On Sunday in Lourdes, Pope Leo XIV met seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse, who praised the meeting as helping to bring reconciliation — even if there is still a lot of work to be done fighting the scourge of sex abuse in the Church.

Five of the seven survivors spoke to journalists, including Vatican News, after the meeting, describing the pope as a man of “incredible empathy” and “deep listening.” The other two are women who have asked to remain anonymous.

Oliver Mardi, an activist and co-founder of Voix Libérées de Touraine, a group created to support and advocate for victims of clerical sexual abuse, explained that the meeting was initially supposed to be one hour but in the end it ran to one hour and fifty minutes.

“In his response, he expressed his commitment, speaking first about his emotions,” Mardi said.

“He said he was profoundly affected, deeply wounded. He spoke of open wounds, still open after meeting the Spanish victims. He was completely in tune with our stories. And I think that is precisely the transformative aspect,” he added.

Jérôme Guillement, who was assaulted by a priest as a child, also highlighted how important it was that Leo listened carefully to what they said.

“He received many requests and listened to detailed accounts. And what we can simply say is that we felt we were with a man who was truly listening. I have rarely met anyone who listened so deeply,” Guillement said.

Bertrand Virieux, co-founder of La Parole Libérée, an advocacy group for victims of pedophile priest Bernard Preynat, said he too “was truly struck by this pope” and “his non-verbal communication, his depth, his listening.”

“This has brought me reconciliation,” he said.

Jean-Marie Delbos, a victim and key witness in a case involving the Notre-Dame de Bétharram boarding school explained that the pope’s witness had a positive effect on his faith, which he said he lost decades ago.

“I have not had many deeply emotional moments in my life, because I have a very strong character. I asked him to bless my mother. And then, when he saw the state I was in, he put both arms around me,” Delbos explained.

“I never would have thought that it would be the Pope embracing me. It was an extraordinary moment. It has been 65 years since that happened, when I lost my faith,” he added.

Delbos went on to explain that he didn’t go to Mass and was an atheist.

“Today I went to Mass for the first time in 60 years. Even during Mass, when I saw the pope… I had moments of emotion. I swear to you, when he gathered us together and said, ‘I bless you’, well, I made the sign of the cross. Even me, a well-known atheist,” he said.

However, Delbos also voices a note of caution and emphasized that there was still work to do in rooting out sexual abuse in the Church.

“For me, it will be over when the smoke comes out of the chimney. Until then I will remain here, but with a new understanding of the Church, of this Pope who has shaken me,” Delbos said.

Véronique Garnier, from the Foi & Résilience collective, said she “felt relieved because I was able to tell him everything I wanted to, because there was more time.”

She said Leo “had a very strong presence.”

“He told us to have some sweets, a simple thing, and he gave us hope that something could change. He was not listening superficially, with fine words that never lead to very much,” she explained.

“I think the change lies in the depth of his presence, something non-verbal, his listening, the way he welcomed what we were telling him, his reactions to what we said,” she said.

The Holy See press office released a statement after the meeting on Sunday evening.

“The Pope met each of them individually and in private, listening to their stories, to the pain and suffering they had endured—sometimes, sadly, with the complicity or silence of those who could have helped them—and to their proposals to ensure that this does not happen again,” the statement said.

“He spent a few moments in prayer with some of them,” it added.

Work to be done

Despite the praise Leo received, the five were clear that “an enormous amount of work remains to be done”, even if “much has been done in France” and “the French bishops have put measures in place that make France something of a pioneer in this area.”

“We have our own paths… He understood very well; he was very precise about joining forces with outside organizations to work together. And in this, he responded very positively to our proposals, our very concrete requests,” the group said.

The group made many proposals to Leo. “Of course, he did not answer immediately, but he knows he has work to do. And that is rather encouraging,” they said.