Pope Leo has pledged further action to address child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church after holding a private, two-hour meeting with seven French survivors in the pilgrimage town of Lourdes.
The meeting took place on Sunday during the Pope’s visit to Lourdes, where the survivors spoke to him about their experiences of abuse and the long-term impact it has had on their lives.
The survivors later described the encounter as “emotional” and “touching”, saying they felt listened to by the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
One survivor, Jean-Marie Delbos, said the Pope embraced him after seeing his condition.
“When he saw the state I was in, he took me into his arms.”
Delbos described the moment as extraordinary.
Survivors seek action, not only words
The seven survivors said they were impressed by Pope Leo’s apparent knowledge of their individual cases and by the compassion he showed during the meeting.
However, they also stressed that expressions of sympathy must be followed by concrete measures.
The meeting comes amid continuing scrutiny of the Catholic Church over decades of allegations involving sexual abuse of children and accusations that institutional failures allowed abuse to continue.
The survivors told reporters that they believed Pope Leo understood that the problem extends beyond individual perpetrators and involves broader institutional structures.
Abuse allegations linked to Notre-Dame de Betharram
Among those who met the Pope was Delbos, who said he was abused while attending the Notre-Dame de Betharram boarding school near Lourdes.
The institution has faced allegations of physical and sexual abuse involving staff over several decades.
Another survivor, Jérôme Guillement, has publicly written about being abused by a priest when he was a teenager.
Speaking at the post-meeting news conference, Guillement said Pope Leo recognised the systemic dimension of abuse within the Church.
He said the Pope viewed perpetrators as individuals but also understood that institutional conditions could allow abuse to continue.
A continuing challenge for the Catholic Church
The meeting highlights one of the most difficult issues confronting the Roman Catholic Church: how to address historical abuse allegations while changing institutional procedures designed to protect children and hold perpetrators and responsible officials accountable.
Survivors and advocacy groups have repeatedly called for greater transparency, independent investigations, accountability and stronger safeguarding mechanisms.
The Catholic Church has introduced reforms in several countries over the years, but critics have continued to question whether existing measures are sufficient and whether institutions have responded adequately to survivors.
For the seven French survivors, the meeting with Pope Leo represented an important opportunity to speak directly to the Church’s highest authority.
But their message was clear: compassion must be followed by action.
The Pope’s pledge to continue efforts aimed at reforming the Church will now face scrutiny over how those commitments translate into concrete safeguarding and accountability measures.
