Pope Leo XIV met on Saturday with a group of 15 people who say they were sexually abused by members of the clergy in Belgium, the Holy See Press Office said. All were minors at the time of the abuse, the office added.
The Vatican noted that many of the survivors had previously met the late Pope Francis during his 2024 visit to Belgium, and that the late pontiff had heard their accounts ‘with a sense of shame for the suffering they endured as children.’ Belgium, a predominantly Roman Catholic country, has seen a string of church abuse scandals in recent years.
The meeting lasted nearly three hours and took place ‘in a climate of closeness with the victims, of listening and dialogue, both profound and painful,’ the Vatican said. It ended with a prayer.
Members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors accompanied the survivors. The Vatican said the commission works closely with the Belgian Church on safeguarding measures.
Interest in Belgium’s long-documented history of church abuse surged again after a 2023 documentary on public broadcaster VRT, prompting many new victims to come forward. During his 2024 visit, former Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told Pope Francis the Church must do more, calling for concrete steps to come clean about the past and to prioritize survivors’ interests over those of the institution.