Pope Leo urges healing of ‘deep wounds’ before meeting child sexual abuse survivors in France

Pope Leo is on a four-day official visit to France, the first papal visit in nearly two decades. On the third day of his trip, he is in Lourdes, a pilgrimage town, where he will meet privately with seven victims of clerical sex abuse. This meeting comes as the Pope has promised to further efforts to reform the Church in response to the global sexual abuse scandal. The Pope, the first US pontiff, waved at believers on his way to mass. The visit takes place in France, a secular country with significant Catholic history, as French elections are approaching.

Pope Leo XIV led a massive outdoor Mass in Paris on Saturday, drawing an estimated 800,000 faithful to the Champs-Élysées and Place de la Concorde. During the service, the American pope urged Catholics to openly share their faith in an "increasingly secularized society," drawing on France's historical Catholic heritage. The event took place in a country known for its strict secularism, with the choice of the historically significant Place de la Concorde drawing some criticism. The visit coincides with a notable increase in adult conversions in France, despite a long-term decline in overall Catholic participation. The pope also held a vigil with 80,000 young people the previous night and visited the restored Notre Dame Cathedral.

Pope Leo XIV's four-day tour of France drew an estimated 700,000 people to an outdoor mass in Paris on Saturday. The pontiff, who began his visit on Friday, greeted cheering crowds from his popemobile along the Champs-Élysées before holding mass at Place de la Concorde. This marks the first official papal visit to France in 18 years, with the Pope aiming to improve the Catholic Church's standing amidst ongoing debates on assisted dying and child abuse. French President Emmanuel Macron was represented by his wife, Brigitte, while far-right presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen also attended. The Pope is scheduled to meet with abuse victims in Lourdes on Sunday.

Pope Leo celebrated an open-air mass in Paris's Place de la Concorde on Saturday, drawing an estimated 700,000 people. This event was part of his four-day visit to France, the first official papal visit in 18 years, aimed at promoting Catholicism. The large gathering, exceeding registered attendance, took place on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, with significant security measures in place. During his homily, Pope Leo encouraged attendees to share their faith and emphasized that true happiness comes from God, not material possessions. The choice of the historically significant Place de la Concorde, a symbol of the French republic, drew some criticism regarding the separation of church and state.

Pope Leo XIV is visiting Paris, where over half a million people are expected to attend an open-air Mass. During his trip, the Pope cautioned against "losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines" in remarks to Church and state officials. The Church views the large crowds as a sign of growing spirituality in France and Europe. The Pope's itinerary also includes attending Mass in Lourdes and paying tribute to Robert Schuman, a founding father of the European Union, in Metz. Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Prevost in Chicago, has French heritage through his paternal grandmother.

During a visit to France, Pope Leo XIV warned that artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies could undermine humanity by raising fundamental questions about human identity. Speaking at the Elysee Palace and UNESCO headquarters in Paris, he emphasized the urgent need for ethical discernment in education to avoid a "paradise of machines." The Pope cautioned against scientific progress leading to profit-driven ventures like genetic manipulation, surrogacy, organ trade, or assisted dying, and reaffirmed the Vatican's opposition to nuclear weapons, calling the deterrence doctrine mistaken. He identified AI as a major challenge, advocating for significant regulation and for developers to prioritize the common good.

Pope Leo XIV has begun a four-day Apostolic Journey to France, the first formal papal visit since 2008. The trip, themed "That the world may have life," coincides with a notable increase in adult baptisms in France, particularly among young adults. The Pope will address spiritual and societal issues, including the protection of vulnerable populations and the ethical implications of AI, and will speak at UNESCO and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. In an unusual move, he will also meet privately with seven victims of clerical abuse, signaling a message of healing. The visit, which includes a large public Mass in Paris and a stop at Notre-Dame Cathedral, aims to foster unity and dialogue, with the Pope concluding his trip in Metz to champion European friendship.