Pope Leo XIV demands justice for environmental defenders on Amazon visit to Peru

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Summary

Pope Leo XIV, the first pope with Peruvian citizenship, is on the final leg of a 12-day South American tour taking in Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.
On 15 November he crossed Peru from Cusco in the Andes to Pucallpa in the Amazon, demanding justice for environmental defenders killed protecting the rainforest.
In Pucallpa he denounced deforestation, illegal gold mining and the complicity and impunity surrounding sexual violence against Awajún and Wampis girls in Condorcanqui.
He received huge welcomes in Lima and Chiclayo, where he was bishop for eight years, with Vatican estimates of a million people on the streets and 500,000 at Mass.
The 71-year-old pope is recovering from October 2026 lung cancer surgery and is expected to return to Rome on 16 November.

Cardinal Pedro Barreto, president of the Amazon bishops conference, said the pope is clearing the path laid out by Pope Francis on environmental protection and human rights.
The Rev. Peter Hughes said the itinerary reflects the church's concern for the poor, calling Indigenous peoples the most important collective representing the truly poor.
Susana Baca, the Afro-Peruvian singer who serenaded the pope in Lima, said she felt a special connection because of the importance he places on asking and granting forgiveness.
Raphael Hoetmer of Amazon Watch said rising gold prices are driving illegal extraction causing pollution, health issues and environmental degradation in the Amazon.
Felipe Gutierrez, a chef and poet in Zaña, said he was proud to see an Afro-Peruvian person singing to a pope with Black ancestors.
Margarida Salomon, who traveled from Bolivia to Cusco, said the fact the pope was in the Andes meant a lot to her.