CHICAGO (IL)
CBS News [Chicago, IL]
May 20, 2025
By Tara Molina, Todd Feurer
A group known for protecting those sexually abused by Catholic priests has sent a letter to Pope Leo XIV to ask him to sign new canon law taking a zero tolerance stance on sex abuse in the clergy, while questioning why he didn’t do more in his decades spent in the Catholic Church.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests sent the letter the day the new pope stepped out onto the Vatican balcony. It calls for a number of action in his first 100 days.
The biggest ask is making zero tolerance part of the church’s canon law, defining it as the permanent removal of a person from ministry following a single act of sexual abuse “admitted or established after an appropriate process,” “found guilty” in the judicial system, or “found liable in a civil proceeding.”
“It is our hope that Pope Leo does the right thing. It is our gut and our experience that say he will need the pressure,” SNAP Executive Director Shaun Dougherty said. “Pope Francis was the pope for 13 years. There was a lot of hope that Francis would do these things. Francis set up conferences, and he set up papacy commissions, but he didn’t write a zero tolerance law.”
The group has already drafted the law in collaboration with canon lawyers.
“What we are driving at today is that it’s going to take more than hope to get the pope to see this through,” Dougherty said. “I think we are all longing for Pope Leo to stand up and do what is right. We were waiting for Francis. We were waiting for Benedict. We were waiting for Pope John Paul II.”
The group also spoke out about their new Conclave Watch project, writing to the pope on the day of his election, “You can end the abuse crisis — the only question is, will you?”
“Zero tolerance is very simple; the law – the church law; not policy, law – that Prevost needs to sign into church law, and only he can do it. And the day he does it, literally thousands and thousands of known priests and clerical sex offenders known by bishops around the world to have raped and assaulted children and others would have to be permanently removed from the priesthood,” said SNAP Global Policy Working Group chair Peter Isely.
Dougherty said this is something they have long been asking for.
“We want to protect kids from being raped in the Catholic Church. We want to protect children from having to learn how to cope with this. I’m 55 years old, and I’m still learning how to cope with having been raped by a priest as a young child,” he said.
SNAP also said the pope, as former Cardinal Robert Prevost, could have better handled abuse reports during his time as a bishop in Peru, all the way back to his time in Chicago.
SNAP pointed specifically to one priest, Fr. James Ray, being allowed to live at St. John Stone Friary in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood — close to St. Thomas the Apostle School — despite being barred from ministry due to allegations of abusing minors.
SNAP also took issue with the handling of allegations against Fr. Richard McGrath, who had been principal and president of Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox. McGrath retired amid accusations that he had illicit pornography on his phone and had abuse a student, though he never faced criminal charges, according to published reports.
The group called for oversight now that they said he didn’t demonstrate back then.
“And what we care about is, what he has done or not done about the sexual abuse of children in the Roman Catholic Church? Because now he is the one responsible for that,” Isely said. “Him and him alone.”
The Chicago Archdiocese issued this multi-part comment:
The information provided by SNAP today has already been previously and publicly stated. We take this opportunity to restate the facts.
- Questions about the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, should be referred to them. It should be noted that this diocese made clear in their 2023 statement that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), which is charged with the investigation and adjudication of such matters, found that then-Bishop Prevost had carried out his duties with regard to this allegation in a manner consistent with the norms set forth in the motu proprio, Vos Estis Lux Mundi. Specifically, the results of the DDF investigation demonstrate that the accused was removed from ministry, the persons bringing the allegations were offered victim assistance, the charges were reported to civil authorities and they were investigated at the diocesan level and reported to the DDF.
- As for the placement of Father Ray at the Stone Priory, that took place approximately 25 years ago, before the enactment of the Dallas Charter. In accordance with published archdiocesan policies at the time, Ray was removed from parish ministry and placed at a non-ministry setting where the local superior had training in supervising offending priests. There are no reports of misconduct from Ray’s time at the Augustinian priory. Upon enactment of the Charter in 2002, Ray was moved to another location. The archdiocese made the placement decision, which involved renting a room in the Augustinian priory. The nearby school (not part of the priory site) is in fact a school under the supervision of the archdiocese. While decisions regarding proximity to schools solely and ultimately fell under the purview of the archdiocese, the Augustinian community fulfilled its role in good faith and in close cooperation, prioritizing safety and compliance at every step.
- Father McGrath was placed at the priory for a short time by his order. Questions about the disposition of allegations against him should be referred to his order.
- Allegations against Augustinian priests are handled as those involving members of other religious orders. Accusers are received with dignity and compassion, are offered victim assistance services and their allegations are reported to civil authorities. The allegations are then referred to the respective religious order for investigation.
- Each year, the National Review Board conducts an audit for compliance with the Charter, including the zero-tolerance provision. The annual audit repeatedly shows that Archdiocese of Chicago is fully compliant.
So far, Pope Leo XIV has not made a public statement addressing sexual abuse in the church.