Pope Leo XVI Calls for Rooting Out Sexual Abuse in France

Pope Leo XVI addressed French bishops at Lourdes, urging them to root out sexual abuse and maintain vigilance. He delivered the message in a private meeting after holding a Mass before hundreds of thousands of worshippers. The pope said that the scourge of abuse must be confronted decisively and that the church must persevere along the path already begun. A day earlier, some 700,000 people gathered at Place de la Concorde in Paris where the pope spoke and later met President Emmanuel Macron. The visit marks his first official trip to France since his election and underscores the nation’s complex relationship with its Catholic heritage.