By Joshua McElwee
PARIS, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Pope Leo arrived in France on Friday for a whirlwind four-day visit, saying he wished to be a pilgrim of peace for a world at war, on a trip during which he is also hoping to repair the Catholic Church's standing after abuse scandals.
Leo was greeted at the Paris Orly airport, under a clear blue sky, by President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, and by children who sang for him and asked for autographs. He will also travel to the famed Catholic shrine
at Lourdes, in the southwest, and to Metz, on the German border.
During the September 25 to 28 trip, he is set to renew calls for global rules on AI development, while laying out a vision for Europe's future.
Telling reporters on the plane to Paris that he was coming to convey a message of peace, Leo added: "It is a message which at this time, as we all may know, is particularly important."
Leading Leo's agenda on Friday are speeches to Macron and other French leaders at the Elysee Palace and to staff at the headquarters of the UN culture and education body, UNESCO, which is facing budget shortfalls after US President Donald Trump withdrew from the agency in 2025.
The first US pope attracted Trump's ire earlier this year after criticizing the Iran war.
Asked about Trump's attempt to bar CNN and several other outlets from the White House, Leo, aboard the plane to Paris, reaffirmed his support for freedom of the press, saying all were welcome to cover his visit.
'MESSAGE OF PEACE'
People lining the streets Leo was due to pass through on his way to the Elysee held up phones and waved flags and signs.
"He brings a message of peace and hope that is very, very positive. His visit to France sends a wonderful signal to the country," a Catholic passer-by, Antoine Barxias-Casties, said in front of Notre-Dame cathedral on the eve of Leo's visit.
France, a secular nation where the separation of church and state is enshrined in a 1905 law, has witnessed a steady decline in affiliation to the Catholic Church during the post-war era, mirroring a trend in other traditionally Catholic countries.
Although the French Bishops' Conference points to an increase in baptisms of adults, a report published by the official statistics agency INSEE showed that only 25% of French 18-to-49-year-olds identified as Catholic, compared with 43% a decade earlier. Only 8% of Catholics said they regularly attended a place of worship.
AI AT TOP OF PAPAL AGENDA
Leo, who has made the risks associated with AI a major concern of his papacy and has called on world leaders for global rules to oversee the industry, is expected to address the issue at UNESCO.
In a speech at the Vatican on Thursday, the pope said AI could benefit humanity, but has introduced "new dangers to security and international peace". He urged global leaders to "govern wisely" in overseeing the technology.
Leo's visit comes as Catholic leaders in France have been at odds with the government over the 2024 enshrining of a right to abortion in the French constitution, a world first, and the passage of a law earlier this year legalizing assisted dying for adults with incurable illnesses.
The Catholic Church teaches that all human life is sacred and opposes abortion, assisted dying and capital punishment.
Leo will also lead a prayer service in Paris on Friday at the restored Notre-Dame cathedral, in the first visit by a pope since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the Gothic masterpiece in 2019.
POPE TO MEET ABUSE SURVIVORS
Leo is the first pope to make an official visit to France in nearly 20 years. Local Church leaders hope the trip will repair the Church's standing after a crushing 2021 report found that some 330,000 French children had been abused by Catholic clergy and lay leaders over seven decades.
French bishops have since introduced compensation and safeguarding measures, but survivors have continued to press Church leaders to demonstrate accountability.
"Leo bears the immense responsibility of 'declaring enough is enough'," Alain Esquerre, 66, a spokesperson for victims at the Notre-Dame de Bétharram Catholic institution, told Reuters.
The pope will meet seven French victims of abuse by Catholic clergy on Sunday in Lourdes. The Vatican, which usually only issues statements about the pope's meetings with abuse victims afterwards, has not provided further details.
Leo's French tour will culminate in Metz on Sunday with a speech on "the roots of Europe for peace and unity".
(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Pineau, Richard Lough; writing by Joshua McElwee and Ingrid Melander; editing by Alex Richardson)
