France Lourde Shrine

Senior members of France's Catholic hierarchy knelt in a show of penance at the shrine of Lourdes Saturday, a day after bishops accepted the church's responsibility for decades of child abuse.

Thousands of Catholic pilgrims, many sick or disabled, are gathering at a shrine in the French town of Lourdes under exceptional security after recent extremist attacks.

Senior members of France's Catholic hierarchy knelt in a show of penance at the shrine of Lourdes Saturday, a day after bishops accepted the church's responsibility for decades of child abuse.

Thousands of Catholic pilgrims, many sick or disabled, are gathering at a shrine in the French town of Lourdes under exceptional security after recent extremist attacks.