Pope Leo plans meetings with abuse survivors during South America trip
The Vatican says several meetings are planned during Pope Leo XIV’s November visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, but has not identified the participants or locations.
Pope Leo XIV plans to meet people abused by Catholic clergy and other Church members during his November 6–17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, the Vatican said on October 27. It described several meetings as planned but did not identify the participants, locations or dates within the itinerary. The announcement gives survivors a place in the schedule of a trip already confirmed to go ahead after the pope’s recent surgery.
What the Vatican says the meetings are for
The Vatican said the meetings are intended to express the pope’s closeness to people who have suffered, and continue to suffer, because of abuse. Its statement also described a wish to work with them on paths toward healing and to make the Church a safe and spiritually healthy place. Those are the Vatican’s stated aims for the encounters; it has not announced a specific agreement or measure arising from them.
The announcement covers abuse by members of the clergy and by other members of the Church. It says several meetings are planned, without giving a number of survivors or naming any group that will attend. The absence of a location also leaves open which stops on the three-country tour will host the encounters.
Earlier survivor meetings and the Peru context
Leo has met abuse survivors on earlier trips. Global News reported meetings in Spain in June and France more recently; AFP and Reuters also reported the meeting in France last month. Global News said the Vatican announced the France meeting in advance, a change from its previous practice of confirming such encounters after they took place.
The Peru leg follows a separate Vatican decision involving survivors. AFP reported that in April the Vatican announced plans to compensate victims of Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a Peru-based Catholic movement dissolved last year after revelations of sexual and psychological abuse by some of its leaders. Pope Francis ordered its closure after a seven-year Vatican investigation. The Vatican has not connected that compensation plan to any particular meeting on Leo’s November itinerary.
The trip was confirmed on October 26 after concerns about Leo’s health following lung cancer surgery, Euronews reported. The next scheduled step is the November 6 start of the visit; the Vatican has yet to give a timetable for the survivor meetings within it.
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Sources and context
- Pope Leo to meet Church abuse victims during South America tripBuenos Aires Times; AFP (as indicated by the retained article’s TIMES/AFP credit)
- Pope Leo to meet survivors of abuse by clergy in Latin America, Vatican saysChannel NewsAsia; Reuters (explicit source credit)
- Pope to meet with clergy abuse survivors during Latin America visit: VaticanGlobal News; Vatican statement as quoted
- Pope Leo XIV confirms Latin America trip after surgery recoveryEuronews; Vatican statement as reported
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.
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