Pope Leo at Lourdes: ‘The Church Must Have the Courage to Begin With Herself’ | SG News
Pope Leo XIV has delivered one of the strongest calls for repentance of his Apostolic Journey to France, telling the Catholic Church that true conversion must begin within herself. Speaking before an estimated 150,000 pilgrims at Lourdes on September 27, the Pope reflected on penance, conversion and the wounds caused by sin. His message came only hours before a scheduled private meeting with survivors of sexual abuse in the French Church. Pope Leo told the enormous congregation: “This call to conversion also concerns the Church herself as she makes her earthly journey. She must have the courage to begin with herself.” He continued: “In order to heal the deep wounds, infidelities and painful errors that have occurred within her, we must humbly place ourselves under the Lord’s purifying gaze.” The Holy Father did not explicitly mention the French abuse crisis during this section of the homily. But the words carried particular weight in a country still confronting the devastating consequences of abuse committed within Catholic institutions. A major independent investigation published in 2021 estimated that approximately 216,000 minors were abused by priests or religious in France between 1950 and 2020. When abuse involving lay employees and volunteers connected with Catholic institutions was included, the estimate rose to around 330,000 victims. French Church leaders have introduced safeguarding, recognition and compensation measures in response, but survivors continue to call for accountability, transparency and deeper reform. Earlier on Sunday, Pope Leo addressed the French bishops directly. He thanked them for measures already taken against what he called the “painful scourge of abuse of minors committed by members of the clergy or in an ecclesial context.” But he told them: “You must continue along the path you have begun, maintaining the greatest vigilance.” The Pope was also scheduled to meet privately with seven survivors during his stay in Lourdes. French bishops said before the visit that Pope Leo himself wanted the encounter to be personal rather than ceremonial. The group includes men and women who experienced abuse as minors and adults in different Church settings. At the Lourdes Mass, however, Pope Leo placed the issue inside the wider Christian call to repentance. He described penance not simply as punishment, but as an act of love. Love for God. Solidarity with the human family. And a willingness to recognize honestly where sin has caused wounds. For the Church, that means refusing to hide from her own failures. It means repentance. Truth. Safeguarding. Listening to those who have suffered. And ensuring that places meant to communicate the love of Christ become genuinely safe. The Lourdes Mass followed an extraordinary gathering in Paris the previous day, where around 800,000 people filled Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Élysées for Mass with Pope Leo. But at Lourdes, the tone became markedly penitential. Before the shrine associated with Our Lady’s call to prayer and conversion, Pope Leo turned the Church’s attention inward. His message was unmistakable: Before calling the world to conversion, the Church must have the courage to begin with herself. Stay Updated with @SGNEWS-SG – Faith, Society & Global Christian Perspective