Pope Leo celebrates Mass at Lourdes and meets abuse survivors

Around 150,000 attended the Mass celebrated by Pope Leo at the shrine of Lourdes during the third day of his four-day visit to France.

The shrine is venerated by Catholics as a place of healing. Many victims of sexual abuse have also traveled to the site, located near the Spanish border, in recent years as they seek to recover from their trauma.

On Sunday, Leo urged respect for life, including for the sick and frail, in what was seen as veiled criticism of euthanasia and abortion.

"Your crutches, your wheelchairs and your hidden tears are not obstacles; instead, they are the very place where you are fully respected and welcomed," Leo said. "Lourdes is blessed as a place for professing the beauty and sanctity of life, for life is welcomed here as a precious gift from God."

Hundreds of thousands of children abused in France alone

The head of the Catholic Church was due to meet with seven adult survivors of sexual abuse later on Sunday — part of Vatican's decadeslong reckoning with the widespread molestation of children at the hands of the clergy and the steps senior Church figures have taken to cover up the scandal in many countries around the world.

A 2021 report found that around 330,000 children had been abused by Catholic priests and lay leaders between 1950 and 2020 in France.

While not directly referencing the issue during his Mass in Lourdes, the religious leader called for humility among the clergy's ranks.

"The admission of our mistakes is indispensable for our spiritual growth," Leo told the crowd. "In order to heal the deep wounds, infidelities and painful errors that have occurred within (the Church), we must humbly place ourselves under the Lord's purifying gaze."

But some survivors expressed doubt that the pope's visit would lead to quick changes within the church.

"Things are moving very slowly," Michele Le Reun-Gaigne, a co-leader of a French survivors' association, told the Reuters news agency. "It isn't going to happen overnight."

Pope urges 'vigilance' while meeting bishops

Earlier on Sunday, the pope met with French bishops and praised their "courageous" response to "the painful scourge of abuse committed against minors by members of the clergy or in an ecclesial context."

He thanked the bishops for "listening, the search for truth, justice, forgiveness and making amends" and praised their "firm commitment to a culture of prevention and protection against these crimes."

"You must continue along the path you have begun, maintaining the greatest vigilance," the US-born pope said, according to the readout provided by the Vatican.