Why did 700,000 people turn out for Pope Leo in secular France. - DW News.

Pope Leo has celebrated a massive open-air mass in Paris, marking the high point of his four-day trip to France. Huge crowds stretched along the French capital's Champs-Élysées to catch a glimpse of the pontiff. More than 600,000 people registered to attend the mass in the heart of Paris. France is a secular country where Catholic affiliation has been declining for decades. DW's Lisa Lewis is in Paris following Pope Leo's visit. Lisa, we're seeing a massive turnout in central Paris and yet France is one of Europe's most secular countries and Catholic affiliation has been declining for decades. So a little perspective here. How significant are crowds like this? Well, it is a very huge crowd. Obviously, not only French people but also people that have traveled very far from other countries to France. And you're right that less than 50 percent of the French say now today that they are of Catholic faith. But when you look at the numbers really over the past few years, the number of people who have been baptized, adults and young people, has actually gone up. So that is an indication that a lot of people are, or some people at least, are now turning to the Catholic faith to find some sense in life. And that is also certainly reflected in the attendance today and yesterday and probably also of the coming two days when the Pope will be traveling through France. Lots of people will be watching what he's doing and what he is saying. Pope Leo has been talking about war, the crisis in multilateral diplomacy and artificial intelligence during this visit. How is his appeal extending beyond practicing Catholics? Well, his messages are appealing to a lot of people. You know, as you said, he's been warning about AI. He also has been talking about peace, about people who should be standing together. He's been speaking out. He's spoken out against nationalism and really has been trying to appeal to a lot of people here in France. And that is certainly something that a lot of people have been listening to over the past few days, even though some people have also criticized his visit to France. You talk about criticism. Tell me a little bit more about that. Well, when you look at today's mass, for example, as you said, lots of people, more than 600,000 people attending the event today. But there was also, for example, one small group of protesters, they called themselves Catholic feminists. And they were holding up banners and saying, you know, we want the church to open up all positions to women. You know, for now, only men, for example, can be priests. And they're also saying we want women to have the right to decide over their own bodies. That is a hint, a reference to the church's stance, you know, the pro-life stance that it has. Also, the stance against abortion that's obviously criticized by many people here. We also know that the Catholic Church has been opposing gay marriage and also assisted suicide. France just this year passed a law to enshrine that right to assisted suicide in the law here in France. So a lot of people will be criticizing these stances, this rather, you know, conservative stance when it comes to societal matters. Lisa, tell us about the location of the mass. The Place de la Concorde is politically and historically sensitive in France. It's closely associated with the French Republic. I wonder, has there been any controversy about holding the mass specifically there? Well, you're right. This is a very important square place in the center of Paris, where throughout history, a lot of, you know, important events, historic political events, have been taking place here in France. And some people have been criticizing that choice of location. One group, which is called Mouve en France, a group that is defending the rights of children, has said that this mass really shouldn't be held on such a public space in a country, as you said, that has a very strict separation of the church and the state, especially given the sexual abuse scandals that are surrounding the church here in France, but also in other countries. A big part of Leo's visit to France was to repair the standing of the Catholic church after a damaging report on clergy abuse. How is he trying to do that? Absolutely. That's one of the topics that has been discussed also in the run-up to this visit. The Pope will meet seven survivors of sexual violence, you know, that has been done by, you know, members of the Catholic church or people that have worked in Catholic private schools here in France tomorrow. So seven people he will talk to. Other people have said this really should have been extended to more people. You know, according to one report from 2021, there's an estimate of more than 300,000 people that have been abused by members of the Catholic church. And some people are saying that the Catholic church has still not done enough to make sure that this cannot happen again, that, for example, they should lift the secret of confession actually to make sure that there's more transparency in the church. The Catholic church, of course, is replying, we are taking measures and we're making sure this can't happen again. GW's Lisa Lewis in Paris. Really appreciate it, Lisa.