Visit to Lourdes amidst the pain of clergy sexual abuse... Mass in front of 150,000 people

On the 27th (local time), the third day of his visit to France, Pope Leo

According to the AP, AFP, and DPA news agencies, the Pope arrived in Lourdes on the night of the 26th and visited the 'Cave of the Apparitions of the Virgin Mary' to drink spring water. The Grotto of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes is a sacred site where 72 miracles have been officially recognized by the Church since the Virgin Mary appeared in 1858.

The Pope then met with the bishops on the 27th and said, "You have resolutely confronted the painful situation of abuse of minors committed by clergy or within the Church," and added, "It is important to proceed with particular caution and patience along the path you have started."

In addition, at the mass held with 150,000 believers gathered, he emphasized, "To heal the deep wounds, betrayal of trust, and painful mistakes that occurred within (the church), we must humbly place ourselves under the gaze of God," and "It is necessary to acknowledge our mistakes for our spiritual growth."

According to a 2021 report, it is estimated that 330,000 minors have suffered abuse in France over 70 years.

Lourdes is involved in a sexual abuse scandal committed by a priest, which is considered the biggest scandal in the modern church.

At the entrance to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary in Lourdes, there is a work by Father Marco Rupnik, a mosaic artist from Slovenia. After suspicions arose that Rupnik committed sexual violence against at least 20 women in the community, including nuns, in the 1990s, the Diocese of Lourdes covered the work with an aluminum screen to prevent secondary damage to the victims. Rupnik is awaiting trial in a Vatican court.

Additionally, allegations that decades of physical and sexual abuse were rampant at Notre-Dame de Bettaram, a Catholic boarding school in Bettaram, a city near Lourdes, have seriously shaken trust in the church.

The Pope will meet in person with seven victims of clergy abuse in Lourdes this afternoon.