After emotional return, Pope denounces ‘machismo’ in Peru, demands protection of women

LIMA, Peru — Pope Leo XIV on Thursday denounced widespread “machismo” and violence against women in Peru, demanding that women be protected and respected as he set out marching orders for his beloved Peruvian church and people. After his emotional homecoming Wednesday, the Peruvian pope got down to business and turned to the challenges facing a church and country he knows well. He called on the influential Catholic hierarchy to be models of unity and communion, and instructed Peruvian bishops to accompany their flocks and respond to victims of clergy sexual abuse with truth and justice. He also met with six survivors, including from an abusive sect-like group that Pope Francis suppressed last year. But the 71-year-old pope also showed himself to be positively overjoyed to be home and as relaxed as he has been in public since his 2025 election. Leo sang along enthusiastically as 40,000 people in Lima s Plaza Mayor serenaded him with “Contigo Perú,” a famous song from Peru’s