Pope Leo XIV ended a four-day visit to France on Monday in Metz, urging Europe to draw on its Christian roots and tradition of dialogue to counter the desire for domination he said drives current wars. He chose the eastern city, near Luxembourg and Germany, to honor French Catholic statesman Robert Schuman and recall the forces behind Europe’s postwar integration, according to the Associated Press.
On Sunday in Lourdes, Leo told French bishops to maintain strong vigilance against sexual abuse in the Church and met privately with seven adult survivors, the Vatican said. He thanked them for their testimony and reaffirmed a commitment to prevent further harm, according to Al Jazeera. A 2021 inquiry found that about 330,000 people had been abused as children in France by clergy or lay Church members over 70 years, the BBC reported.