• Analysis
Pope Leo XIV Latin America Tour: Pontiff Urges Men to Respect Wives Amid Femicide Crisis
Pope Leo XIV on Sunday urged husbands to treat their wives with respect, ask forgiveness and live with integrity, closing the first leg of his 12-day Latin America tour with an open-air mass in Florida, Uruguay. The appeal came as the region records thousands of gender-motivated killings of women each year.
An appeal against gender violence
Closing the opening stage of the pope leo xiv latin america tour, the pontiff turned his homily in Uruguay into a direct message to men about how they treat their partners.
- •He called on men to "treat your wives with respect, ask for forgiveness and live with integrity, even when doing so requires sacrifice"
- •His words came as the region confronts a femicide crisis: more than 3,800 women were killed in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024 because of their gender, according to the UN's regional economic mission
- •Nearly 20,000 femicides have been recorded over the past five years, most committed by the victim's current or former partner
Closing the Uruguay leg in Florida
Leo ended the first leg in secular Uruguay with an open-air mass outside a basilica in the south-central city of Florida. The basilica houses a shrine linked to Uruguay's fight for independence from Spanish colonial rule.
Thousands of worshippers filled the city's main square in warm sunshine after days of unusually cold weather caused by an exceptionally strong El Niño. The pope, 71, served on the continent as a missionary and bishop before his election, and prayed for Uruguay's leaders "that they may seek with integrity the good of all".
"I think it's very important that the Pope came because it strengthens the Church's presence in our country"
That was the view of Ivanna Fisichella, 22, among the worshippers in Florida. Evangelina Campero, 57, pointed to the stamina behind the trip, which began three weeks after the pope had surgery for lung cancer.
Next stop: Argentina and Milei
The pope now heads to Argentina, where he is to meet President Javier Milei, a right-wing free marketeer whose austerity policies have drawn sharp criticism from the Catholic Church. Milei took power in 2023 after centre-left Peronist rule, having campaigned with a chainsaw as a symbol of pledged spending cuts.
The encounter carries history. Milei once insulted Leo's predecessor Francis, calling him "an imbecile", before repairing relations and visiting him at the Vatican; Francis never returned to Argentina in his 12-year papacy. Over his 18-month papacy, Leo has warned about artificial intelligence risks, urged humane treatment of immigrants and called for climate action, putting him at odds with Donald Trump and other right-wing leaders.
- •Leo's itinerary includes a care centre for people with disabilities and a prison, highlighting marginalised groups
- •Jorge Silanes, religious director of the Pequeno Cottolengo Don Orione centre, which will welcome the pope on Monday, said the visit matters because Milei's spending cuts have reduced disability benefits while poverty remains widespread
- •Fortunato Mallimaci, a sociologist at Argentina's Conicet research agency, said the visit will create a sense of unity and energy among those who feel excluded by the economic programme
- •Veronica Gimenez Beliveau, a sociologist at the University of Buenos Aires, said Milei gains nothing from fighting Leo and "could gain in showing an orderly country and administration"
The pope is next expected in Argentina, where he will meet President Milei and the itinerary includes the disability care centre and a prison.
