Pope Leo XIV meets abuse survivors in Peru as church faces renewed scrutiny over clergy abuse

In brief

• Pope Leo XIV met six people who say they were abused by clergy or church institutions in Lima.
• BishopAccountability counts at least 77 church figures in Peru publicly accused of abuse.
• The pope called on the church to deal more thoroughly with abuse and repair the harm done to victims.
• The visit also addressed violence against women, with 1,261 femicide victims recorded in Peru from 2016 to 2024.

Private meetings in Lima

The Vatican said the pope spoke in the Peruvian capital with six people who had suffered abuse by clergy or in church-run institutions (Katholische Kirche - Papst Leo XIV. trifft auch in Peru Opfer sexuellen Missbrauchs in der Kirche – Deutschlandfunk). He spoke with each person individually and listened to their accounts of suffering and pain, according to the Holy See. The meetings took place during his South American trip, which had already brought him together with abuse survivors in Argentina earlier in the week.

Calls for accountability in Peru

In a meeting with bishops, the pope called for the scandals of sexual abuse by clergy to be dealt with more thoroughly and urged the church to help repair the harm done to victims (Il Papa in Perù: 'La Chiesa risponda agli abusi con più impegno' – ANSA) (Pápež otvoril jednu z najbolestivejších tém cirkvi. V Peru hovoril o pravde, spravodlivosti aj náprave – Aktuality.sk). He said the church must make amends to those harmed (Popiežius Leonas XIV: Bažnyčia turi atlyginti žalą išnaudojimo aukoms – LRT).

Scale of the allegations

The US-based database BishopAccountability counts at least 77 church figures in Peru who have been publicly accused of abuse (Offene Wunden: Der Papst und die Missbrauchsskandale – Tagesschau). Its director said she believes this is only a fraction of the real number and that thousands of victims may still come forward.

Sodalicio and a long-running case

The Sodalicio, a Catholic organization founded in Peru, is at the center of many of the allegations. Despite a ban, it still retains influence. The first person to speak publicly in Peru about abuse within the group was Jose Escardó, who joined at age 17.

A wider debate in the country

The pope used the same visit to speak about violence against women. He condemned what he called a persistent "macho" mentality in parts of South America and called for women to be protected and respected (Pápež Lev XIV. odsúdil v Peru násilie na ženách. Vyzval na ich ochranu, zastal sa aj obetí násilia – HNonline.sk) (Kirche - Papst wirbt in Peru für Frauenrechte – Deutschlandfunk). Peru's national statistics office reports that more than half of women aged 15 to 49 have experienced violence from a partner or husband at least once. The number of women killed because of their gender rose by 44 percent between 2016 and 2024, with 1,261 femicide victims recorded over that period.