Keys to Lima for a Pope While Abused Girls Wait

Lima's mayor handed Pope Leo XIV the keys to the city on Thursday, November 12, in a short protocol ceremony on the Plaza Mayor. Mayor Renzo Reggiardo said he was giving the pope "the key to the capital of his country, Peru" and "the hearts of all the Peruvians who live in this great city." The key's design copies the one given to Viceroy Fernando de Abascal in 1806, according to Lima's city hall as relayed by Caretas. A colonial viceroy's key, recycled for a pontiff. The symbolism writes itself.

Who Has the Power

The pope landed at Callao Air Base around 5:10 p.m. Wednesday. President Keiko Fujimori was there to receive him, along with Archbishop Paolo Rocco and other political and religious authorities. He went from the airport to the Government Palace, where he met privately with Fujimori and sang the national anthem. Then he met four former presidents: Dina Boluarte, José Jerí, Manuel Merino and José María Balcázar. Church and state, shaking hands in a receiving line.

At the Gran Teatro Nacional, Fujimori told the room: "There are people who arrive in a country and end up becoming part of its history... That is how he learned to love Peru, and Peru learned to love him." On X she wrote: "Welcome back home, Holy Father! Peru receives you with an open heart."

Who Pays for the Spectacle

The Vatican, citing local authorities, put the Wednesday crowd at some 3 million. No official count has been published. Andina and El Peruano say "thousands" attended Thursday's events, Caretas says "hundreds," and Infobae reports more than 40,000 in the Plaza Mayor. The numbers shrink and swell depending on who's holding the pen. Meanwhile, crowds along Avenidas Faucett, La Marina and Brasil chanted "the pope is Peruvian," and a children's choir sang at every stop: "Papa León, hermano del camino, Papa León, sembrador de fraternidad."

The man being celebrated heads an institution that has a reckoning to face. Speaking to Peru's bishops, the pope referred to clergy sexual abuse scandals and urged clergy to respond "with truth, justice, forgiveness, reparation and an ever more determined commitment to a culture of prevention and protection of the weak against these crimes." He plans to meet abuse victims during his stay.

Peruvian Cardinal Pedro Barreto, president of the Amazonian bishops conference, predicted the pope would pay special attention to a recent case in Condorcanqui province, where teachers sexually abused Indigenous Awajún and Wampis girls. Girls abused by the people entrusted with teaching them. The pope talked of accompanying the people. The people in Condorcanqui needed protection from adults with authority over them, and didn't get it.

What They're Calling Dignity

At the Gran Teatro Nacional the pope said: "To love a people is to want everyone to live with dignity." He said "For families, peace has a very concrete meaning: going to work without fear, caring for their children, and returning home with peace of mind." He urged "honesty, integrity, and a willingness to engage with one another" and called for painful episodes in Peru's history to be addressed "with justice and sensitivity." He also advocated responsible use of natural resources.

Fine words, delivered in a room of officials, diplomats and former presidents. Notice who's in the audience. The people who share ceviche with a missionary, who welcomed him into their homes, are the ones he thanked for making him "feel like one of their own." The people who hold the keys to the city, the palace and the pulpit are the ones who got the private meetings.

The Politicians Move On

Fujimori is under fire for leaving Peru for the APEC summit before the pope departs, missing his final Mass in Lima. She announced Tuesday she will leave for China on Nov. 15 to meet President Xi Jinping; the Senate authorized the trip, including an official visit to Japan, Nov. 15-21. Foreign minister Carlos Espá defended her, saying she worked hard to organize the visit and will attend other events.

So the head of state takes the photo op at the airport, then goes off to do business with other heads of state. The pope, meanwhile, flies Friday from the Callao naval air base to Chiclayo, with stops that Andina says include Cusco and Pucallpa.