thibault Verny to lead the Vatican’s child protection advisory commission, signaling a continued dedication to safeguarding children and addressing past wrongs. This commitment is part of a broader pattern of the Pope’s international travels, which include visits to Monaco, four African nations, and Spain and the Canary Islands earlier this year.
The Pope’s visit to France will begin on September 25 in Paris, where he will meet with President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace. He will address various groups, including authorities and civil society representatives, and deliver a speech at UNESCO headquarters. The day will conclude with vespers at Notre-Dame Cathedral and a prayer vigil with young people at the national stadium.
On the second day, Pope Leo will focus on themes of social inclusion and active participation, visiting the Maison Bakhita center for social support and integration. He will also meet with a synodal assembly, which includes laypeople in church matters and recently baptized Catholics. The day will end with a visit to Lourdes, a key Catholic pilgrimage site, where he will pray at the Grotto of the Apparitions and meet with staff and sick individuals at the Accueil Notre-Dame.
The visit will conclude in Metz, near the Luxembourg and German border, where the Pope will attend an interreligious meeting at a conference center named for Robert Schuman. This gathering reflects the ongoing dialogue and collaboration between different faith communities, aligning with the biblical call to love one’s neighbor and seek justice, as emphasized in Micah 6:8.
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.
