Pope Leo XIV Urges Unity in Divided Peru

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Faith Desk

In Short: In his first public address since returning to Peru, Pope Leo XIV called for national unity and respect for international law.

Photo: Ricardo Stuckert / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Pope Leo XIV returned to Peru, a country he called home for over two decades, on Nov. 11, addressing authorities and the diplomatic corps at the Gran Teatro Nacional in Lima.

In his speech, Pope Leo XIV highlighted his Peruvian citizenship, received in 2015, as a symbol of the bond he shares with the people.

He emphasized the importance of unity, stating, 'Unity of a people is strengthened when these differences find their place and each person contributes from their own history and convictions.'

Pope Leo XIV also called for diplomacy that respects international law and seeks agreements that protect lives and dignity, addressing the current political instability in Peru.

The country has seen nine presidents in the past decade, with four since 2023, when Pope Leo XIV was appointed to a Vatican post.

Pope Leo XIV, who served as the bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023, acknowledged the challenges facing the Peruvian church and people, including the issue of clergy sexual abuse.

He encouraged the Catholic hierarchy to be models of unity and communion, and reminded the faithful of the importance of recognizing the Lord's voice.

During a vigil with young people, Pope Leo XIV pointed to Christ's passion as a model, urging them to learn to recognize the Lord's voice.

Pope Leo XIV's return was seen as a homecoming by many Peruvians, with his 31-year-old goddaughter, Mildred Camacho, saying, 'It feels like the return of a family member who’s been away.'

Cardinal Pedro Barreto noted that Peru is experiencing an intensification of the situation that existed when Pope Leo XIV left the country in 2023.

Many hope that Pope Leo XIV's message of unity will help temper the political rhetoric and polarization that has kept Pope Francis from returning home during his 12-year pontificate.

Pope Leo XIV's visit aims to combine Pope Francis's reform agenda with a stronger emphasis on unity and Catholic social teaching, as he calls for a church marked by unity, dialogue, and reconciliation.

What this adds

Pope Leo XIV's emphasis on unity and dialogue reflects his efforts to address the ongoing political instability and polarization in Peru.

Background

Pope Leo XIV, a former bishop in Peru, returns to the country amid ongoing debates over liberation theology.

What's confirmed

Many at the Mass said they hoped his preaching might temper the political rhetoric and polarization widely believed to have kept Pope Francis from returning home during his 12-year pontificate.

What's still developing

The online database BishopAccountability has identified 77 priests, brothers, seminarians and lay consecrated in Peru who have been publicly accused of sexually abusing minors.
The Holy Father led the Chiclayo Diocese from 2015 to 2023 before then-Pope Francis appointed him as the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.
“This could help build stability in the political system. Without any doubt, Peru is better now than 30 years ago, when Shining Path was still a threat,” he said about the rebel movement that terrorized Peru in the 1980s and 1990s when Leo was a young Augustinian missionary.
The Holy Father focused his remarks on how Jesus came to bring us salvation and how we are called to share God's love and participate in His mission. While "Jesus Christ came to bring us salvation, and He gave His life, even dying on the Cross, so that we might attain salvation and eternal life," Pope Leo said, "He invites us all to enter into the experience of being part of His Church, to be brothers and sisters, all united in the Church, in order to continue the mission that Jesus began, but which He wants us to carry on."
He said that the Lord calls all of us who are baptized, each according to our own vocation—bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and lay faithful alike—to participate together in the communion that is the Church. Accordingly, Pope Leo said that all the faithful are called "to proclaim the Good News, to share our faith, and to keep passing it on to one another, from generation to generation, among neighbors and family members; in other words, to share the love of God, this wonderful news that Jesus always walks with us."
Canonized in 1671 by Pope Clement X, she became the first canonized saint of the Americas.

Sources

Chicago Catholiclink
Crux: Covering all things Catholiclink
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aleteia.orglink
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Durangoheraldlink
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WarpBeat — background on Pope Leo XIV Returns to Peru Amid Liberation Theology Debate link
EWTN News — video link
EWTN News — video link