Pope Leo heads to France amid assisted dying, abuse debates

First papal state visit to country in 18 years comes as church confronts contentious issues.

Pope Leo XIV is heading to France for the first official papal visit to the country in 18 years.

The four-day visit begins in Paris on Friday, where Leo will meet President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace before addressing French officials and civil society.

The first American pope will carry a message centred on human dignity as the Catholic Church in France confronts a newly enacted assisted dying law and the lasting fallout from clerical sexual abuse.

After meeting the president, Leo will deliver an address at UNESCO, attend a service at Notre-Dame Cathedral and join a youth vigil at the Stade de France.

Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, head of the French bishops’ conference, said “the defence of the dignity of human life” would be at the heart of Leo’s message.

France enacted a law in August establishing a right to assisted dying under specified conditions for adults suffering from serious and incurable illnesses. The measure had faced strong opposition from the Catholic Church, which teaches that human life should be protected from conception until natural death.

However, Martin Dumont, secretary-general of a religion research institute in France, told the AFP news agency that he would be “very surprised” if the pope adopted a confrontational stance on the issue.

Leo is expected to meet seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse in Lourdes on Sunday. A landmark independent inquiry published in 2021 estimated that about 330,000 people had been abused as minors by clergy or other people associated with the French Catholic Church over seven decades.

Retired French Bishop Marc Stenger told the Reuters news agency that the scandals had “wounded the church deeply and damaged its credibility”.

Survivors have continued to press church leaders for greater accountability despite compensation and safeguarding measures introduced in recent years.

Leo’s visit comes as the Catholic Church seeks to make its voice heard in a country with a deeply rooted tradition of secularism and declining church influence over public policy.

But his message will extend beyond France’s domestic debates. The pope is also due to visit a Paris centre supporting migrants, speak on artificial intelligence and conclude his trip in Metz with a meeting focused on Europe’s role in promoting peace and unity.