Pope urges France to fight pedophilia in church

Pope Leo XIV noted the contribution of French bishops in the fight against child abuse in the church and urged them to “keep the utmost vigilance.” The text of his appeal was published by the press service of the Holy See.

“In recent years, you have resolutely confronted the painful scourge of violence against minors committed by members of the clergy or in the church. You must continue on the path you have started, with the greatest vigilance, he said.

During his four-day visit to France, Leo XIV met in Lourdes with seven people who had been sexually abused by the clergy, whether in parishes, boarding schools, religious communities or church movements. At the end of the meeting, he thanked them for their “painful testimonies” and reiterated “the desire to ensure that the evil they had to endure does not befall others,” the pontiff said.

In 2021, a commission of the French Catholic Church concluded that more than 3,000 Catholic ministers in France, including priests, were involved in pedophilia. A study of church, court, police archives and eyewitness interviews dating back to 1950 revealed a minimum estimate of 2,900 to 3,200 pedophiles in the clergy.

At the time, Pope Francis called it shameful that the church had not put victims of sexual assault in the spotlight for so long, and urged the French episcopate to “do everything possible to prevent such tragedies from happening again.”.