Pope Leo XIV to meet abuse victims in Uruguay, Argentina and Peru

Pope Leo XIV will meet people abused by clergy and other members of the Church during his apostolic trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, scheduled for November 6 to 17. The Holy See Press Office confirmed the meetings just a day after the uncertainty over whether the trip would go ahead was resolved, following the pope's recent surgery for a lung adenocarcinoma. The Vatican statement said the meetings come from Leo's own wish to "express his closeness to those who have suffered and continue to suffer because of this violence, and to build with them paths of healing accessible to all who need them."

The decision to meet victims is not only a response to the recent publication of several letters from groups of victims of the Sodalicio, a Peruvian Catholic movement. It is part of a wish Leo has expressed since the start of his pontificate. According to press reports, meetings are planned in all three cities on the itinerary: Montevideo, Buenos Aires and Lima, where the pope will meet specifically with victims of the Sodalicio. The Holy See has not said how many people will take part, or whether the meetings will form part of the official program or be held privately.

Such meetings have become a regular feature of Leo's foreign trips. In Madrid, on June 8, he received a group linked to Proyecto Repara, an initiative of the Archdiocese of Madrid, at the nunciature. He told them of his closeness and that of the whole Church community, along with "the commitment to guarantee that the proposals received serve as a basis for future efforts and that the Church can truly be a safe and spiritually healthy place." Both that meeting and the later one in Lourdes, on September 27, were held behind closed doors and centered on conversation and on listening to painful accounts from men and women.

In Lourdes, over two hours that five of the seven participants described as intense, the pope set out a path of "maximum vigilance" and "maximum determination" to advance truth, justice, forgiveness and reparation. The aim is to consolidate "a culture of prevention and protection against such crimes." On the flight back to Rome, Leo spoke more directly about the nature of the problem: "Sexual abuse is, above all, a human problem. When it happens within the Church, it takes on another dimension, because people's life of faith is deeply wounded and sometimes even destroyed."

The pope stressed the Church's particular responsibility to "accompany and help victims to seek healing." Before leaving on the trip, Leo had already held several meetings with survivors at the Vatican. He received members of the board of Ending Clergy Abuse, 15 survivors in Belgium, and David Ryan, an Irishman abused as a child at a school in Dublin. Madrid was the first time the pope had met abroad with people who had suffered abuse within the Church. There are precedents in earlier pontificates: Benedict XVI held similar meetings during his visit to the United States in 2008 and later in the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany, and Francis did the same in Chile, Ireland, Portugal and Belgium.

The Latin American trip will be Leo's first major foreign journey since his operation. The latest medical tests confirmed that the disease was localized and that the pope does not need further cancer treatment. The papal physician, Luigi Carbone, said there is no medical reason the pope cannot make the trip as scheduled. Since returning to the Vatican, Leo has gradually resumed his activities, adjusting his work pace to the medical team's instructions.

The pope has spoken about what the return to the Americas means to him personally: "It fills me with joy to return to the continent where I have lived so many moments of my life." He carried out much of his pastoral ministry in Peru before being called to Rome.