In his first public comments on abuse in the Catholic church and the important role of journalists, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the “urgent need to establish a culture of prevention throughout the church that does not tolerate any form of abuse—neither of power nor of authority, nor of conscience or spiritual, nor of sex.” His forceful message was read aloud by Msgr. Jordi Bertomeu at the June 20 premiere performance in Lima, Peru, of a theatrical production called “Proyecto Ugaz.”
In his written statement, the pope also said that this culture of prevention “will only be authentic if it is born of active vigilance, transparent processes and sincere listening to those who have been hurt.” For this, he said, “we need journalists.”
“Proyecto Ugaz” dramatizes the work of the Peruvian investigative journalist Paola Ugaz, who was subjected to online attacks, legal actions and death threats for her reporting on the now-suppressed Sodalitium Cristianae Vitae, a powerful Catholic lay movement founded in Peru in 1971 with close links to the rich and powerful in that country; it was also active in the United States and other lands.
Msgr. Bertomeu was one of the Vatican investigators sent by Pope Francis to investigate the S.C.V., and he was seated beside Paola Ugaz on stage.
In his message, which Vatican media reported on June 21, Leo praised the play because “it is memory, denunciation and, above all, an act of justice.”
Through the play, he wrote, “the victims of the extinct spiritual family of the Sodalitium and the journalists who have accompanied them—with courage, patience and fidelity to the truth—illuminate the wounded but hopeful face of the church.”
He told the victims and journalists, “Your struggle for justice is also the struggle of the church [because] a faith that does not touch the wounds of the human body and soul is a faith that has not yet known the Gospel.”
He thanked “those who have persevered in this cause, even when they were ignored, disqualified or even prosecuted.” He recalled that Pope Francis said in his “Letter to the People of God” in August 2018, “The pain of the victims and their families is also our pain, and therefore it is urgent to reaffirm our commitment to guarantee the protection of minors and vulnerable adults.”
Pope Leo recalled that Francis in that letter “called us all to a profound ecclesial conversion” and said this requires “a concrete path of humility, truth and reparation.” He insisted that “prevention and care are not a pastoral strategy: They are the heart of the Gospel.”
He thanked Ms. Ugaz “for her courage” in going to Pope Francis in November 2022 and “asking for protection 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 the S.C.V.
Pope Leo has also greeted Ms. Ugaz at the audience he granted to the international media on May 12, and she presented him with a Peruvian scarf. He recalled that he stressed then that “the truth is not the property of anyone, but it is the responsibility of all to seek it, to guard it and to serve it.”
He said he met the journalists because he wished to reaffirm “the sacred mission” they have “to become bridges between facts and the consciousness of peoples. Even with great difficulties.”
Leo, who spent more than 20 years of his life as a missionary in Peru, expressed both “concern” and “hope” at what is happening in that country today at the political level. “In this time of deep institutional and social tensions,” he wrote, “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.”
Then, in words that could equally apply to other countries, he reminded Peruvians that “the culture of encounter is not built with empty speeches or manipulated stories, but with facts narrated with objectivity, rigor, respect and courage.”
He called on the Peruvian authorities and civil society “to protect” those who “report with integrity and courage” and added, “where a journalist is silenced, the democratic soul of a country is weakened.”
Pope Leo underlined that “freedom of the press is an inalienable common good” and said “those who exercise this vocation with conscience cannot see their voice extinguished by petty interests or fear of the truth.”
He told Peruvian journalists: “Do not be afraid.” He encouraged them through their work to be “architects of peace, unity and social dialogue. Be sowers of light in the midst of the shadows.”
He concluded his statement by expressing the hope that “Proyecto Ugaz” will not only “be an act of memory but also a prophetic sign [that] awakens hearts, stir consciences and helps us to build a church where no one else should suffer in silence, and where truth is not seen as a threat but as a path to liberation.”
