Pope Leo XIV
Bishop of Chiclayo (2015–2023)

Speaking to the Peruvian newspaper La República while Bishop of Chiclayo, Prevost said: "If you are a victim of sexual abuse by a priest, report it. We reject cover-ups and secrecy; that causes a lot of harm. We have to help people who have suffered due to wrongdoing." Journalist Pedro Salinas, who investigated and exposed crimes committed by members of the now-defunct Sodalitium Christianae Vitae —including sexual, physical, and psychological abuse—has argued that Prevost always expressed his support for the victims and was one of the most reliable clerical authorities in Peru, leading Pope Francis to select him as prefect of bishops. Salinas has written that some of the Peruvian clerics linked to the Sodalitium sought to attack and defame Prevost in retaliation for his role in the Sodalitium's dissolution by Pope Francis due to its sexual abuse scandals, as well as Prevost being near to Francis's political theology.
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