A forceful homily against euthanasia
On Sunday morning, September 27, Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in the meadow of the Lourdes sanctuary before a crowd of 150,000 pilgrims. The liturgy, held near the Grotto of the Apparitions, was multilingual and multigenerational. In his homily, the pontiff delivered one of the most striking messages of his young papacy, focusing on conversion and the reality of evil. He called for a radical spiritual renewal and, in an elliptical but unmistakable manner, criticized France's recently enacted law on end-of-life care, which establishes a right to assisted dying.[S1][S2]
The Pope directed his words especially to practicing Catholics and to the many sick people present. He reminded them that the goal of Christian life is eternal life and the practice of penance, urging the suffering to live their pain as an offering. Addressing them directly, he said their crutches, wheelchairs, and hidden tears are not obstacles but the very place where God's infinite love respects, welcomes, and transforms them. He acknowledged that this message challenges contemporary mentalities, which are tempted to forget the horizon of eternity.[S1]
The homily followed remarks Leo XIV had made days earlier at the Élysée Palace, where he questioned the idea of a programmed death and grouped euthanasia among practices that can emerge when scientific and technological progress is not guided by ethical criteria. His stance aligns with the Catholic Church's traditional rejection of euthanasia and its defense of life from conception to natural death.[S2][S3]
Addressing abuse and meeting victims
At the end of his homily, the Pope referred to the wounds caused by infidelities and painful transgressions committed within the Church, calling for humble submission to the Lord's purifying gaze. He did not explicitly mention sexual abuse during the Mass, but he addressed the topic directly in a speech to the French bishops earlier that morning. He praised the measures they had taken through listening, the search for truth, justice, forgiveness, and reparation, and thanked them for their efforts.[S1][S2][S3]
Leo XIV urged the bishops to continue on the path they had begun and to maintain maximum vigilance, while also stressing that the clergy need support and encouragement. Later in the day, he was scheduled to meet with patients at the Notre-Dame reception center and then with religious sisters and victims of sexual abuse. Before addressing the French Episcopal Conference, he paused to pray before a photograph of the Weeping Child, a work symbolizing the suffering of abuse victims.[S1]
A call for peace and a message to France
During the Mass, the Pope also urged Christians to pray for an end to wars and for peace among peoples in conflict. He mentioned the increasingly widespread conflicts that destroy innocent lives, describing evil as coming from the human heart. He encouraged the Church in France to continue its fight against the scourge of sexual violence and prayed for wise and generous leaders for the country. The homily was met with prolonged applause.[S1][S2]
The Mass began with a procession to the platform, where the Pope incensed the altar before 150,000 faithful. Bishops in green vestments, the liturgical color of the day, joined him on the stage. The Pope wore vestments made especially for the occasion. The visit to France, his third day of an apostolic and missionary journey, included a stop in Lourdes after his arrival the previous afternoon.[S1]
