Pope Leo XIV South America tour

Pope Leo XIV met privately with six survivors of clerical sexual abuse in Lima on Thursday, using his historic return to Peru to confront the Catholic Church’s legacy of institutional cover-ups. The hour-long meeting at the Apostolic Nunciature marked a pivotal moment in his 12-day South American tour.[2][4]

The 71-year-old pontiff, who holds Peruvian citizenship and served as a missionary and bishop in the country for two decades, met with each survivor individually. The Vatican stated that the discussions focused on fostering a shift in the Church's mindset and prioritizing the listening of victims.[1][4]

According to the Holy See, the meeting allowed the pope and the survivors to reflect on seeking the truth, pursuing paths toward healing, and committing to the creation of safe environments across all ecclesiastical institutions. The private session followed a massive public welcome on Wednesday that drew an estimated three million people to the streets of Lima.[2][4]

Several of the survivors present were former members of Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a prominent Peru-based lay society. The once-powerful organization was dissolved by Pope Francis in January 2025 following extensive allegations of sexual, physical, and psychological abuse, as well as financial corruption.[4][5]

The Fall of a Powerful Lay Movement

Pope Leo’s connection to the Sodalitium survivors predates his papacy. Born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, he served as the bishop of the northern Peruvian city of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. During that tenure, he was the Peruvian bishops' designated point person for abuse victims.[4][5]

Survivors credit then-Bishop Prevost with taking their claims seriously when other members of the Catholic hierarchy would not. His early advocacy helped initiate the Vatican investigation that ultimately led to the suppression of the Sodalitium movement and the sanctioning of its leadership.[4][5]

AI

Six weeks into his papacy, Pope Leo wrote directly to the Peruvian journalist Paola Ugaz, whose investigative reporting helped expose the Sodalitium's inner workings. In that correspondence, the pontiff declared that prevention and care are not merely a pastoral strategy, but the absolute heart of the Gospel.[5]

Camila Bustamante, a journalist and survivor who participated in the meeting, described the session as an important milestone. She noted that Pope Leo appeared deeply committed to helping victims, though she cautioned that survivors of institutional abuse rarely achieve full closure.[4]

"Victims are accustomed to persevering, even when things become difficult," Bustamante said following the meeting. "I believe the message must be that we should not give up and that we must continue working for a world without abuse."[4]

Survivor Demands and Accountability

The Lima meeting occurred against a backdrop of mounting pressure from international advocacy groups. On the eve of the pope's arrival, the US-based nonprofit Bishop Accountability published a dossier naming 77 Peruvian priests, brothers, and consecrated laypeople publicly accused of abusing minors.[5]

The organization warned that the 77 named individuals represent only a small fraction of the true total within the Peruvian church, where the scandal has never broken open as publicly as in other nations. Advocates have consistently called on the Vatican to implement absolute zero tolerance for abusers and to mandate transparency in all diocesan investigations.[5]

The Vatican has faced ongoing criticism over the opacity of these survivor meetings. Earlier in the week, the advocacy group Ending Clergy Abuse criticized Pope Leo's Monday meeting with five survivors in Buenos Aires, Argentina, arguing it excluded dozens of victims from a notorious institute for deaf children.[4]

While Pope Leo is celebrated by many survivors, his own administrative record is not entirely uncontested. Ana María Quispe Díaz, who reported two Chiclayo priests to then-Bishop Prevost in 2022, has publicly claimed he failed to properly investigate or remove the accused men from ministry at the time.[5]

AI

Confronting the Peruvian Hierarchy

Hours before meeting with the survivors, Pope Leo delivered a stark message to Peru’s bishops at the Archbishop's Palace. He described clerical abuse as a reality that has caused immense pain, demanding that the hierarchy respond with truth, justice, and forgiveness.[1][5]

"We must respond as Jesus would, with truth, justice, forgiveness, making amends and an ever more resolute commitment to fostering a culture of prevention and protection for the weakest in light of such crimes," the pontiff told the assembled bishops.[1]

The Peruvian episcopate has historically been divided between liberation theology progressives and conservative prelates influenced by Opus Dei. Pope Leo warned the bishops not to remain prisoners of divisions that create cliques and hamper their vocation to serve the public.[2]

"Communion among you, among us, is the foundation of the credibility of the Gospel you proclaim," the pope told the bishops, emphasizing that internal political battles have distracted from the urgent need to protect vulnerable parishioners.[2]

The venue for the address carried its own heavy historical weight. The Archbishop's Palace was the long-time residence of Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, the former archbishop of Lima and the first cardinal from Opus Dei. Cipriani faced abuse allegations dating back to the 1980s and was ultimately sanctioned by Pope Francis in 2019.[2]

Condemning Machismo in the Plaza

Beyond the institutional abuse crisis, Pope Leo used his public platform to address broader societal violence. Speaking to a crowd of roughly 40,000 people in Lima's Plaza Mayor on Thursday afternoon, he forcefully condemned the pervasive culture of machismo.[1][5]

The pontiff argued that machismo manifests in absent fathers and in systemic violence against women, which he described as a reality that wounds all of humanity. He told the massive crowd that there is no excuse for the subordination of one spouse to another.[2][5]

AI

"This mentality disregards the newness of Christianity, which recognizes and proclaims that men and women possess equal dignity and responsibility," Pope Leo said, drawing massive applause from the attendees who had waited eighteen months for his homecoming.[2][5]

The 71-year-old pope appeared remarkably energized by the massive crowds, bounding up a steep flight of stairs and singing along enthusiastically to the famous Creole hymn "Contigo Perú." The jubilant public reception in the plaza contrasted sharply with the solemn, closed-door reckoning over institutional abuse that defined the rest of his daily itinerary.[1]

As Pope Leo continues his grueling six-day itinerary across Peru—including a planned visit to Cuzco at 11,000 feet of elevation—the physical toll of his recent lung cancer surgery remains a concern. Yet, his willingness to confront the Church's darkest chapters head-on has defined the tour.[1][5]

The ultimate success of the Lima meetings will depend on whether the Peruvian hierarchy adopts the culture of prevention the pope demanded. For the survivors who sat across from him on Thursday, the true measure of the papacy remains the delivery of tangible justice.[4][5]