Huge billboard in Lisbon puts spotlight on clergy abuse as pope arrives

A billboard denounces children sexual abuse by members of the Portuguese Catholic church during the XXXVII World Youth Day celebrations in Lisbon, Portugal, August 2, 2023. REUTERS/Catarina Demony

LISBON (Reuters) - A huge billboard raising awareness of sexual abuse by clergymen was put up overnight in Lisbon, just hours before Pope Francis was due to arrive in the Portuguese capital for the world's largest gathering of young Catholics.

The World Youth Day event was devised by the late Pope John Paul II for Catholics in their teens or early 20s and is held every two or three years in a different city.