VATICAN CITY (VATICAN CITY)
People Magazine [New York NY]
May 9, 2025
By KC Baker
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) is urging the new pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, to create a “universal zero tolerance law for sexual abuse and cover-up”
- SNAP, a national advocacy group for survivors of clergy sexual abuse, issued a statement expressing “grave concern” about the election of Pope Leo XIV
- The group cited his handling of an abuse case in Chicago, where Leo was the provincial supervisor of the Augustinian
- “You can end the abuse crisis — the only question is, will you?” SNAP’s statement said.
Survivor groups are expressing concern about Pope Leo XIV’s past handling of sexual abuse allegations against Catholic priests.
On Thursday, May 8, shortly before the Vatican announced the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, of Chicago as the 267th pontiff, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), released a lengthy exhortation calling on the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church to prioritize survivors.
In its six-page letter, the organization, a national advocacy group for survivors of clergy sexual abuse, called on the new pope to enact for the first time a “universal zero tolerance law for sexual abuse and cover-up.”
Prevost chose the name Pope Leo XIV in honor of Pope Leo XIII, who served as pope from 1878 to 1903 and was known for fighting for social justice and the vulnerable. But when the Vatican announced he had been elected, the group said it became worried, releasing a statement saying it had a “grave concern about his record managing abuse cases.”
The group cited the case of Father James Ray, a priest accused of abusing at least 13 minors and banned in 1991 from being alone with minors and working in a parish, who in 2000 was allowed to move into a friary in Chicago half a block from a Catholic School, the Chicago Sun-Times reported in 2021.
When church officials, including Prevost, who was provincial supervisor of Chicago’s Augustinian order in 2000, reportedly approved the move, they claimed there was “no school in the immediate area,” according to records obtained by the Sun Times.
Cardinal Robert Prevost Announced as Pope Leo XIV, Will Make History as First American Pontiff
But SNAP says there is a school nearby, and the group accused Prevost of endangering the safety of the children at the school by approving the move, Newsweek reports.
The Vatican has reportedly denied that the new pope approved Ray to move to the friary, Newsweek reports.
In 2002, Ray was removed from the priory and from public ministry, CNN and KVIA report. He was removed from the priesthood in 2012.
Besides this, SNAP also says that when Prevost served as a bishop in Peru until 2023, when Pope Francis reassigned him to Rome, three women filed a complaint to Prevost saying that starting in 2007, two priests had sexually abused them when they were minors, The Pillar reported.
In 2022, the women filed civil complaints accusing the diocese of ignoring their allegations, CNN reported.
The case was closed a month later because the statute of limitations had expired, CNN reports.
The diocese said Prevost met with the women when they first filed their complaint, according to CNN.
One of the priests was suspended and the other left the priesthood, CNN reports.
The diocese also said it forwarded the women’s complaints to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, which closed the case in August 2023 after the civil cases were closed.
The Vatican has reportedly denied that Prevost did anything wrong in the Peruvian case, Newsweek reports.
In fact, Sociologist Rodolfo Soriano Nuñez told CNN Prevost was one of the few bishops in Peru who actively worked to support victims of clergy abuse.
“I think Prevost was the best bishop in Peru when dealing with abuse cases in his diocese,” he told CNN. “And there were plenty of cases. He dealt with the issue as far as he was able to deal with it.”
SNAP wants the Vatican to launch a full investigation into both cases, Newsweek reports.
In its statement, SNAP called on the pontiff to take “bold and immediate action” within his first 100 days, outlining a sweeping reform agenda that includes the creation of an independent Global Truth Commission with full Vatican cooperation, the adoption of a Universal Zero Tolerance law into canon law, and binding international agreements to ensure transparency and accountability. The group also urged the establishment of a survivor-funded Reparations Fund, supported by church assets, and a Global Survivors Council with the authority to oversee and enforce compliance.
“You can end the abuse crisis — the only question is, will you?” SNAP’s statement said.