Pope Leo XIV urges end to violence in remote Peruvian town during tour
Pope Leo XIV called for an end to violence during a Mass in the remote town of Santa Cruz de Succhabamba on 14 November, urging Peruvians to reject brutality and address injustice through prayer, according to Al Jazeera, which noted the country's rising homicide rates and rural hardship. Earlier in the trip, BBC reported that the pope, who had undergone lung-cancer surgery weeks earlier, led a Mass in Pimentel near Chiclayo, drawing large crowds. NBC News said he arrived in Chiclayo for a three-day stop on his 12-day South American tour.
Vatican News quoted his speech to Peruvian authorities in Lima, where he called for respect for human dignity and dialogue on social, health and environmental matters. CNN noted that his visit to Peru included stops in Lima, Cusco and other cities, recalling his decades-long work during the pandemic, natural disasters and the Venezuelan migrant crisis.