Pope acknowledges systemic abuse within parts of the Catholic Church

After conferring with several French victims of clerical sexual abuse, Pope Leo XIV told reporters that certain organisations within the Catholic Church have, at times, been abusive as a system. He clarified that he prefers different wording but acknowledged the systemic dimension highlighted by the survivors. Jerome Guillement, who has publicly recounted abuse by a priest, said the Pope understood that institutional mechanisms, not just individual offenders, allow the abuse to persist.

A 2021 investigation reported about 330,000 minors victimised in France over a 70-year span. The pontiff added that such abuse deeply wounds the faith of believers, sometimes destroying lives, and stressed the Church’s duty to walk with victims toward healing. He called for concrete steps to address the damage and restore trust.