Bertrand Virieux, co-founder of the victims’ association La Parole Libérée and a survivor of sexual abuse by Father Bernard Preynat, expressed a “feeling of satisfaction” on Monday following a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, describing a level of sincerity he said he had “never felt before” in dealings with the Church.
Virieux was one of seven victims of clerical sexual violence received by the pontiff on Sunday evening in Lourdes. The encounter, which lasted nearly two hours, began with individual conversations before the group met the pope collectively.
Pope Acknowledges ‘Systemic Problem’
According to Virieux, the pope “acknowledged to one of the participants that there was a systemic problem in the Church that has not been resolved to this day.”
The disclosure carries significant weight in France, where an independent commission estimated in 2021 that some 330,000 people had suffered sexual abuse within the Church since 1950, based on statistical modeling.
“We all shared this common feeling of a level of understanding, of listening and of real compassion. We felt a sincerity that we had never felt until now with a man of the Church,” Virieux told franceinfo. “This time, I am genuinely satisfied — for once — with contact with the Church, and at the highest level.”
Contradictory Remarks Draw Sharp Response
The pope’s acknowledgment stands in contrast with comments made Friday by Bishop Pierre-Antoine Bozo of La Rochelle, spokesman for the French Bishops’ Conference, who asserted that the Church had moved beyond the “systemic dimension” of sexual violence.
“There is a clumsiness of expression,” Virieux responded, adding: “Without pretense, the pope said from the outset that there was a systemic problem whose resolution was only in its early stages. He made that clear.”
The meeting marks a notable moment in survivors’ long campaign for institutional accountability, with victims describing the encounter as one of genuine engagement at the highest level of the Catholic hierarchy.
