The Vatican would be preparing a private meeting between Pope Leo XIV and victims of abuses committed in the ecclesiastical sphere during the Pontiff’s upcoming visit to Spain. According to sources from the Archdiocese of Madrid confirmed to Europa Press, the meeting is being organized “with intensity” and could take place at the headquarters of the Apostolic Nunciature in Madrid.
The meeting would likely take place on Sunday the 7th or Monday the 8th of June and would form part of the private encounters that the Pope usually holds during his apostolic trips and which are not usually reflected beforehand in the official agenda of the Holy See.
A discreet meeting promoted from Madrid
According to the published reports, the meeting has been in preparation for weeks from the Archdiocese of Madrid and would not only include victims of sexual abuses committed by members of the clergy, but also people linked to the so-called “abuses of conscience.”
The possibility of this meeting had already been hinted at by Cardinal José Cobo during the presentation of the papal trip’s agenda. The Archbishop of Madrid explained that there were “other types of encounters” still not publicly closed and recalled that this type of private appointments usually become public only after they take place.
“Of course, he has a list and the Pope has also requested it, of possible private encounters,” Cobo stated.
Argüello speaks of “pain and special responsibility”
The president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Monsignor Luis Argüello, also referred this Tuesday to the possibility of the meeting and acknowledged that in the Church there is “a pain and a special responsibility” regarding the abuses committed in the ecclesiastical sphere.
“It is a possibility,” Argüello affirmed, insisting that this type of meetings are usually known afterwards and not before they take place.
The president of the CEE also defended the steps taken by the Church in recent years, although he admitted that “they are never enough” in the face of “the scandalous pain caused by this issue.”
At the same time, Argüello called for there to be no “first-class victims and second-class victims,” in reference to other social spheres where abuses also occur and which, according to some ecclesiastical sectors, receive unequal public attention.
Leo XIV and the issue of abuses
From the beginning of his pontificate, Leo XIV has maintained the line set by his predecessors regarding the need to listen to victims and strengthen the fight against abuses within the Church.
Private encounters with victims during apostolic trips have become a habitual practice in recent pontificates, although the Holy See usually handles these appointments with maximum discretion.
If the meeting in Madrid is finally confirmed, it would be one of the most delicate and symbolic gestures of the Pope’s trip to Spain.