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A defrocked priest from the Chicago suburbs alleges that the future Pope Leo XIV approved his relocation in 2000 to a Hyde Park monastery located near a Catholic school—despite the priest having already been accused of child molestation.
Robert Prevost—recently appointed head of the Vatican and now known as Pope Leo XIV—is being accused of turning a blind eye to Chicago’s clergy abuse crisis during his tenure as head of the Midwest Province of the Augustinian order.
Former priest James M. Ray claims Prevost personally signed off on his move to the St. John Stone Friary in Hyde Park, situated less than a block from St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School, even though Ray was already under suspicion.
“He’s the one who gave me permission to stay there,” Ray told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Ray, who is listed among the Archdiocese of Chicago’s accused sexual offenders, was placed under “limited ministry with restrictions” in 1990. Despite those restrictions, he continued to serve in three parishes until 2000, when the Archdiocese arranged for alternative housing it claimed would be safe for the public. That housing turned out to be the Hyde Park friary—just steps away from a Catholic school and directly across an alley from a daycare center. Neither facility was reportedly notified of Ray’s presence.
The move was allegedly approved by Prevost, who served as provincial superior of the Augustinian order at the time. “That’s what the paperwork said,” Ray said, adding that the late Rev. James Thompson, who was assigned to monitor him on-site, also confirmed the arrangement. Church officials reportedly justified the lack of notification to local school authorities by citing Ray’s supervision. However, the Sun-Times found that Archdiocesan documents incorrectly stated there was “no school in the immediate area.”
Michael Airdo, attorney for the Augustinians in Chicago, contested Ray’s claims, arguing that the decision ultimately rested with Thompson and the late Cardinal Francis George. “The role of then-Provincial Prevost was to accept a guest of the house,” Airdo said, asserting that Thompson had “exclusive control” over new residents.
Ray lived at the friary for two years until 2002, when the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops instituted new guidelines requiring priests accused of abuse to be kept away from children. He was removed from ministry that same year and was officially defrocked by the Catholic Church in 2012.
“I felt abandoned by the Church, but never by God,” Ray said. “My faith is still strong. I live out my life the best I can.”
In 2014, Cardinal George released internal Church documents showing Ray’s victims were between the ages of 10 and 18. The records described multiple instances of inappropriate contact, including back rubs that escalated to sexual acts, mutual masturbation, and a separate 1993 incident in which Ray admitted to masturbating a paraplegic man during a pilgrimage to Medjugorje.
A 2023 report by the Illinois Attorney General identified at least 13 victims of Ray’s abuse. Speaking to the Sun-Times, Ray initially minimized the accusations but later admitted: “I can’t change the past… On a scale of 1 to 10, I was wrong, but it was a 1—or maybe a half even.”
This is not the first time Pope Leo XIV has faced criticism for inaction in abuse cases. During his time as bishop of Chiclayo, Peru (2014–2023), he was accused of failing to investigate allegations against two priests, despite receiving testimony and documentation from victims.
Though Prevost eventually met with accusers and encouraged them to report their experiences to civil authorities, the Church’s internal investigation was later dropped due to insufficient evidence and expired statutes of limitation.
In a 2023 interview, Prevost underscored the importance of transparency in handling abuse cases:
“Silence is not the solution… There is a great responsibility in this, for all of us.”
