Pope Leo meets six abuse survivors in Lima, talks of changing how the Church listens to victims
Photo: Religión Digital (file photo)Pope Leo XIV met privately on Thursday with six victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in Lima, in his second meeting with survivors during his 12-day tour of South America, and discussed how the Church can better listen to abuse victims, the Vatican said.
The meeting, at the Apostolic Nunciature in Lima, lasted more than an hour, according to a Vatican statement. "The pope met with each person individually, listening to their stories of suffering and pain," the statement said.
"Together, they reflected on how to foster a change in mindset through listening to victims, seeking the truth, paths toward healing, and a commitment to creating safe environments," the Vatican said.
Camila Bustamante, one of the survivors who took part in the meeting, told Reuters it was "an important milestone" and that Leo appeared "very committed" to helping victims. But she cautioned that survivors rarely achieve closure in their cases.
"Victims are accustomed to persevering, even when things become difficult," said Bustamante, who is also a journalist. "I believe the message must be that we should not give up and that we must continue working for a world without abuse."
The Vatican said on Thursday that some of the survivors Leo met in Peru were former members of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a Peru-based Catholic community that faced allegations of sexual, physical and psychological abuse inside the group. The late Pope Francis dissolved the Sodalitium in 2025. Some survivors credit Leo with pushing for the Vatican to take that step.
Earlier on Thursday, in his address to Peru's bishops, Leo said abuse by "members of the clergy or within the context of the church" must be addressed with "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."
Leo, the first Peruvian citizen to lead the Catholic Church, served as a missionary in Peru for about 20 years and was Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. He came face to face with the Sodalitium scandal during his years in Peru, and survivors in Peru have said his intervention helped push the Church into acting against the group.
The pope met with five survivors of abuse in Buenos Aires on Monday, his first such meeting of the trip. One international survivors' group, Ending Clergy Abuse, criticized that meeting for not including more survivors, including at least 20 people abused in Argentina at an institute for deaf children in a notorious case. The Vatican, which normally does not discuss how the pope's meetings with victims are arranged, citing victims' privacy, did not provide further information about how the Buenos Aires meeting was arranged.
Leo has met with survivors during several of his foreign visits, in an effort to help repair the Church's standing after abuse scandals tarnished its reputation. Peru is the final leg of his three-country South American tour, which began Nov. 6 and runs through Nov. 17, taking in Uruguay and Argentina before Peru. He remains in Peru through Nov. 16, with visits to Chiclayo, Cusco and Pucallpa still ahead.
The trip comes less than a month after the pope underwent surgery for lung cancer. He has seemed in good form throughout the journey, leading about five public events a day.
Sources: Reuters, "Pope Leo mulls changes in how Church treats abuse victims in Peru meeting" (Nov. 12, 2026, full text verified); CNN, "Peruvian homecoming: Pope Leo welcomed by record crowd on return to the country that shaped his path to the papacy" (Nov. 12, 2026, full text verified); Holy See Press Office (Vatican statement, via Reuters and CNN). Event date verified: November 12, 2026 (Lima meeting).
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