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A Peruvian survivor of clergy sex abuse has traveled to the United States to call for stronger reforms from the Catholic Church and renewed accountability from Pope Leo XIV, whom she alleges failed to take meaningful action during his time as a bishop in her home country, the Associated Press reported yesterday via ABC News.
Speaking at a news conference in downtown Chicago alongside members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), Ana María Quispe Díaz shared her story publicly and demanded change.
“I’ve been quiet since the pope has been elected,” she said in Spanish. “But I’m not planning to be quiet forever.”
Díaz began publicly speaking out on social media in 2023, despite facing threats and harassment in Peru. On Thursday, SNAP released documents related to her case and delivered a new letter to the pope, reiterating calls for reform in how clergy abuse allegations are handled.
Prior to Pope Leo XIV’s election in May, SNAP filed a formal complaint with the Vatican’s secretary of state. The complaint alleged that the then-cardinal, in his previous role as bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, mishandled two cases involving priests accused of sexually abusing minors. Díaz said she is a survivor in one of those cases.
She recalled a brief 2020 phone conversation with the bishop in which she shared her abuse by one of the accused priests, Eleuterio Vásquez Gonzáles. She said she received no clear assurance of action. In 2022, she and two other women reportedly spoke in person with the bishop about their abuse claims involving both Vásquez Gonzáles and another priest, Ricardo Yesquén.
“How much more damage can he do now that he is the pope?” Díaz asked during the news conference, using a translator.
According to the Chiclayo diocese and Vatican officials, the bishop followed proper protocol, including placing restrictions on the accused priest’s ministry, initiating a preliminary investigation through the Vatican’s sex crimes office, offering psychological support, and encouraging the victims to report the abuse to civil authorities. That civil case was later archived due to the statute of limitations.
The Vatican initially shelved the case for lack of evidence, but reopened it in 2023 after it received renewed attention in the media. Church officials maintain that the bishop acted appropriately throughout.
Pope Francis, Leo’s predecessor, has had a mixed record on confronting the clergy abuse crisis. He initially mishandled a major case in Chile before ultimately ordering a full investigation and apologizing to survivors. That incident marked a shift in the Church’s approach to abuse allegations under his leadership.
Critics of Pope Leo XIV are now calling for transparency and further investigation into the Chiclayo case. Supporters argue the attention is politically motivated, pointing to his role in dissolving the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a controversial lay Catholic group in Peru.
While no one has accused the pope himself of abuse or of knowingly keeping abusive priests in ministry, survivors like Díaz are pressing for swifter and more decisive action. SNAP continues to call for the removal of all priests credibly accused of abuse.
The advocacy group also released correspondence between Díaz and Peruvian church officials. The documents reveal that Vásquez Gonzáles requested earlier this year to leave the priesthood and be dispensed from his clerical obligations, a process that could take up to six months. Díaz expressed frustration with the delay.
When asked for comment, the Diocese of Chiclayo’s communications director would not confirm or deny the request, stating it was a confidential matter between the priest, the bishop, and the Vatican.
The diocese has said Yesquén is too ill to continue in ministry. Neither of the priests has publicly responded to the allegations.
During her time in the U.S., Díaz participated in interviews with Spanish-language outlets, appeared on podcasts, and attended SNAP’s annual conference in Pennsylvania. Now 29 and raising two young children, she reflected on the emotional toll of her experience and what prompted her to speak out.
“Everything came back to me about the abuse,” she said. “I couldn’t leave her alone. Since then it’s been a real fight for me to be able to leave them alone.”
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