Disgraced Priest Says Pope Leo XIV Greenlit His Move Near School After Sex Abuse Accusations

A stunning new claim is making headlines in the Catholic community, involving a disgraced priest, disturbing past sexual abuse allegations, and a controversial decision allegedly tied to Pope Leo XIV.

The situation has reignited concerns about the Church’s handling of sex abuse cases, with insiders now questioning who knew what and when.

As the Vatican remains silent, the public is demanding answers about how such a questionable move was allowed to happen.

James M. Ray, a former Chicago-area priest who was removed from public ministry in 1991 following credible child molestation accusations, claims that in 2000, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, permitted him to move into the St. John Stone Friary in Hyde Park.

The monastery, situated alarmingly close to a Catholic grammar school and daycare center, became his residence despite strict protocols meant to protect children from such risks.

Ray told the Chicago Sun-Times that Pope Leo XIV, then head of the Midwest province of the Augustinian order, facilitated the move and was fully aware of his history.

“He’s the one who gave me permission to stay there,” Ray told the outlet.

Speaking about his move to the area, Ray said he was initially moved to another residence after the allegations emerged.

However, the property was going to be demolished, and the archdiocese's vicar for priests “put out word” to church organizations to see if any had a place for him to stay.

According to Ray, the Augustinians were the only ones who responded. Allegedly, Pope Leo XIV gave Ray the final approval to move into the friary.

During the interview, a reporter asked the former priest how he knew the approval came from the new pope.

“That’s what the paperwork said, and I think Jim said,” Ray responded, referring to Rev. James Thompson, a now-deceased Augustinian who lived at the monastery and served as Ray's on-site monitor while he lived there.

Amid the shocking claims, Michael Airdo, a longtime attorney for the Augustinians in Chicago, is doing everything to keep Pope Leo XIV’s name away from Ray’s move to the Friary.

In a statement, Airdo blamed Cardinal Francis George, who died in 2015, and Thompson.

“The placement of a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago at St. John Stone Friary from 2000 to 2002 was an accommodation to the late Cardinal Francis George ... as head of the Archdiocese of Chicago,” the statement read per the Chicago Sun-Times.

According to Airdo, it was Thompson’s responsibility as the provincial provost at the time to oversee the acceptance of any new resident.

“The role of the then-Provincial Prevost was to accept a guest of the house at the remuneration rates noted,” he said.

The controversy began when Pope Leo XIV faced allegations that he failed to act on sexual abuse claims during his leadership roles in both the United States and Peru.

In Peru, during his tenure as Bishop of Chiclayo, he faced accusations of inaction regarding abuse claims.

In 2022, three women reported that they had been abused by priests Eleuterio Vásquez González and Ricardo Yesquén between 2007 and 2015.

They claimed that the diocese, under Pope Leo XIV’s leadership, failed to investigate their claims thoroughly. According to the women, he asked them to take their cases to the civil authorities while the church investigated.

Sadly, they alleged that their case was dropped due to a lack of evidence and that the statute of limitations had expired.

Considering everything that allegedly transpired during Pope Leo XIV’s time in Chicago and Peru, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) wasn’t pleased about his election as the head of the Catholic Church.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Lopez de Casas, the national vice president of SNAP, noted that they had informed the 135 cardinals responsible for the Pope’s election about his alleged inaction.

Even though nothing was allegedly done about it, Casas shared that SNAP believed the reports would put the Pope under constant public 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,” he said.