by Olivier Acuña Barba •Published: May 9, 2025•22:18•3 minutes read
The allegations that he ignored sexual abuse claims under the watch cast a dark shadow on his Holy See | Photo: Marco Iacobucci Epp/Shutterstock
Born Robert Francis Prevast, Pope Leo XIV made history on Thursday as the first American pope in the two,000-year history of the Catholic Church. 2025. But his ascension is contaminated by the whispers of the harsh past.
The allegations swirl that he defended pedophile priests in Chicago and Peru, casting poles at his Pope. Survivors and supporters demand answers, and their voices are painful. A group of survivors accused Robert Prible of failing to act on allegations of abuse in the United States and Peru. It has been reported on friday.
“It’s a sin to stay silent,” Eduardo Lopez de Casas (SNAP), a victim of clergy abuse and national vice president of the Survivors Network of People Abused by Priests, told the Daily Mail. “That’s not what God wants us to do. Jesus wants us to stop these things, rather than creating a healthy garden for sexual abuse to grow.”
New Rope is said to have tolerated pedophiles
Prevost was allegedly seen past allegations in Chicago, where he grew up, after the father of Augustine’s priest, James Ray, was allowed to live in St. John Stone Friary in Hyde Park.
“It’s betrayal,” survivor Lopez de Casas told the email, hoping that Pope Leo XIV’s election will expose hidden abuse.
The new Pope is said to have not notified the head of the elementary school St. Thomas Catholic School, as the church said at the time that Ray should be closely monitored at Flyay.
Faced with criticism for ignoring allegations of abuse in Peru
Prevost also faced criticism that he failed to open a formal church investigation into allegations of sexual abuse committed by two priests in the Peruvian Diocese of Chiclayo, which he led between 2014 and 2023.
SNAP and other groups say they have confirmed that the 133 eligible cardinals who selected him are aware of Prevost’s alleged inaction on the allegations.
Prevost led the Augustinian Midwest Midwest in Chicago from 1998 to 2010, leading the global leader last year. As the Sun Times of Chicago It has been reportedreligious leaders “refused to respond to requests for comment for years.”
A 2024 Chicago Sun-Times article exposed the festivities’ wounds. Pastor Richard McGrath, president of Providence Catholic High School, has faced allegations of abuse since the 1990s.
Under the Prevost watch
Student Robert Clankvich suspected rape and won a $2 million settlement in 2018.
In Peru, as Bishop Chiclayo (2015–2023), Prevost faces more scrutiny. Three sisters from the 2007 abuse accused priests Ricardo Yesken and Eleuterio Vasquez Gonzalez, claiming they ignored the 2022 complaints.
Newsweek reported that SNAP filed a complaint with VOS Estis Lux Mundi in April 2025, claiming that Prevost had hampered the investigation in both Chicago and Chiclayo. Vos Esti Lux Mundi is a Vatican protocol set by Pope Francis in 2019, requiring that the bishops investigate the cover-up of abuse.
“He failed to suspend the accused priest,” said Snap’s Sarah Pearson. América Televisión reported that the church’s investigation was half-hearted and that the sisters were stuck.
Prevost defender is pushed back
According to Wikipedia, Chiclayo’s parish is urging civil lawsuits while launching standard investigations, claiming he met his sister. According to CNN, the parish denied the woman’s allegations and said they met personally when Prevost filed their first complaint. The parish halted one priest after the complaint, and the other said that due to his poor age and health, he was no longer in ministry.
In 2019, Prevost defended the victims to La República, saying, “I refuse to cover up and secret.” His tenure at Augustine was through Child Protection Protocols by 2010, during the Sun. However, the submission of snaps ignored by the Vatican burns suspicion. “These are serious allegations,” Pearson told Newsweek. “They deserve to be investigated.”
The evidence is vague. The settlement and complaints confirm the abuse under the clock of Prevost, but no court has accompliceed him. Suntime and snap refer to omission rather than aggressive concealment. X amplifies the anger by quoting @Ashtronautgirl, citing Prevost’s Chicago’s failed surveillance.
Still, without legal investigation results, a cover-up request is about testimony and reasoning. The Pope of Leo XIV begins under the clouds. For survivors, supporters, and many Catholics, the demand is clear. Truth, transparency, and a break from the silence that defined the darkest chapters of the Church. His mission today is to unite the 1.4 billion Catholics who are plagued by the cries for justice.
