Pope Leo XIV calls for reparations for abuse in the Church and denounces violence against women in Peru

Pope Leo XIV called on Peru’s bishops to respond to abuse committed within the Church through truth, justice, forgiveness and reparations. On the second day of his visit to Lima, the pontiff also denounced the persistence of a “machista mentality” and violence against women.

The Pope said that abuse by clergy or abuse occurring in ecclesiastical contexts must be investigated, and that preventive measures must be strengthened. The message comes amid the Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana scandal, involving an ultraconservative Catholic organization dissolved in 2025 after acknowledging sexual abuse of 19 minors and 10 adults committed between 1975 and 2002.

In May 2026, the Vatican established a mechanism in Lima to hear victims and determine compensation, funded through the organization’s confiscated assets. Robert Prevost, former bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023, supported efforts to hear victims.

Addressing approximately 40,000 people, the Pope condemned the absence of fathers from family life, abuse and violence against women. According to ECLAC, approximately 11 women were killed every day in Latin America in 2024.