(ITALY)
The Tablet [Market Harborough, England]
June 25, 2025
By Bess Twiston Davies and Francis McDonagh
‘We must urgently root in the Church a culture of prevention that does not tolerate any form of abuse,’ said the Pope in a message last week praising the work of journalists in Peru.
Thirty-seven survivors of sexual abuse wrote individual letters to Pope Leo XIV describing their experience and suggesting how the Church could change its approach to safeguarding.
Each letter was written by a member of Awake, a community founded in Winsconsin in 2019 whose mission is “to awaken our community to the full reality of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, work for transformation, and foster healing for all who have been wounded”, according to its website.
The letters were inspired by an interview the future Pope gave in 2023 regarding abuse in the Church. Cardinal Robert Prevost – as he was – told Vatican News: “Silence is not an answer. Silence is not the solution. We must be transparent and honest. We must accompany and assist the victims, because otherwise their wounds will never heal.”
Excerpts from the letters published on the Awake website include the words of one survivor who wrote: “Getting abused by a priest destroys your spiritual foundation of all of your beliefs.” The text continues: “I felt and still do feel so abandoned by God and it is a struggle to ever trust again. It is difficult to attend Mass.”
Others maintained their faith. “While my faith in God remains unshaken, my trust in the institutional Church was shattered when a priest I had known since I was a child exploited his sacred position to abuse me as an adult,” wrote one correspondent, continuing: “I remain Catholic because I believe Christ calls us to truth, justice, and healing.”
In a statement, Awake said they had invited survivors to ask the Pope two questions: “What do you want Pope Leo to understand about your experience as a survivor, and how do you hope he will address abuse in the Church?”
The actions suggested included reforms to canon law, establishing permanent survivor advisory panels in dioceses and requiring all Church leaders to undergo trauma training.
The executive director of Awake Sara Larson delivered the to Fr Hans Zollner SJ, a former member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, on 17 June, during the annual safeguarding conference at the Institute for Anthropology in the Pontifical Gregorian University, where she gave a talk on accompanying survivors. Larson also delivered copies to the commission.
In a message addressed to “my beloved Peruvian people” on 20 June, Pope Leo emphasised the importance of journalism in exposing abuse as he praised the work of four Peruvian journalists in exposing the abuse in the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV). Pope Francis suppressed the Peruvian-founded lay movement a week before his death in April 2025.
The message coincided with the premiere of a play about one of the journalists, Paola Ugaz, and was read out after the performance by Mgr Jordi Bertomeu, the apostolic commissioner for dissolving the SCV. Mgr Bartomeu was also part of the investigating team that found economic, psychological and sexual abuses in the organisation.
In his message, Pope Leo said: “Prevention and care are not a pastoral strategy, they are the heart of the Gospel. We must urgently root in the Church a culture of prevention that does not tolerate any form of abuse – of power or authority, of conscience or spiritual, or sexual. This culture will only be authentic if it is born from active vigilance, transparent processes and listening sincerely to those who have been wounded.
He continued: “For this we need journalists. Today I should like to thank particularly Paola Ugaz for appealing to Pope Francis for support in the face of unjust attacks that she suffered along with three other journalists, Pedro Salinas, Daniel Yovera and Patricia Lachira for denouncing the abuses committed by part of a Church group present in various countries but originating in Peru.
“In this time of profound institutional and social tensions, defending free and ethical journalism is not only an act of justice, but a duty of all those who yearn for a solid and participatory democracy. I therefore urge the Peruvian authorities, civil society and every citizen to protect those who, from community radios to the major outlets, from rural areas to the capital, provide information with integrity and courage. Where a journalist is silenced, the democratic soul of a country is weakened.”