In Lourdes, Pope Leo XIV acknowledges "systemic" nature of sexual violence in the Church

Pope Leo XIV acknowledged the "systemic" nature of sexual violence committed within the Catholic Church during a closed-door meeting with seven victims during his visit to Lourdes, according to RFI.

This leg is part of a visit to France in which the pontiff first drew more than 800,000 people to Paris during a massive Mass held in Place de la Concorde, before continuing his journey to Lourdes. In the Marian city, he presided over a Sunday Mass on Sunday before more than 150,000 faithful.

In the afternoon, the pope met behind closed doors with seven victims of sexual violence committed within the Church, a meeting during which he acknowledged the systemic nature of this violence, according to RFI. The radio did not provide details of the content of the exchanges during this private meeting, nor the identities of the seven people received by the pope.

The scale of mobilization observed in Paris and Lourdes, with several hundred thousand faithful gathered over the span of two days, illustrates the attention given to the pope's visit to France, at a time when the question of sexual violence within the Catholic institution remains closely monitored by victim advocacy groups.

RFI did not specify the next stages of the pope's visit or whether other meetings with victims are planned in the coming days.