Pope Leo XIV is set to meet privately with seven survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other church personnel during his four-day visit to France, as survivor advocates and critics call for stronger action from the Catholic Church.

The meeting is scheduled for Sunday in Lourdes, one of the Catholic Church’s most important pilgrimage sites. The decision to invite individual survivors rather than representatives of established survivor organizations has drawn criticism from some advocacy groups.

The seven survivors said in a joint statement that they were not claiming to speak for all victims. They said they would attend in their individual capacities and intended to express their own views, convictions and demands.

The French Bishops’ Conference said the group includes people who were abused as children or adults in Catholic schools, parishes and religious communities.

The French Catholic Church has taken several steps in recent years to address its history of sexual abuse, including establishing an independent compensation system and acknowledging the scale of abuse within the institution.

A 2021 report estimated that about 330,000 children in France had been sexually abused over a period of seven decades by priests, other clergy members, church employees and volunteers.

Among those taking part in Sunday’s meeting is a survivor who said he was abused at Notre-Dame de Bétharram, a private Catholic school in southwestern France where allegations have spanned more than five decades.

Another participant was abused by Bernard Preynat, a priest who admitted sexually abusing at least 75 boys over several decades. Preynat was sentenced to five years in prison in 2020 in one of France’s most prominent clergy abuse cases.

A third participant is among women who have accused Abbé Pierre, a nationally revered priest and humanitarian who died in 2007, of sexual assault.

Survivors and advocacy groups say the church still has significant work to do. France’s Independent National Authority for Recognition and Reparation, known as INIRR, said Tuesday that 1,969 people who were abused as children had come forward over the previous five years. The organization is overseeing a broad reparations program that includes financial compensation.

Eric, a 55-year-old survivor who said he was raped by a priest between the ages of 8 and 14, said he was pleased that survivors would have an opportunity to speak with Leo. He said people were now speaking more openly but that the church still needed to improve how it listened to survivors.

Cécile Reneaume, 34, who said she was abused as a young child by the leader of a Catholic community, has also received compensation through INIRR. She said substantial work remained and suggested changes to the way sexuality is taught in seminaries and greater care in deciding which priests are ordained.

Marie Derain de Vaucresson, head of INIRR, described the meeting as a missed opportunity because she had hoped the message to the pope would be delivered collectively. She also called on Leo to speak more forcefully about the issue.

Criticism has also focused on how the seven participants were selected. Charles Mercier, a professor of history and sociology of Catholicism at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris, said some advocates believed the group had been selected by bishops and church institutions rather than by survivors themselves.

Alain Esquerre, a spokesperson for a group representing survivors of abuse at the Bétharram school, said expressions of compassion were no longer sufficient and called for a concrete plan to prevent abuse.

Esquerre said survivor organizations wanted the church to move beyond listening to testimony and providing financial compensation and take further concrete measures to address abuse.

Leo previously met six survivors of clergy sexual abuse during a visit to Madrid in June. According to the Vatican, he promised to consider their suggestions for improving the church’s response to the crisis.

The issue is also visible at the Lourdes pilgrimage site, where mosaics created by Rev. Marko Rupnik on the facade of a basilica have recently been completely covered. Rupnik is facing a Vatican trial over allegations of psychological, spiritual and sexual abuse involving more than two dozen women dating back to the 1990s.

Activists have also continued to demand action in individual cases. Last week, child protection campaigners protested near the home of former Catholic priest Jacques Delfosse, who is suspected of sexually assaulting dozens of children.

Delfosse served in northern France and the Paris region from the 1960s into the 2000s and was convicted in 2007 of raping two girls under the age of 15 during school holiday camps in the 1980s. He was dismissed from the priesthood in 2025 after media reports prompted dozens of people to come forward with new allegations.

The Lille prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into the new allegations in August.

Arnaud Gallais, president of the child protection group Mouv’Enfants, called on French President Emmanuel Macron to raise the case during his meeting with Leo and urged the Lille diocese and the Vatican to open their archives.

Gallais also cited a report by the Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence Against Children, which stated that only 3% of rapes and sexual assaults against children in France each year result in a conviction.

Pope Leo’s meeting with the seven survivors in Lourdes is expected to draw further attention to how the Catholic Church addresses allegations of sexual abuse and the demands of survivors for broader institutional action.

SOURCE: Associated Press, Sylvie Corbet, updated September 25, 2026.