Pope Leo XIV asked the bishops of Peru this Thursday, November 12, to know how to “unite doctrinal fidelity with pastoral closeness” and, when faced with the questions of our time, to ask themselves which paths truly lead to Christ and to “denounce the false paths.” He did so in the address he delivered to the Peruvian episcopate in the chapel of the Archiepiscopal Palace of Lima, during his second day in the country, according to the text published by the Holy See.
The Pope began by thanking the bishops and their president, Monsignor Carlos Enrique García Camader, for their prayers for his health, and joked about the “Thomases” who doubted he could travel. “God is great and his grace is greater than all of us,” he added. He then built his exhortation around the image of the Inca Trail: the Church as a path of communion, hope, and mission, and the bishops as the chasquis, the messengers who carried news and provisions throughout the empire, now entrusted with bearing the Gospel and distributing the sacraments. He proposed Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo as a model, who promoted a catechism in Aymara, Quechua, and Spanish.
Shepherds who listen and “denounce the false paths”
In the final section, the Pontiff maintained that the bishop must open his heart to today’s Peru. “An ancient path retains its value when it continues to allow people to reach their destination,” he stated, and from this he concluded that one must ask which paths truly lead to Christ and denounce the false ones. The address does not specify which paths it refers to.
Leo XIV called for shepherds capable of listening to the questions of the moment and illuminating them with the clarity of the Gospel, in order to accompany families, support young people, defend life and the dignity of every person, promote justice and care for creation, with special attention to those who suffer poverty, exclusion, corruption, violence, and lack of opportunities. This mission, he said, “requires uniting doctrinal fidelity with pastoral closeness; the celebration of the sacraments with commitment to one’s neighbor; the formation of conscience with the concrete witness of charity.”
Peruvian saints and clerical abuse
The Pope cited Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Francis Solano, Saint Martin de Porres, and Saint John Macías as examples of prayer, mission, and humility. Of the last two he said they teach us to recognize Christ in the least, that charity begins with a simple gesture and attentive listening, and that no one should be judged by prestige, origin, or social position.
From there he referred to “a reality that has caused us so much pain: the abuses perpetrated by members of the clergy or in the ecclesial context.” According to the text, the response must be the one Jesus would give: “with truth, justice, forgiveness, reparation, and an ever more determined commitment to a culture of prevention and protection of the most vulnerable.” This reference comes a day after the Pope asked in Lima, with the Sodalitium in the background, “to acknowledge infidelities and ask forgiveness with humility”.
Authority without tyranny and communion among bishops
Leo XIV encouraged the bishops to accompany their priests and to remain in communion with the Pope, with the other bishops, with religious, and with the faithful. He encouraged the synodal process of the Peruvian Church and asked that authority be exercised with closeness, co-responsibility, and dialogue, avoiding both authoritarianism and a servile notion of obedience. He also recalled that Francis spoke to the Peruvian bishops in that same place in 2018 and urged them to build bridges in the face of social and political polarization.
The address concluded with three invitations: not to stop walking with the people, to continue doing so together in episcopal communion, and to open the heart to God, to the brethren, and to the people. He also reminded them that “the Church does not belong to us; it belongs to Christ.”