CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times [Chicago IL]
May 9, 2025
By Robert Herguth
The Catholic religious order said Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, has always sought “to protect the innocent and offer healing to victims, while removing offenders from ministry.” But the order still won’t answer questions.
Facing nagging questions about how he handled the sexual abuse crisis while a leader of his Catholic religious order in Chicago and internationally, the group released a statement Friday defending Robert Prevost, elected a day earlier to lead the worldwide church as Pope Leo XIV.
“He has taken steps to protect minors and vulnerable adults in numerous countries, always seeking to protect the innocent and offer healing to victims, while removing offenders from ministry,” according to the statement released by attorney Michael Airdo, who represents the Augustinians’ Chicago-based Midwest Province.
Prevost was the “prior provincial” of the Midwest Province from 1999 to 2001, during which time his group allowed an accused pedophile priest named James Ray to live in an Augustinian monastery less than a block from a Catholic grade school on the South Side.
Nobody apparently alerted the school, St. Thomas the Apostle, and church records wrongly asserted no school was “in the immediate area.”
A 2021 Chicago Sun-Times story pointed this out, and the Augustinians on Friday portrayed Prevost’s role in Ray’s move to the monastery as minimal and noted that Ray, who eventually left the priesthood, was never accused of molesting anyone while living in the building, also called a friary.
“The placement of a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago at St. John Stone Friary from 2000 to 2002 was an accommodation to the late Cardinal Francis George, O.M.I., as head of the Archdiocese of Chicago,” according to Airdo’s statement.
“When Archdiocesan Priest James M. Ray moved into the Friary, he was subject to restrictions stemming from his previous allegations of abuse. While Ray resided at St. John Stone, he came under the auspices of the Prior assigned to the Friary. He was responsible for ensuring that Ray complied with his restrictions.”
“From 1997 to 2014, Father James G. Thompson, O.S.A., served as the Prior of St. John Stone Friary. In addition to his role as Prior, Fr. Thompson answered God’s call by serving as a professional counselor. In 1986, Fr. Thompson was named the Coordinator of Continuing Care at Southdown Institute in Ontario, Canada. Southdown is a mental health treatment center committed to assisting the Church in providing healthy ministers and developing safe communities of faith.”
“By virtue of his extensive education, training, and experience, as well as his natural abilities as a supervisor and leader, Fr. Thompson was especially qualified to supervise individuals like Ray who were subject to restrictions. There have been no allegations that Ray committed any acts of abuse while residing at St. John Stone Friary.”
“The role of then-Provincial Prevost was to accept a guest of the house at the remuneration rates noted,” according to the statement. “The Prior of the Friar had exclusive control over the acceptance of any new residents.”
Essentially the statement says the archdiocese, the arm of the church for Cook and Lake counties whose priests report up to the cardinal, asked that one of their problem priests be housed by the Augustinians, who have their own leadership structure.
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While the Augustinians agreed to take in Ray, the statement says that he was watched by a competent Augustinian, and that Prevost wasn’t really the decision maker.
The Augustinian statement goes on to laud Prevost — who led the order internationally as the “prior general” for more than a decade after his time at the helm in Chicago — for his work in dealing with the abuse crisis.
“While Prior Provincial, in cases where established accusations against an Augustinian were brought to him, he applied precautionary measures to remove the accused friar from active ministry, placing him in a setting where there would be no risk to minors.”
“As Prior General, under the leadership of then-Father Robert Prevost, the Augustinian Order put in place, years before it became the general law of the Church, the requirement that there be a set of protocols in every Circumscription of the Order, to guide all members in the different aspects of promoting child protection, as well as in responding to cases where accusations might be received.”
“Under the direction of Robert Prevost, a course was organized, during the Intermediate General Chapter of 2010, for all Major Superiors of the Order regarding the protection of minors and the proper ways of responding to victims when cases were presented.”
“In 2012, Prevost participated in the inauguration of the Center for Child Protection at the Gregorian University, organized by world-renowned Father Hans Zollner. Cardinal Prevost participated in the first course offered to Superiors General of the different religious orders and congregations.”
“During his years as Prior General, Robert Prevost, became directly involved in several cases (ordinarily the responsibility of the Major Superiors — priors provincial, etc.) when victims reached out to the Prior General for whatever reason.”
“Named Bishop of Chiclayo [Peru] in 2014, then-Bishop Robert Prevost took on an active role in the Diocese and in the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference in the area of child protection. He completed the publication of the protocols for dealing with accusations of sexual abuse that had never been completed or published in Peru.”
“Even after he left Peru, Cardinal Prevost continues to accompany some victims of sexual abuse as they look for healing after the trauma suffered from various kinds of abuse.”
The statement doesn’t address why a publicly available list of credibly accused Augustinians wasn’t created while Prevost was in charge and presumably had the authority to do so — even as victims demanded such lists to help with healing and accountability, and numerous other church organizations created one.
The Midwest Province only created a list in 2024, while under public pressure, and critics say names are still missing.
The Chicago Sun-Times has appealed to Prevost for help in getting information from the province, but after an initial email exchange in 2021, he never responded again.
Airdo wouldn’t answer questions or respond to calls on Friday.