France, Sept. 28 -- Pope Leo has promised to further efforts to reform the Church in the wake of the global sexual abuse scandal, and on the third of a four-day visit to France he met privately in the pilgrimage city of Lourdes with seven adult victims of clerical abuse in France.

"We sensed a Pope who was genuinely listening. I have rarely met someone who was listening so deeply," said Olivier Mardi, cofounder of an association to support former members of a boys' choir in the Tours region who were abused by the founding priest. 'Extraordinary moment'

The closed-door meeting with Pope Leo lasted two hours - twice as long as planned, and each of the seven victims had individual meetings with the pontiff.

For Jean-Marie Delbos, 80, the ...