Pope Leo XIV met on the afternoon of November 12, shortly after 4:30 p.m., at the Apostolic Nunciature in Lima with six people who suffered abuse by members of the clergy and ecclesial institutions in Peru, some of them former members of groups linked to the Sodalitium of Christian Life. This was announced that same day by the Holy See Press Office, in a statement about the meeting, during the first full day of the Pope’s apostolic journey to Peru.
After a brief greeting in the chapel of the Nunciature, the Pope personally received each of the victims and listened to their stories of suffering and pain. According to the statement, he reflected with them on how to foster a change of mindset through listening to victims, the search for truth, paths to healing, and the commitment to creating safe environments. The meeting lasted more than an hour in total.
The Pope expresses his closeness to those who could not attend
As he said goodbye, Pope Leo XIV thanked them for the valuable testimony received and expressed his closeness to those present and to all victims of abuse whom it has not been possible to meet. Before leaving, he imparted his blessing to those in attendance. The statement does not detail the identity of the six people or the content of their accounts.
The meeting came on the same day that the Pope, during the Midday Prayer celebrated in Lima Cathedral, called for a Church “willing to acknowledge its own infidelities and ask for forgiveness with humility,” as reported by InfoVaticana. The meeting with victims had been announced before the trip: the Holy See had indicated that the Pope would see victims of abuse in Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, a day after those from the Sodalitium requested to be received.
The victims who were not included in the trip
The meeting has not dispelled the complaints of those who were left out. Before the trip, José Enrique Escardó, the first to denounce the Sodalitium, denounced on X that the nuncio and the president of the Peruvian bishops had excluded him from the Pope’s meeting with victims. InfoVaticana also reported that no known invitation included victims from Chiclayo, Huacho, or Juli.
During the visit, the U.S.-based organization SNAP, which supports survivors of abuse, and other allies gathered in Lima to demand that those who could not attend be heard. “We are here because we want the Pope to hear the needs of the many survivors of clerical abuse who cannot be heard and whose complaints are ignored,” declared 52-year-old Sara Carrion Mendez in a statement released by SNAP.
The Sodalitium of Christian Life was formally dissolved by Pope Francis in 2025, and the Lima meeting adds to the encounters with victims that Pope Leo XIV has included on this trip.