Pope’s Lourdes visit to highlight Church’s response to abuse

Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Lourdes this week will be key to his message of respect for human life in all stages and conditions, which is the theme of his Sept. 25–28 pastoral visit to France. Images of the pontiff meeting ailing pilgrims will complement the trip’s official motto: “That the World May Have Life.”

But the visit to the world-famous shrine will also be the moment where he will most directly address clerical sexual abuse, a crisis that has cast a shadow over the Church in France since a landmark abuse report in 2021.

Lourdes will be the setting Sept. 27 for the pope’s private meeting with sex abuse victims and a speech to the French Catholic bishops, who continue to deal with fallout from the abuse crisis. The shrine itself has been touched by controversy in recent years due to the prominent display there of artwork by a priest accused of sexual and spiritual abuse.

In a survey conducted in France ahead of the Sept. 25–28 visit, the topic of clerical sexual abuse loomed large.

For 15% of respondents, the fight against abuse and its prevention within the Church was the topic they most wanted the pope to address while in France. It was the second-most popular answer…