Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, is under scrutiny following accusations from survivors’ advocates that he failed to act on child sex abuse allegations during his tenure in both the United States and South America.
Prevost, who became the first North American to lead the Roman Catholic Church after his election on Thursday, is being criticized by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and other advocacy groups.
They allege that he neglected to properly investigate or act on abuse claims during his leadership in the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru and while serving in various roles in Chicago, Illinois.
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Victim advocate and SNAP’s national vice president, Lopez de Casas, expressed disappointment with Prevost’s selection by the College of Cardinals.
“Staying silent is a sin. It’s not what God wants us to do. Jesus wants us to stop these things, not make a healthy garden for sexual abuse to grow,” de Casas told DailyMail.com.
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In Chicago, Prevost has been linked to decisions surrounding Father James Ray, an Augustinian priest who was removed from public ministry over allegations of child sexual abuse but was permitted to live at the St. John Stone Friary in Hyde Park.
The friary is located just half a block from St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School, an elementary school.
Critics say Prevost failed to notify school administrators of Ray’s presence. Church officials at the time stated Ray was supposed to be under close supervision while living in the friary.
Prevost also came under fire for his leadership in the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, which he headed from 2014 to 2023.
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SNAP and other groups claim that Prevost did not open a formal church investigation into multiple allegations of abuse, including those made by Ana Maria Quispe and her sisters, Juana Mercedes and Aura Teresa, who accused Father Eleuterio Vásquez Gonzáles of abuse dating back to 2007.
Another priest was also named in allegations reported by The Pillar, a Catholic investigative news outlet.
According to The Pillar, the victims alleged the diocese, under Prevost’s leadership, minimized the details of their complaints in official communications with the Vatican in 2022, which they claim prevented the Church from taking disciplinary action.
The outlet also reported that Prevost met with the accusers in April 2022 and advised them to pursue civil legal action.
The Church’s internal investigation was ultimately shelved, reportedly due to a lack of evidence and the expiration of legal time limits.
Back in the Chicago area, additional concerns stem from the case of Father Richard McGrath, a former principal and president of Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox.
McGrath was removed in 2017 after a student reported seeing nude photos of boys on his phone.
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One former student, Robert Krankvich, later accused McGrath of sexually abusing him as a child.
Krankvich settled with the Catholic Church for $2 million before dying in April from health issues related to addiction. His father stated the settlement did not provide closure.
SNAP included Prevost on a list of papal candidates it opposed and submitted a letter to the Vatican highlighting what it called inaction in both Peru and Chicago.
Prevost served as head of the Midwest Augustinians from 1998 to 2014, during which he had oversight of Providence Catholic High School.
Providence High School maintains a relationship with the new pope.
Its president, Father John Merkelis, who studied alongside Prevost in the 1970s, praised the selection.
“It is just excellent news,” Merkelis told DailyMail.com.
“We’re all just beaming here.”
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Theresa Thormeyer, an administrator at the school, added, “It’s so cool to see the kids so excited.”
Charles Collins, managing editor of Crux, a Catholic news outlet, told Sky News that an American pope could be better positioned to confront abuse within the Church, citing the strong legal responses in the United States compared to other regions.
Prevost’s current role before his election was as head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, where he oversaw investigations into allegations of episcopal negligence in abuse cases globally.
His new position places him at the center of a Church still reckoning with widespread abuse scandals.
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