Pope Leo XIV Pledges Systemic Reform Following Emotional Meeting with French Clergy Abuse Survivors

Survivors of abuse by members of the French clergy, including Veronique Garnier, Olivier Mardi, Jerome Guillement, Bertrand Virieux, and Jean-Marie Delbos, posed together during a news conference following a nearly two-hour meeting with Pope Leo in Lourdes, France, on September 27, 2026.

Pope Leo XIV thanked a group of survivors of clerical abuse “for their painful testimony” and “reaffirmed his commitment” to ending the harm caused by Catholic priests during a gathering in southwestern France, according to the Vatican. The head of the global Catholic Church is currently undertaking a four-day visit to France.

On Sunday, the pontiff traveled to the pilgrimage town of Lourdes for a private meeting with seven adult survivors of childhood abuse, promising further efforts to reform the institution in the wake of widespread sexual abuse scandals. Participants in the meeting described the encounter as deeply emotional and touching.

“When he saw the state I was in, he took me into his arms,” survivor Jean-Marie Delbos shared during the news conference, calling it an extraordinary moment. The 80-year-old was previously abused as a student at the nearby boarding school of Notre-Dame de Betharram, where staff members faced decades of accusations involving physical and sexual abuse.

While survivors felt genuinely heard and expressed admiration for Pope Leo's compassion and familiarity with their individual cases, they emphasized the urgent need for concrete action to match his words. Jerome Guillement, who has publicly written about being abused by a priest as a teenager, noted that the pope recognized the systemic nature of the abuse within the Church.

“From his point of view, the perpetrators are individuals, but what allows it to continue is the systemic dimension within the institution,” Guillement stated, adding that the pope acknowledges the extensive work still required by the Church in France.

Local leaders anticipate that Pope Leo's visit will aid in restoring the Church's reputation following a landmark 2021 independent inquiry, which estimated that approximately 330,000 French children suffered abuse by Catholic clergy and lay leaders over a span of seven decades.

Earlier on Sunday, addressing an estimated 150,000 attendees at an open-air Mass near the renowned Catholic shrine in Lourdes, the pope stressed that the Church must summon the courage to confront its past. Veronique Garnier, another survivor who met with the pontiff, admitted that the Mass—during which Pope Leo addressed the abuse scandals without issuing a direct apology—felt troubling initially, yet she drew encouragement from their private discussion.

“I do indeed believe there is hope – hope that there can be change and truly listening to us at a deep level, rather than just superficially with beautiful words that are never followed by any real action,” Garnier remarked.

According to a Vatican-released text, Pope Leo also addressed the abuse crises during a closed-door session with French bishops on Sunday. His itinerary includes a scheduled visit to the northeastern city of Metz on Monday before heading back to Rome later that day.