{"id":14976,"date":"2025-05-22T03:44:31","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T03:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=14976"},"modified":"2025-05-22T03:44:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T03:44:31","slug":"ex-priest-accused-of-abuse-makes-shocking-pope-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=14976","title":{"rendered":"Ex-priest accused of abuse makes shocking Pope claim"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Just weeks into his reign as Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost is rocked by explosive new accusations.<\/strong><\/p><div class=\"lxcwn69f5e1aab3c9b\" ><div style=\"width:100%; max-width:1200px; margin:0 auto;\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/bolt-casino.com?r=0BFDBF1283\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n    <img \n      src=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/f8693ebb-2018-480f-a2f7-0096810c07f0.jpg\" \n      alt=\"200% Deposit Bonus + 10% Cashback\" \n      style=\"width:100%; height:auto; display:block; border-radius:8px; cursor:pointer;\"\n    \/>\n  <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 1201px) {\r\n.lxcwn69f5e1aab3c9b {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 993px) and (max-width: 1200px) {\r\n.lxcwn69f5e1aab3c9b {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 992px) {\r\n.lxcwn69f5e1aab3c9b {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 768px) {\r\n.lxcwn69f5e1aab3c9b {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {\r\n.lxcwn69f5e1aab3c9b {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n\n<p><strong>A defrocked Chicago-area priest says the newly elected pope personally approved his move to a monastery in Hyde Park \u2014 just\u00a0<em>steps<\/em> from an elementary school \u2014 despite knowing the priest was accused of molesting children.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-lived-less-than-a-block-from-a-school\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lived less than a block from a school<\/h2>\n<p>James M. Ray, a former priest himself, told the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/the-watchdogs\/2025\/05\/20\/pope-leo-xiv-robert-prevost-james-ray-cardinal-francis-george-south-side-monastery-chicago\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Chicago Sun-Times<\/a>\u00a0that Prevost, who was then head of the Midwest province of the Catholic Church\u2019s Augustinian order, signed off on letting him live at St. John Stone Friary from 2000 to 2002.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s the one who gave me permission to stay there,\u201d Ray said bluntly.<\/p>\n<p>And here\u2019s the kicker: Ray had already been accused of sexually abusing at least 13 children and was under strict restrictions. Yet he lived less than a block from St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School \u2014 which, shockingly, was never informed of his presence.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-170263\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-main.newsner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/21125018\/proe.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"401\" height=\"554\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ROWzwO893w4&amp;ab_channel=JeffAnderson%26Associates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Youtube \/ Jeff Anderson &amp; Associates<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>According to Sun-Times, official church records initially claimed there was no school in the immediate area \u2014 an assertion now proven false. A child care center was also just across the alley, with no notification to parents or staff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Augustinians were the only ones who responded when the Archdiocese put out the word looking for housing,\u201d Ray said, dismissing claims that the Archdiocese forced the order to take him in.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-did-he-knew-about-this-arrangement\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Did he knew about this arrangement?<\/h2>\n<p>Although the archdiocese, rather than the Augustinians, held ultimate responsibility for Ray as one of its priests, there\u2019s no evidence that anyone was legally required to notify neighbors about an accused abuser living nearby.<\/p>\n<p>However,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/new-pope-leo-sex-abuse-cases-catholic-church-ee0b409fbf320a3382af03bc0ecc9561\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">a complaint\u00a0<\/a>claims that Prevost knew about this arrangement, referencing a 2000 internal archdiocesan memo, and should have informed the school.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, a lawyer for the Augustinians insists Prevost merely \u201caccepted a guest of the house\u201d and that the friary\u2019s onsite monitor, the late Rev. James Thompson, was responsible for overseeing Ray.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-170265\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-main.newsner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/05\/21125101\/GettyImages-2214032706-1-edited.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"546\" height=\"364\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Maria Grazia Picciarella\/SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ray was eventually removed from public ministry in 2002, following a landmark Boston Globe investigation that exposed the Church\u2019s systemic cover-up of abuse.<\/p>\n<p>He was defrocked in 2012.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI felt abandoned by the church, but never felt abandoned by God,\u201d he said. \u201cMy faith is still strong. I live out my life each day the best I can. When this comes up, there\u2019s a pain in my chest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite multiple victims \u2014 some as young as 10 \u2014 Ray minimizes the allegations:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a young man I gave back rubs to,\u201d he told reporters. When pressed, his explanations became unclear, ending with a simple \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-silence-is-not-the-solution\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201dSilence is not the solution\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>As the Church grapples with its abuse legacy,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.newsner.com\/celebrity\/pope-leo-xiv-school-degree\/\">Pope Leo XIV<\/a>\u00a0has publicly pledged transparency and healing. In 2023, after taking on the Vatican role responsible for choosing bishops, Prevost told Vatican News that while some bishops have made progress in handling abuse cases, more effort is required to support \u201cbishops who have not received the necessary preparation\u201d to address these issues.<\/p>\n<p>He emphasized: \u201cSilence is not the solution. We must be transparent and honest, we must accompany and assist the victims, because otherwise their wounds will never heal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But this explosive claim raises urgent questions about what happened under his leadership as a top Augustinian. The pope himself has never been accused of any abuse.<\/p>\n<p>When asked about his thoughts on Prevost as pope, James M. Ray joked, \u201cWhy did it have to be an Augustinian?\u201d upon hearing the news of his appointment.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the joke, Ray said Prevost\u2019s selection gives off \u201cvery positive vibes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ray also says he\u2019s not the only controversial figure from Prevost\u2019s era \u2014 hinting at others who remain in the shadows. And for a Church desperately trying to move forward, the past may still be casting a long, dark shadow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just weeks into his reign as Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost is rocked by explosive new accusations. A defrocked Chicago-area priest says the newly elected pope personally approved his move to a monastery in Hyde Park \u2014 just\u00a0steps from an elementary school \u2014 despite knowing the priest was accused of molesting children. Lived less than&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ex-priest accused of abuse makes shocking Pope claim - VM News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=14976\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ex-priest accused of abuse makes shocking Pope claim - VM News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Just weeks into his reign as Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost is rocked by explosive new accusations. 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