Pope Leo XIV on the third day of his four-day visit to France celebrated Mass at the shrine of Lourdes, attended by around 150,000 people, DW reports.

The shrine, located near the Spanish border, is venerated by Catholics as a place of healing. In recent years, many victims of sexual abuse have also traveled to the site seeking to recover from their trauma.

On Sunday, Leo urged respect for life, including for the sick and frail, in what was seen as veiled criticism of euthanasia and abortion. "Your crutches, your wheelchairs and your hidden tears are not obstacles; instead, they are the very place where you are fully respected and welcomed," Leo said. "Lourdes is blessed as a place for professing the beauty and sanctity of life, for life is welcomed here as a precious gift from God."

Later, the pope also said it was "impossible to regard causing death as something normal." "What is legal is not necessarily moral," he added, in what could be seen as a reference to France's euthanasia and assisted suicide law which came into effect last month. "We must reject the temptation to cause death under the guise of false compassion," said the 71-year-old pontiff.

The head of the Catholic Church was due to meet with seven adult survivors of sexual abuse on Sunday — part of the Vatican's decadeslong reckoning with the widespread molestation of children at the hands of the clergy and the steps senior Church figures have taken to cover up the scandal in many countries around the world. A 2021 report found that around 330,000 children had been abused by Catholic priests and lay leaders between 1950 and 2020 in France.

While not directly referencing the issue during his Mass in Lourdes, the religious leader called for humility among the clergy's ranks. "The admission of our mistakes is indispensable for our spiritual growth," Leo told the crowd. "In order to heal the deep wounds, infidelities and painful errors that have occurred within (the Church), we must humbly place ourselves under the Lord's purifying gaze."

But some survivors expressed doubt that the pope's visit would lead to quick changes within the church. "Things are moving very slowly," Michele Le Reun-Gaigne, a co-leader of a French survivors' association, told Reuters. "It isn't going to happen overnight."

Earlier on Sunday, the pope met with French bishops and praised their "courageous" response to "the painful scourge of abuse committed against minors by members of the clergy or in an ecclesial context." He thanked the bishops for "listening, the search for truth, justice, forgiveness and making amends" and praised their "firm commitment to a culture of prevention and protection against these crimes." "You must continue along the path you have begun, maintaining the greatest vigilance," the US-born pope said, according to the Vatican's readout.

Source: www.dw.com