Pope will meet with survivors of clergy abuse during upcoming trip to Latin America, Vatican says

The Vatican says Pope Leo XIV will meet with survivors of clergy sexual abuse during his upcoming trip to Latin AmericaROME -- ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV will meet with survivors of clergy sexual abuse during his upcoming trip to Latin America, which will take the American pope to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, the Vatican said Tuesday.The Vatican statement didn’t say when the encounters would take place or where, but said “several meetings are planned,” suggesting more than one encounter. The Nov. 6-17 trip is going ahead as planned despite Leo's Oct. 13 lung cancer surgery which had put the trip in question.Continuing the practice of his two recent predecessors, Leo met with abuse survivors in June in Spain and most recently in France. Ahead of the French trip, the Vatican confirmed the meeting ahead of time rather than after it took place, as had been the previous practice.“These meetings reflect the pope’s desire to express his solidarity with those who have suffered and continue to suffer as a result of this violence, to work with them to build paths to healing that are accessible to anyone in need, and to ensure that the church is a safe and spiritually healthy place that lives o...