Pope Leo XIV Meets Five Clergy Abuse Survivors in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Pope Leo XIV met privately with five victims of clerical abuse in Buenos Aires, Argentina, according to reports from several outlets. One report dates the events to November 9, and another describes the meetings as taking place on a Monday, the second day of the pope’s visit to Argentina. The meetings were the first of several talks with abuse survivors that the pope plans during his 12-day tour of Latin America, according to the Vatican.

Earlier that day, Leo led an open-air mass on Avenida del Libertador that drew an estimated 2.5 million people. One report described it as the largest crowd of his papacy so far, and another said it was the country’s first papal liturgy in nearly 40 years. Leo, who is 71, had undergone lung cancer surgery less than a month before the mass. At the mass he paid tribute to his predecessor, Pope Francis, calling him “our beloved” pope.

The private meetings lasted more than an hour. Each of the five survivors described suffering at the hands of clergy or within Church institutions in Argentina, and Leo listened to their testimonies, according to one report. He reiterated his pledge to strengthen safeguarding in the Church. The Vatican said Leo expressed his “commitment to strengthening measures for protection” within the Church. Hearing directly from people harmed in this way reflects a lesson about protecting the vulnerable (Psalm 82:3).

The meetings came amid criticism. A network of clergy abuse survivors in Argentina had said the Church was failing to deliver on its promises of “zero tolerance” toward abusers. That criticism is reported by one outlet and is not a finding about any specific case.

One report also says that earlier on November 9, Leo visited the Pequeño Cottolengo home for people with disabilities in Buenos Aires. Argentina is the second stop on his three-country tour, which began in Uruguay and will end in Peru.

Reports also cited broader research on abuse in the Church. A 2021 independent inquiry estimated 216,000 victims of the French Catholic Church’s clergy alone between 1950 and 2020. Earlier research found that more than 10,600 people were abused by Catholic priests in the United States between 1950 and 2002.