Pope Leo XIV will meet abuse survivors on his November trip to South America, Vatican says
Editorial illustration — Press Pass USAPope Leo XIV will meet with survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy during his November trip to South America, the Vatican announced Tuesday, continuing a practice he has kept on his foreign visits.
“Several meetings are planned with people who have been victims of abuse by members of the clergy and the Church,” the Holy See Press Office said in its statement. “These meetings reflect the pope's desire to express his closeness to those who have suffered, and who still suffer, because of this violence.” The Vatican did not specify how many meetings are planned or how they will be conducted, but said the pope's objective is to work with victims “in building paths of healing accessible to anyone in need, and to ensure that the Church is a safe and spiritually healthy place.”
The meetings will take place during the pope's November 6–17 apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru — one of the most intense foreign trips taken by a pope in decades, according to Reuters. The pope, 71, was deemed fit for the journey by his doctor on Monday, after his October 13 lung surgery. Leo, originally from the United States, served as a missionary and bishop in Peru for decades before becoming pope.
The announcement follows the same pattern as his September visit to France, when the Holy See Press Office confirmed in advance that he would meet abuse victims at the Lourdes shrine; in that encounter he met for two hours with seven French victims and reaffirmed his commitment to ending abuse of children by Catholic priests, the Vatican said afterward. During his June visit to Spain, a meeting with victims at the apostolic nunciature in Madrid was held privately and made public only afterward.
Sources: Reuters (Oct 27, 2026); EWTN Vatican (Oct 28, 2026).
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