Leo XIV in Peru: challenging machismo and public institutions
In Lima, Pope Leo XIV calls for women and girls to be protected and challenges a “machista mentality”, which he links to absent fathers, abuse and violence. The official text concerns his meeting with the Peruvian people on 12 November: this is yesterday’s address, not a statement delivered in Chiclayo today.[3]
LaPresse’s report published by Il Sole 24 Ore on 13 November highlights the appeal and his insistence on the equal dignity of women and men.[4]
## Family does not justify subordination
In the address, the Pope restates the Catholic understanding of the family founded on the union of a man and a woman, but says this does not justify unequal domestic duties or one spouse’s subordination to the other.[3]
Reading those passages together preserves the substance of the speech without erasing its religious framework or reducing it to a single line.
Leo also warns that poor women and those belonging to Indigenous or Afro-American communities can face a double marginalisation, and addresses his appeal for respect beyond the community of believers.[3]
These are the Pope’s assessments: this account adds no estimates of the prevalence of violence or claims about improvements already achieved.
## A message to public institutions too
The address’s political dimension concerns dignity, work and public responsibility: the Pope asks authorities to provide a fair legal framework for employers and workers and a reasonable balance between work, rest and family life.[3]
He also calls for social policy centred on equal dignity and institutions where women and men can contribute to the common good.[3]
This is the visit’s international significance: a religious authority puts forward principles for public life and challenges institutions. It is an appeal, not an announcement of a Peruvian law or a government commitment already made. Independent reporting confirms the content of the intervention; by itself, it cannot show that those requests will become concrete measures.[4]
## Sources
[3] https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2026/11/12/0907/01675.html
[4] https://stream24.ilsole24ore.com/video/mondo/papa-leone-xiv-peru-proteggere-e-valorizzare-donne/AJ8TFQFC