CHICLAYO (PERU)
SNAP - Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests [Chicago IL]
November 14, 2026
SNAP demands that the pope make public records of Peruvian sexual abuse after he travelled to Chiclayo where he served as bishop for more than a decade and failed to adequately address multiple allegations of sexual abuse.
“Everybody’s aware. Everybody knows of a victim,” said SNAP’s José Lemus, who travelled from his home in Canada to Chiclayo to support and hear the stories of Latin American survivors during the pope’s visit. “The pope and the Catholic Church need to come clean and stop protecting these priests.”
Maria Fernanda, 37, was at the pope’s first stop at Las Pampas de Pimentel with her son Ronaldo, 12. The mother of five said her eldest son was confirmed by the then bishop when he served in Chiclayo. But she said she herself knew of reports of clerical abuse.
“They talk of God’s love and then they hurt kids,” said Maria Fernanda, who asked that her last name not be used fearing repercussions. “They need to protect kids and remove priests that do bad things to kids in the church or in school.”
Maria Yuliana, 47, waited to see the pope outside the Santuario de Neustra Señora de la Paz with three other members of her family. As a single mother of three, she said that she too had heard stories of abuse, including nuns being sexually abused by priests.
“They should be kicked out of the priesthood and don’t let them ever return to the church,” said Maria Yuliana, who also asked that her last name not be used. “The church covers itself so they can keep their secret, but they all should be removed.”
Pope Leo, then Robert Prevost, faced controversy and scandal during his tenure in Chiclayo, including the dissolution of Sodalitium of Christian Life, a Peruvian Catholic organization that had faced decades of sexual abuse allegations.
SNAP has been demanding accountability for years over clerical sexual abuse allegations in Peru, including challenging the Pope’s own record while he served as Bishop in Chiclayo.
SNAP Executive Director, Angela Walker, said that survivors’ stories in Peru and elsewhere must not be suppressed by the church and records must be made public. In addition, the media must be allowed to freely report on these important survivor stories.
“Latin American survivors are demanding justice from the pope and the Catholic Church,” Walker said. “Abusers must be immediately removed and the Vatican’s abuse archives should be made public so that legal authorities can prosecute perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law.”
Also see Letter to Pope Leo about Clergy Sex Abuse in Chiclayo, Peru – BishopAccountability.org
And read In Peru, some Sodalitium abuse survivors want more from Leo
Leer la versión en español