VATICAN CITY (VATICAN CITY)
BishopAccountability.org [Waltham MA]
May 9, 2025
By Ann Hagan Webb, EdD
As history was made a few hours ago here in Rome, I listened to the church bells and roar of the crowd. I was surprised to hear that the world would have an American born pope, Pope Leo XIV. I am glad I wasn’t in St Peter’s square in the midst of the revelry. The adoration for a man I’ve heard mixed reviews about, frankly makes me worry. There is a sense here of instant elevation to “almost sainthood,” with all practical skepticism abandoned.
The only advantage that American cardinals have over those in other countries is their familiarity with the expectation of zero tolerance and transparency. Most American cardinals’ adherence to these ideals is lukewarm at best, but at least they’ve taken a stab at it. Not so in most of the world! Unfortunately, Cardinal Prevost was never a bishop or cardinal in the US. His leadership was mostly in Peru as bishop of the Chiclayo Diocese, and at the Vatican, as head of the Augustinian Order, and Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops of the Pontifical Commission of Latin America. He spent only a short time in Chicago as the regional leader of the Augustinians.
He was the world wide leader of the Augustinians from 2001 to 2013. Religious orders in general are more secretive than dioceses, and the Augustinians came slowly to only a modicum of transparency.
As bishop of Peru, complaints have been leveled against then Bishop Prevost’s handling of a female victims’ complaints against 2 Peruvian priests. The truth of some of the public information regarding this situation has been challenged by trusted reporters in Peru. Clearly, more investigation is necessary to sort out the facts of this situation.
On the positive side – This week I met a Peruvian survivor of clergy abuse who is also a journalist. I learned that Cardinal Prevost recently defended this man and other survivors, and convinced Pope Francis to shut down the Peruvian extremist sect, Sodalitium Christiana’s Vitae (SCV), that physically and sexually abused children . It was one of Pope Francis’s final acts as Pope.
While I can’t really give Pope Leo the benefit of the doubt, that would encourage complacency, I urge him to show us more of the man who shut down the Catholic sect in Peru. With the office of Pope comes tremendous responsibility! Pope Leo needs to commit to clear and unequivocal actions to hold abusive priests accountable, and protect children.
Since the crisis exploded in Boston in 2002, 23 years ago, the leaders of the church have had ample time to study the problem and develop a system of concrete action steps to eradicate this horrific problem. Instead they have deflected blame, made empty promises and fought survivors in their attempts to expose predators.
Unfortunately, Pope Francis and his predecessors talked big about reform, but their real actions were quite small. They did little to actually reveal and punish abusers, hold bishops accountable, or protect children. The bar for child sex abuse reform in the Catholic Church is so low, it won’t take much for our new pope to show us he has begun to tackle this problem. If he immediately does one or two of our ten suggestions for his first 100 days, we may find reason to hope that this pontiff is finally ready to put the safety of children first.
It now falls on Pope Leo XIV to win our trust.
Until there’s conclusive proof that things really are changing, Catholic parents around the world, should be vigilant. Children must be protected from predators in the church, who are still unnamed in many, if not most, countries. Since we have so little transparency, you never know who is lurking after CCD class, or altar server training, or in a home for orphaned children.
The college of cardinals have expressed a desire to hold more power in the administration of the global church. We say to them, “ Your job is not over when the conclave is finished. You have a moral duty to hold Pope Leo’s feet to the fire. Insist that he take bold actions to really eradicate child sex abuse by clergy, once and for all! And we implore you to return to your own countries ready to take new and decisive steps to protect children.”
Dr Ann Hagan Webb is a licensed psychologist in RI and MA, specializing in survivors of sexual abuse, particularly clergy abuse. She is a survivor of sexual abuse by her parish priest as a child, and a survivor advocate. She continues to work to change the civil SOL for child sex abuse in RI with her sister, Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee. She is a member of the Board of Directors at BishopAccountability.org, and is in Rome for 10 days with Anne Barrett Doyle of BA to speak out against clergy abuse while the conclave convened. Contact: 617-513-8442