Pope Leo Calls for Care and Humane Treatment on Tour

Pope Leo XIV urged husbands and fathers to respect their wives during a Mass in Uruguay, amid high rates of gender-based violence; more than 3,800 women were killed because of their gender in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024. He then visited Argentina, where about 650,000 people attended a Mass in Córdoba and estimates for attendance at a Mass at the Luján shrine ranged from about 2 million to more than 3 million. In Argentina, he also visited a prison and appealed for humane treatment of detainees, amid Church criticism of President Javier Milei’s social-spending cuts. At Luján, Leo urged care for people in need, and in Córdoba he called on Catholics to live their faith through daily actions. He is continuing his 12-day South America tour in Peru, where he previously served as a missionary and bishop for nearly two decades.