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Pope Leo XIV Begins First Official Papal Visit to France in 18 Years

Do the crowds prove faith still shapes public life or mask decades of decline?

9 hours ago·Updated 2 hours ago

Pope Leo XIV Begins First Official Papal Visit to France in 18 Years

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Above: Leo XIV leaves at the end of a prayer vigil with young people at the Stade de France in Paris on Sept. 25. Image credit: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images

The Spin

Narrative A

A pope showing up in the birthplace of secularism and drawing hundreds of thousands into the streets proves the church still speaks to something no law can legislate away. Calling out assisted death, abortion and profit-driven tech is exactly the moral voice a hollowed-out culture needs. Faith that asserts itself in public life is needed now more than ever: it cannot afford to be locked in a sacristy.

America Magazine

Narrative B

Big crowds make for great photos, but they don't reverse decades of decline in a country where barely 5% of people practice. France didn't rush into assisted dying — it was the result of years of debate, a billion euros poured into palliative care, and real patients calling it the difference between a calm death and lingering half-alive. Secularism isn't a phase to be argued out of. It's the settled foundation of the Republic itself.

RFI