Pope Leo XIV said he was physically attacked during a visit to Ireland before his appointment as pontiff.
The pope was serving as bishop Robert Prevost when the claim was made at a conference in Peru in 2019.
Outlining the incident in a resurfaced video from the event, the then-bishop said he had “never been physically attacked as I was in Ireland”.
“Never in my life, anywhere in the world, have I been physically attacked as I was in Ireland, for just going out on the street.”
RM Block
He said he had to be rescued by an Augustinian priest, who witnessed the assault.
“A man passes by, he looks at me [and says] ‘you’re a priest’ – and he starts attacking me. Fortunately, another Augustinian, who is twice as big as me, came to defend me.”
He said he believed there was a “pain and anger” from the man who attacked him.
“I don’t know if he was a victim or had lost faith in the church, I have no idea what happened to him. But I truly believe it is a very important factor in the experience here in the church as well.”
He did not identify when the attack took place but he is known to have twice visited Ireland.
The first visit took place in June 2005 for the anniversary of his Augustinian order in various parts of the country. The second took visit place two years later. The pope’s comments indicate the incident took place in 2007, during this second visit to Ireland.
He noted a “radical” shift in Irish attitudes in response to multiple emerging child-abuse scandals involving the Catholic Church.
“I have never seen such a radical change and rapid change as we are experiencing in Ireland, especially because of this scandal,” he told the audience.
“Where before, around 2005, you could go to Ireland and if you were a priest people almost wanted to carry you on their shoulders. And I’m not exaggerating much, maybe a little, but it was incredible,” he said.
The conference at which he made the comments was dedicated to “promoting a culture of prevention and care in the context of sexual abuse in the church”.
