Pope Leo listened attentively and promised that the proposals offered by the victims for improving the Churchʼs response to abuse would serve as a foundation for future efforts. 

On Monday, June 8, the third day of his apostolic journey to Spain, Pope Leo XIV met with six victims of abuse committed “by members of the clergy and the Church” in the country.

The Holy See Press Office confirmed the meeting, noting that it took place in the afternoon at the apostolic nunciature in Madrid.

The victims, the Vatican stated, were “accompanied by Church personnel engaged in supporting and accompanying victims.”

The meeting lasted nearly an hour, during which the victims shared their “painful personal experiences” with the Holy Father, and each person presented him with “proposals to make the Church’s response to such tragic cases more effective.”

The pope, the Holy See Press Office noted, “listened with affection and attention and assured them of his closeness” as well as that of “the entire ecclesial community.”

In addition, he pledged his commitment to ensuring that the proposals offered by the victims “serve as a foundation for future efforts, so that the Church may truly be a safe and spiritually healthy place where [those wounded] can find comfort and healing.”

A call to address the ‘scourge’ of abuse

Shortly before meeting with victims, during his encounter with the Spanish bishops, the Holy Father urged them to respond to the “scourge” of abuse in the Church “with listening, truth, justice, reparation, and an ever-more-determined commitment to prevention and a culture of care.”

“Every wounded person must be able to find sincere listening, welcome, protection, and real paths to healing,” Pope Leo said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.