Dark Secrets Haunt Newly Elected Pope Leo XIV’s Past

Pope Leo XIV, previously Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, is dealing with backlash simply hours into his papacy after disturbing allegations resurfaced from his time within the United States and Peru.

Survivors and advocacy teams declare the newly elected pontiff didn’t act on critical youngster sexual abuse experiences beneath his management.

The rising controversy is elevating pressing questions on accountability, transparency, and the way forward for reform throughout the Catholic Church.

The Survivors Network of these Abused by Priests (SNAP) and different advocacy organizations have expressed deep concern over Pope Leo XIV’s previous dealing with of abuse instances.

In a chat with the Daily Mail, Lopez de Casas, a sufferer of clergy abuse and nationwide vice chairman of SNAP, accused the newly elected pope of failing to handle abuse allegations, which Casas mentioned had been relayed to the cardinals who elected the pope.

“Staying silent is a sin. It’s not what God wants us to do. Jesus wants us to stop these things, not to make a heathy garden for secular abuse to grow,” he advised the outlet.

In addition, SNAP revealed that they had knowledgeable the 135 cardinals who elected Pope Leo XIV about his alleged inaction. According to them, the experiences would topic the pope to fixed scrutiny.

“This person will be scrutinized from left to right. That’s helpful for victims everywhere because we have this pope who will be under the public eye in terms of things he was involved with in the past,” Casas mentioned.

The accusations stemmed from Pope Leo XIV’s time in Chicago.

In the early 2000s, whereas serving because the prior provincial of the Augustinian Order’s Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel in Chicago, the newly-elected pontiff permitted Father James Ray, a priest suspended from public ministry as a result of critical accusations of kid sexual abuse, to reside at St. John Stone Friary in Hyde Park.

The friary’s closeness to St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School, an elementary parish college, raised alarms amongst church officers and the group.

Despite objections, Ray remained on the location till 2002.

According to experiences, Pope Leo XIV allegedly failed to tell the heads of the elementary college as a result of, on the time, the church believed Ray was meant to be carefully monitored within the friary.

Pope Leo XIV’s tenure on the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, which he led from 2014 to 2023, has additionally been scrutinized.

Reports point out that he was conscious of a number of allegations of sexual abuse by two clergymen however didn’t take decisive motion.

In one case, three sisters, Ana Maria Quispe, Juana Mercedes, and Aura Teresa, reported abuse by a priest in 2004, but no substantial investigation was performed till years later.

The sisters reportedly met with the present pontiff in April 2022 to report the abuse.

However, he allegedly blew off their experiences, asking them to take their case to the civil authorities whereas the church investigated.

Unfortunately, the case was dropped as a result of an absence of proof and likewise as a result of the statute of limitations had expired.

The conclave passed off within the Sistine Chapel, the place 135 cardinal electors gathered in secrecy to vote for a brand new pope.

After 4 rounds of voting over two days, the required two-thirds majority was achieved, and white smoke billowed from the chapel’s chimney, signaling the profitable election.