The Holy See Press Office stated that the meeting took place “in a spirit of mutual understanding and openness” between the survivors and the Pope.

The Catholic Church in Belgium has continued to be shaken by major clerical sexual abuse scandals in recent years, an issue that Pope Francis himself addressed during his visit to the country last year.

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Since his election six months ago as the first American Pope, Leo XIV has called on the Church to “build a culture that refuses to tolerate abuse in any form.” Last month, he also held his first meeting at the Vatican with abuse survivors.

That meeting came just days after a Vatican commission report urged Catholic leaders to strengthen their support for survivors. Pope Leo has personal experience dealing with clergy abuse cases  while serving as bishop in Peru, he confronted some of the most serious and far-reaching scandals in the Church’s history in Latin America.

During that visit, then-Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo strongly urged Pope Francis to take concrete action.