Pope Leo XIV met in private with five clerical sexual abuse survivors in Buenos Aires on Monday during his visit to Argentina.
The private meetings at the Apostolic Nunciatura lasted more than an hour, according to the Holy See Press Office. The pontiff listened to individual accounts from each survivor and received their proposals for improving internal church procedures.
The Pope spoke individually with each of them, listened to their words and to the painful stories of their experiences, as well as to their proposals for strengthening paths towards healing within the Church
Vatican
The meetings followed an open-air mass at the Monumento de los Espanoles, the country’s first papal liturgy in nearly 40 years.
Argentina serves as the second stop on a three-country tour for Leo, who previously visited Uruguay and will conclude the itinerary in Peru. Before being named pope, Leo served as president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
During the meetings, Leo XIV, aged 71, reiterated his pledge to reinforce safeguarding measures within the institution. The Vatican stated that the discussions respond to the pope’s desire to express personal closeness to victims and ensure the church functions as a secure environment.
respond to the pope’s desire to “express his closeness to those who have suffered”, build paths to healing and ensure the church is a safe and “spiritually healthy” place
Holy See Press Office
Across decades, lawsuits, widespread sexual abuse, and cover-ups have impacted the reputation of the Catholic Church globally. While tracking clergy abuse cases remains difficult on a global scale, a 2021 independent inquiry estimated 216,000 victims of the French Catholic Church’s clergy between 1950 and 2020. Earlier research documented more than 10,600 abuse victims in the United States from 1950 to 2002, alongside 6,875 victims recorded in Australia between 1980 and 2015 according to a 2019 German study.
Not all groups secured access to the pontiff during his stay. According to elDiario.es, 43 former auxiliary numeraries of Opus Dei who alleged human trafficking and domestic servitude were left out of the schedule despite months of requests.
Complainant María Dominga Godoy stated she was subjected to strict controls from age 14 to 33, while Nélida Ruiz Díaz reported working up to 20 hours daily without compensation.
I had to obey, I had to ask for permission, I had to do what I was told
María Dominga Godoy
I began to mature and realize, although much too late, that it was a life of slavery
Nélida Ruiz Díaz
On Tuesday, Leo XIV travels to Córdoba, which marks another destination on the national itinerary. The schedule includes a 10:00 mass at the Fábrica Argentina de Aviones and a 15:15 meeting with bishops, priests, seminarists, and pastoral agents at the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción.
Later, the pontiff is scheduled to return to Buenos Aires to participate in a youth vigil at the Monumento a los Españoles in Palermo.
In Córdoba, prosecutors are investigating multiple complaints against priest Alejandro Nicola regarding alleged sexual abuse in 2025 at a Catholic school kindergarten. A judicial ruling in September sentenced a former nun to 20 years in prison for her involvement in abuses at the Antonio Próvolo Institute in Mendoza, a residential school for hearing-impaired children.
Earlier coverage: Pope Leo XIV Urges Uruguay Crowd to Be 'Bridge Builders