CHICAGO (IL)
OSV News [Huntington IN]
May 24, 2025
By Maria Wiering
A decision in 2000 to move a priest accused of abusing boys into residence at an Augustinian friary in Chicago originated from leadership of the Archdiocese of Chicago as a means to enforce restrictions on the priest’s ministry, according to a recent statement from the archdiocese.
The decision to place then-Father James Ray (since removed from the clerical state) at the Augustinians’ St. John Stone Friary from 2000-2002 is being re-examined due to the presumed involvement of then-Father Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV. Then-Father Prevost is presumed to have approved the decision in his capacity at the time as the provincial, or leader, of the Augustinians’ Midwest Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel, one of the order’s three provinces in North America with governance over primarily the Midwestern United States and Canada.
Father Ray held three ministry assignments in the Greater Chicago area between his 1975 ordination and 1991. According to the Illinois Attorney General’s 2023 Report on Catholic Clergy Child Sex Abuse in Illinois, 13 survivors accused the priest of sexual abuse between 1974 and 1991, with the first claim reported in 1990.
That year the archdiocese limited his ministry with restrictions and monitoring, and in 1991 it removed him from parish work. In 2002 he was removed from public ministry. In 2009 he resigned, and in 2012, he was removed from the clerical state, a process often called “laicization” that involves the Holy See.
James Ray is among 66 priests with substantiated abuse allegations whose files the archdiocese made public in 2014. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Ray, who lives in a Chicago suburb, was never convicted of abuse or put on a sex offender list.
The move of then-Father Ray to the friary has been criticized by a victims support group since, at the time of Father Ray’s placement, the now-closed friary — located at 1165 E. 54th Place in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood — was a 2-minute walk from St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Grade School. It is alleged that no one from the Augustinians or the Archdiocese of Chicago informed the archdiocesan school that a priest credibly accused of abuse had moved nearby. School leaders at St. Thomas the Apostle, contacted by OSV News, have no documentation today either way.
The move took place two years before the Boston Globe’s landmark Spotlight investigation into the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse crisis, and the subsequent adoption by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops of the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” known as the “Dallas Charter,” which provides uniform norms and guidance for addressing clergy sexual abuse in the U.S., including guidelines for prevention of future abuse.
‘Pope Leo XIV has acted in accordance with Church policies’
In its May 20 statement, the Chicago Archdiocese explained that, “to our knowledge, Pope Leo XIV has acted in accordance with Church policies in every abuse case within his scope of leadership at the time and has consistently expressed his compassion for survivors of this crime and sin.”
The statement was issued in response to a May 20 Chicago press conference held by the support group, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, during which SNAP accused then-Father Prevost, the Augustinians and the Archdiocese of Chicago of mishandling the priest’s placement.
In March 2025, SNAP filed a complaint against then-Cardinal Prevost and other cardinals via the protocols in “Vos Estis Lux Mundi,” a document Pope Francis issued in 2019 and updated in 2023 to help hold bishops and superiors accountable in addressing church-related sexual abuse allegations. SNAP’s complaint included Cardinal Prevost’s alleged approval of Father Ray’s housing near a school and referred to some of the archdiocesan documentation regarding Father Ray’s case.
“As the Archdiocese of Chicago had already placed restrictions on Ray being in the company of minors for nine years prior to his residence at St. John Stone Priory and communicated these when seeking approval from the Provincial, Robert Prevost, Cardinal Prevost was aware of the danger that Ray posed to minors when he gave approval,” the complaint said.
“Nonetheless, Ray was permitted to live at the Priory in the vicinity of an elementary school without informing the administration of the school. By doing so, Cardinal Prevost endangered the safety of the children attending St. Thomas the Apostle,” it continued.
However, the Midwest Augustinians’ attorney, Michael A. Airdo, in a statement noted, “There have been no allegations that Ray committed any acts of abuse while residing at St. John Stone Friary.”
According to the statement from the Archdiocese of Chicago, Father Ray’s placement “took place approximately 25 years ago, before the enactment of the Dallas Charter,” adding that, “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,” it said.
“The archdiocese made the placement decision, which involved renting a room in the Augustinian priory,” the statement continued. “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.”
The comments are supported by archdiocesan correspondence from 2000, reviewed by OSV News, regarding the placement.
“Facts set forth in Ray’s Personnel File made public by the Archdiocese of Chicago establish that the approval for Ray’s residency was granted by the Archdiocese of Chicago,” Airdo said in a statement shared with OSV News May 16.
Placement prioritized qualified supervision
Archdiocesan leaders appear to have chosen the friary largely due to the supervision Father Ray, an archdiocesan priest, would have received from the friary prior, Augustinian Father James G. Thompson, a trained mental health counselor (now deceased) who had experience working with priests.
“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,” Airdo said.
The fact that the priory did not have a Catholic school on its campus appears to have also favorably played a role in its selection for Father Ray’s residence. Despite the presence of St. Thomas the Apostle School, opened in 1886, several pieces of correspondence between archdiocesan leaders state that there is “no school in the vicinity.”
That perception appears to originate with Kathleen Leggdas, who was the Chicago Archdiocese’s professional fitness review administrator. Archdiocesan correspondence stated that “Leggdas reported favorably on this site and informed the Board that there is no school in the vicinity.”
The Professional Fitness Review Board, the body that advised the archbishop in decision-making related to priests accused of misconduct, signed off on the residence proposal. Leggdas then informed Cardinal Francis E. George, the archbishop of Chicago, in a Sept. 18, 2000, letter that the review board “recommends approval of Father Ray’s new residence at St. John Stone Priory.”
“There are no minors in residence and there is no school in the immediate area,” she wrote.
OSV News’ efforts to reach Leggdas, since retired, were unsuccessful. The archdiocese’s definition of “vicinity” and “immediate area” is an open question, as documentation shows that another location for a possible residence for Father Ray — St. Mary of Perpetual Help Rectory in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood — was rejected apparently because there was a school on the property.
A letter from April 2000 indicates that Father Ray’s residence at that time was affected by the city purchasing the property for a new park. A May 15, 2000, letter from Cardinal George to Leggdas acknowledges a proposal that had been made to allow Father Ray to live at St. Mary of Perpetual Help’s rectory, and that the review board rejected that proposal, apparently because the rectory was attached to a school. Cardinal George told Leggdas he accepted the board’s recommendation and asked its members to explore other alternatives.
The provincial’s role in residence decision
Nearly two months later, on July 12, 2000, Leggdas filed a memo summarizing her meeting at the Augustinian friary with Father Ray, Father Thompson and Father Larry McBrady, the archdiocese’s vicar for priests. According to the memo, the Augustinian priests “expressed an interest in renting rooms to Father Jim Ray,” who planned to attend the nearby University of Chicago that fall. Leggdas noted that four priests and one brother lived in the house, and three other men would move into the house in the fall.
That meeting included Leggdas and Father McBrady presenting Father Ray’s history and protocols for supervision, which, according to other archdiocesan files from the time, included restrictions from being alone with minors “without the presence of another responsible adult,” prior approval for travel and public celebration of the sacraments such as weddings, and maintaining a log of daily activities with supporting receipts.
According to Leggdas’ July 12 memo, “Father Thompson worked at the Canadian equivalent of St. Luke Institute and asked questions in light of that experience. He was knowledgeable, understanding and yet direct.”
St. Luke Institute is a psychological treatment center in Silver Spring, Maryland, for priests, deacons and other Catholic leaders; the “Canadian equivalent” is Southdown Institute in Ontario, where Father Thompson worked as the coordinator of continuing care, beginning in 1986.
The meeting also included a discussion of household logistics and rent payments, estimated at $400-500 monthly, paid by the archdiocese to the Augustinians. The memo indicated that Father Thompson “would recommend to the Provincial that JR (James Ray) be accepted at the house” and “Upon the Provincial’s acceptance, JR would be able to move in about 7-10 days.”
That provincial was then-Father Prevost, the 44-year-old Chicago native who, after spending more than a decade ministering in Peru in a variety of roles, had been elected in 1999 by his Augustinian brothers to lead the Chicago-based Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel. He would hold the role until 2001, when he was elected the Augustinians’ prior general and assumed responsibility for the Order of St. Augustine worldwide, a role that required a move to Rome. He held that role until 2013.
Father Prevost’s permission to house Father Ray was presumably granted, as the living arrangement moved forward. Correspondence about Father Ray’s St. John Stone Friary placement in the public archdiocesan files did not include letters from Father Prevost. Nor did that correspondence mention St. Thomas the Apostle School.
The review board recommended the placement to Cardinal George, who confirmed his acceptance of the recommendation in a Sept. 27, 2000, letter to Leggdas. Copied on the approval letter is the Augustinian friary’s prior, Father Thompson. The provincial, Father Prevost, is not included.
Accused priest moved from Augustinian residence after ‘Dallas Charter’
Father Ray lived for two years at St. John Stone Friary. A May 2002 archdiocesan record indicates that Father Ray was engaged at that time “in limited ministry at Catholic Charities,” and 2021 reporting by the Chicago Sun-Times indicates that he had received archdiocesan approval to perform certain baptisms and weddings as well as travel while living with the Augustinians.
According to the archdiocese’s May 20 statement, “Upon enactment of the Charter in 2002, Ray was moved to another location,” which archdiocesan files show was a retreat house on the grounds of Mundelein Seminary northwest of Chicago, where other priests credibly accused of abuse were given accommodations per the archdiocese post-2002.
Father Thompson, who served as the prior of St. John Stone Friary until 2014, died in 2021 at age 77.
Father Ray’s residence with the Augustinians received public attention after media revealed in 2018 that another priest and former high school president accused of viewing child pornography and of sexual abuse, Augustinian Father Richard McGrath, had been living there and St. Thomas the Apostle School had not been notified.
At that time, Father Prevost had become Bishop Prevost, serving the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru.
Questions about then-Bishop Prevost’s record in Peru
In its “Vos Estis” complaint, SNAP also repeated claims about that period of his ministry, made in 2022 by child abuse victims in Peru that “then-Bishop Prevost failed to open a preliminary investigation, notify civil authorities, or properly restrict (the accused) priests from ministry” after they brought allegations to him in 2022.
Three women reportedly submitted complaints to his office that two priests in the diocese sexually abused them when they were between the ages of 9-14, and said that they knew of other complaints in the period between 1997 to 2007.
The women named Father Eleuterio Vásquez González and Father Ricardo Yesquén in the complaints, and said that in the year-and-a-half since they had submitted the allegations there had been no investigation, no protections put in place for children, and that the case had been filed away.
The Diocese of Chiclayo has denied accusations of mishandling their claims, saying that then-Bishop Prevost met with the victims in April 2022, and subsequently removed Father Vásquez, suspended him from ministry and forwarded the results of the investigation to the Vatican. The other priest was infirm and living in a nursing home.
“Every media outlet has been trying to discredit the cardinal, claiming he did nothing. That’s a lie. He has listened, he has respected the proceedings, and this process is still ongoing,” Bishop Edinson Farfán of Chiclayo said at a press conference, the Madrid-based news agency EFE reported May 10.
Peruvian journalist Paola Ugaz told OSV News that then-Bishop Prevost had been among the few who had supported her during a decadeslong persecution as she and survivors of abuse sought to expose wrongdoing within the controversial movement known as Sodalitium Christianae Vitae in her country. Pope Francis suppressed the group in January 2025, just a few months before his April 21 death.
SNAP calls for zero tolerance policy
During the May 20 press conference, SNAP repeated the Chiclayo allegations and called for Pope Leo to implement a “zero tolerance” policy globally. The United States is currently the only country with a clergy-abuse zero tolerance policy, meaning any priest credibly accused of sexual abuse is permanently removed from ministry.
“St. Augustine said, ‘Where there is no justice, there is no law,’” said Peter Isely, SNAP’s head of global affairs, quoting the fifth-century bishop and doctor of the church whose rule Pope Leo’s order follows.
“Zero tolerance is very simple,” he said.
SNAP’s board president Shaun Dougherty said the group was hopeful Pope Leo, a canon lawyer, would take up the proposed church law, after years of the 35-year-old advocacy group trying to propose it during the last three papacies.
“We’re doing it to protect children from having to sit through the indignity of talking about what happened,” he said.
Speaking to OSV News May 9, Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, director of the Institute of Anthropology (IADC) at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and a top expert on the abuse crisis, expressed optimism about Pope Leo’s efforts to address child sexual abuse.
He first met then-Father Prevost when Prevost was serving in Rome as the Augustinians’ prior general, or chief worldwide authority. At that time, the future pontiff participated in the inauguration of the Center for Child Protection (now IADC) as well as a safeguarding summit at the Gregorian. Then-Father Prevost “was willing to learn more — both in terms of safeguarding and in terms of canonical procedures,” Father Zollner said.
In light of Pope Francis’ summit to address clerical sexual abuse in February 2019, Father Zollner said it is crucial that Pope Leo “promotes awareness about the necessity to engage and continue engaging in safeguarding measures,” especially regarding the three pillars of tackling abuse: compliance, transparency and accountability.
For any pope, he added, the issue of abuse is critical, as it becomes “a question of the credibility of our existence and our message.”
“The message of Jesus Christ (is) that we have to be there for our brother and sister, and especially those who are wounded and are in danger of being wounded,” Father Zollner said. “This is the core of Christian existence.”
Maria Wiering is senior writer for OSV News. Contributing to this story were Simone Orendain in Chicago, and OSV News International Editor Paulina Guzik and Junno Arocho Esteves from Rome.