Daniel del Castillo González
At the Archbishop’s Palace in Lima, Pope Leo XIV reunited with Peru’s bishops. The men who had once stood alongside him as fellow bishops, now looked to him as their superior.
To explain their mission, he drew inspiration from the vast Inca road system in peru. Stretching more than 30,000 kilometers, these ancient routes connect communities and territories throughout the Andes.
But as he retraced the history of the Peruvian Church, the pope also addressed one of its deepest wounds.
POPE LEO XIV
Abuse committed by members of the clergy or in Church settings. We must respond as Jesus would, with truth, justice, forgiveness, reparation, and an increasingly firm commitment to a culture of prevention and the protection of the most vulnerable from these crimes.
Among the figures he held up as an example was Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo, Archbishop of Lima. He traveled his vast diocese and advocated for the Gospel to be preached in the languages of the indigenous.
POPE LEO XIV
Bishops, priests, and laypeople; Spaniards, Creoles, and Mulattos: they represent the unity of the Church in Peru and form a school of holiness. They continue to walk with us, here and now, along the many paths of the one Way, teaching us to be in Illo uno unum.
That final Latin expression holds special meaning for Leo XIV. In Illo uno unum is his episcopal motto, taken from St. Augustine expresses the idea that although Christians are many, they find their unity in Christ.
The reflection then gave way to a personal memory. Robert Prevost was appointed bishop of Chiclayo in 2015. Now, eleven years later, he has returned, recalling his time as bishop.
POPE LEO XIV
In this very place, in 2018, I was sitting somewhere behind you, among you. We received a strong appeal from our beloved Pope Francis to work for unity. I remember he told us: “Don't remain trapped in divisions that create factions and reduce the vocation to which we have been called: to be a sacrament of communion.”
The pope also called on the bishops, his former colleagues, to help heal the country's divisions amid political and social polarization, and to stand close to those suffering most from poverty.
