Pope Pledges Stronger Abuse Response After Meeting Spanish Survivors
Madrid-Pope Leo XIV met with six survivors of clergy sexual abuse in Madrid on Monday and pledged to consider their recommendations for improving the Catholic Church’s response to abuse cases, as Spain continues to confront decades of allegations involving abuse and institutional cover-ups.
The hour-long meeting took place at the Vatican embassy in Madrid during the pope’s visit to Spain, according to a Vatican statement. The encounter followed a practice established by previous pontiffs of meeting abuse survivors during international trips and marked the first publicly known such meeting by Leo while abroad.
During the discussion, survivors shared their experiences and proposed measures aimed at strengthening the church’s response to abuse. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the pope listened attentively and reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that victims’ recommendations help shape future efforts within the church.
“The pope listened with affection and attention, assured them of his closeness and that of the entire church community and pledged his commitment to ensuring that the suggestions received serve as a foundation for further efforts,” Bruni said.The meeting came as Spain’s Catholic Church continues a broader reckoning over clerical sexual abuse.
In 2023, Spain’s ombudsman published an 800-page report estimating that hundreds of thousands of people may have suffered abuse linked to the church over several decades, based on a survey of 8,000 respondents and an examination of 487 documented cases.
Spain’s bishops disputed that estimate, citing a separate church investigation that identified 728 sexual abusers within the Catholic Church since 1945.Ahead of the meeting, some survivor advocacy groups criticized the process used to select participants, arguing that many victims and organizations were excluded.
A small protest was held outside the Vatican embassy in Madrid.Juan Cuatrecasas, a spokesperson for the Robbed Childhood association, said the participating survivors did not represent all victims and accused church authorities of attempting to improve the institution’s image rather than fully addressing past failures.
Earlier on Monday, Leo addressed Spain’s bishops and called for stronger efforts to support survivors through listening, truth, justice and reparations. He said the church community must demonstrate a more determined commitment to prevention and safeguarding.“Every wounded person must be able to find sincere listening, welcome, protection and real paths to healing,” the pope told church leaders.
Spain this year launched a reparations framework for victims of clerical abuse whose cases are too old to be prosecuted. The mechanism, developed with the involvement of both the Spanish government and the Catholic Church, allows survivors to seek compensation and support, with authorities retaining a significant role in determining payouts.
Leo has previously emphasized the importance of listening to victims while also maintaining that the rights of accused clergy must be protected. Before becoming pope, the former Robert Prevost served as bishop of Chiclayo in Peru, where he handled abuse-related complaints on behalf of the Peruvian bishops’ conference and was involved in efforts to address allegations linked to the influential Catholic group Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.
Separately, Leo defended the Catholic Church’s position on the confidentiality of confession, amid growing debate in several countries over whether priests should be required to report abuse disclosed during sacramental confession.
Addressing Spain’s parliament, the pope described confessional secrecy as a matter of religious freedom, arguing that legal protections for confidential conversations between priests and penitents preserve an essential space for believers to speak freely without fear of external interference.
