Leo XIV’s Secretary Was a Disciple of Accused Sexual Abuser Lute

Rev. Edgard Rimaycuna, 36, Leo XIV’s personal secretary, was a disciple of Father Eleuterio Vásquez, called “Lute”. This former priest from Chiclayo is accused of sexually abusing girls aged 9 and 11.
The information is revealed in the book The Shepherd and the Wolves, as reported by InfoVaticana. The book was written by Peruvian author Santiago Roncagliolo and is sympathetic toward Leo XIV.
Lute was investigated so poorly under Bishop Robert Prevost of Chiclayo that the case remained unresolved. After becoming Pope, Leo XIV granted Lute’s request for laicization in September 2025. This brought the canonical proceedings to an end, thus avoiding a guilty verdict.
Close Collaboration Between Prevost and Lute
In recounting the relationship between Bishop Prevost and Father Lute - at the time the diocese’s most popular priest and promoter of devotion to the Child of the Miracle of Eten - Roncagliolo writes:
“Fighting together brought the bishop and the priest very close. Father Lute informed …More