Pope Leo XIV condemned machismo and violence against women in Peru, calling for protection, respect and equality. On the same day, he met with six people who had suffered abuse committed by members of the clergy and church institutions.
“It pains us to see that violence against women continues to be a reality that hurts all of humanity,” the Pope said in a speech to residents of Lima. He said that machismo culture manifests itself in fathers’ absence from family life, in abuse and in violence against women.
According to him, this contradicts the Christian understanding that men and women have equal dignity and responsibility. Leo XIV stressed that the differences between them do not justify an unequal distribution of household duties or the subordination of one spouse to the other.
“Let us value women! Let us protect and respect girls!” he urged. The Pope paid particular attention to poor, Indigenous and Afro-Peruvian women, who, he said, face double marginalization.
Meeting with abuse survivors
Later, Leo XIV spoke with six abuse survivors at the Apostolic Nunciature in Lima. According to a statement from the Holy See, the meeting began after 4:30 p.m. local time on November 12 and lasted a little over an hour.
The Pope met with each of them individually and listened to their accounts of suffering and pain. Some of the survivors were connected to the “Sodalitium of Christian Life” – a Peruvian Catholic community dissolved by the Vatican following revelations of widespread spiritual, physical and sexual abuse.
The conversation focused on the need to change attitudes toward survivors, seek the truth, support recovery processes and create a safe environment. The Pope thanked them for their testimonies and expressed his closeness to them and to all other survivors whom he had been unable to meet.
Appeal to Peruvian bishops
Earlier, Leo XIV called on Peru’s bishops to respond to abuse with “truth, justice, forgiveness, reparation for what was done” and a commitment to prevention and the protection of the most vulnerable.
According to data cited by The Associated Press, 1,261 femicide victims were recorded in Peru between 2016 and 2024, while the number of women killed because of their gender increased by 44% during that period.
On November 13, the Pope is scheduled to visit Chiclayo, where he was bishop from 2014 to 2023, before being elected head of the Roman Catholic Church.
Sources: apnews.com, vaticannews.va, ncronline.org