South Cook News

A spokesperson for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) says that papal contender and Dolton, Illinois native Cardinal Robert Prevost lacks the "moral authority" to lead the church due to his alleged mishandling of sexual abuse cases while overseeing Catholic institutions in the state, including at the Midwest Augustinians from 1998 to 2014.

Speaking from Rome, Pearson detailed the allegations against Prevost and the Church’s resistance to adopting a zero tolerance policy for sexual abuse.

Prevost’s decisions show a pattern of leniency and cover-up, according to SNAP. 

SNAP spokesperson Sarah Pearson, speaking from Rome. | South Cook News

“What's really significant about him is he's in a position of oversight of abuse claims,” Pearson told the South Cook News. “He runs the Dicastery for bishops and that Vatican body is basically responsible for researching and recommending to the Pope what people should be made bishops around the entire world. So that's a major position, but they also do oversee some abuse cases when it comes to bishops or adults who are abused.”

SNAP launched Conclave Watch in February, a survivor led initiative that "calls on the next conclave to select a pope who has not covered up abuse and who will commit - on the very first day of his papacy - to enacting a binding, universal zero tolerance law" regarding sexual abuse. 

Pearson described the effort as long overdue. 

“It’s something we had talked about for a long time…We’ve come to Rome several times to seek zero tolerance,” she said. “It was becoming clear that this wasn’t going to happen in (Francis’s) papacy, so we began turning our attention to the next one.”

Prevost, who currently leads the Vatican's powerful Dicastery for Bishops, is among the candidates SNAP has flagged on Conclave Watch and is the subject of a formal complaint to the Vatican by SNAP.

Despite their advocacy, SNAP has received no response from Prevost or the Vatican to their formal inquiries. 

“That seems to be a running theme,” Pearson said.  

In his former roles, he was responsible for overseeing clergy assignments and abuse cases in both the U.S. and Peru. 

Prevost allowed Rev. Richard McGrath to remain in leadership at Providence Catholic H.S. despite longstanding abuse allegations dating back to the 1990s. McGrath was only removed in 2017 after a student found a nude photo of a boy on his phone. 

In 2023, the Augustinian Province paid $2 million to settle a rape claim against McGrath by former student Robert Krankvich, who has since died.

Prevost is accused of endangering children by approving the residence of Fr. James Ray—who was accused of sexual abuse and under restrictions—in a Hyde Park friary located half a block from St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School. 

Prevost allegedly failed to inform school administrators of the move, despite being aware of Ray’s risk and prior restrictions by the Archdiocese of Chicago.

McGrath was housed in the same friary after allegations surfaced against him as well.

“The school was not notified,” Pearson said. 

Pearson said the situation showed serious lapses in judgment. 

“If you're going to accept somebody who has admitted themselves internally to having committed all these crimes that their supervisors are telling you that they believe that you shouldn't be with children unmonitored,” she said. 

SNAP points to other troubling incidents. 

In Peru, as Bishop of Chiclayo, Prevost is accused of failing to act on a complaint from three young sisters who alleged they were sexually abused by two priests. 

Despite Vatican rules requiring that such cases be reported to civil authorities, SNAP says the women had to go to the police themselves after months of inaction.

“So to be clear, these sisters were very young,” she said. “I believe one of them was 19 when making the report and the abuse that happened when they were under the age of 10. So it's rare for people actually to come forward that soon – not that it would matter, but it's not like this is something…happened decades and decades ago.”

One of the accused priests remained in active ministry during the investigation, with photos of him celebrating Mass posted to parish Facebook pages. 

“This is not just like a person in the congregation snapped a photo of him attending a Mass — it was on the official parish Facebook page in this diocese,” she said. “He's saying Mass with a picture of him right out there — that they had to see online. So they cited that in their letter, that here's this person who's supposed to be investigated and he never was.”

Prevost’s office has disputed some of SNAP’s claims, but Pearson says the victims’ experiences tell a different story.

“Everything was forwarded to the Vatican for an investigation, but the sisters were actually never called by the Vatican to give their own testimony,” she said. “So it's like — how can you say there was adequate investigation if the victims were never called for an interview during Prevost’s tenure?”

Pearson argued that conflicting accounts surrounding Prevost’s actions. 

“(Prevost) made this claim or the victims have come out and directly contradicted his claims and said this did not happen this did happen this does not happen that's why it needs to be investigated by an actually an independent investigator not an insider the Vatican appoints to tell them what they want to hear.” 

SNAP’s interim executive director Shaun Dougherty, also in Rome, during an interview with CBS Mornings pushed for a canonical law that would make child sexual abuse a crime under Church law—something Pope Francis never enacted. 

Dougherty said the Vatican needs to create “a law making it a crime to rape children.” 

“It's a simple request,” Dougherty told CBS Mornings. He called Francis’s legacy on the crisis an “absolute failure.”

Pearson echoed Dougherty’s call for a ‘zero tolerance’ policy for sexual abuse and cover-up thereof. 

“This is an incredibly reasonable and principled request,” she said. “Most people are shocked to learn there is no zero tolerance policy. But if the Church implemented one, it would mean removing thousands of priests around the world. And it would mean holding themselves accountable.”

According to Pearson, that is where the resistance lies. 

“So what you're asking someone to do is, you need to submit yourself to a system where you are putting the evidence forward, and you're being judged for what you've done and accepting the consequences,” she said. “And I mean, isn't that what they ask Catholics to do every week when they go to confession — to confess what they've done and ask for absolution?”

Yet Pearson says momentum is growing. SNAP has received emails and documents from priests around the world, emboldened by the Conclave Watch campaign.

“We hear from victims a lot because they know that we have a support network. But it's interesting that we've asked for this whistleblower information,” she said. “I think there are priests out there who have information and have maybe tried, in their position, to escalate an incident that's happened and have been shut down — or sometimes they're even punished for bringing it up.”

Still, SNAP isn’t under any illusion about the conclave’s priorities. 

“This is an institution that doesn’t promote whistleblowers,” Pearson said. “We’re not expecting a miracle. But whoever is chosen, they must act. Apologize. Release records. Report abusers to authorities. Pass the law. That’s the only way forward.”

And for candidates like Prevost, Pearson is clear. 

“Based on his response to one case from Peru, with three sisters and two priests and that small diocese, how are we to believe that he is the person who is qualified to lead the entire Vatican and the 1.3 billion-member global Church through that process?” she said. “I don't see him as possessing the moral authority to be able to do that.”

Crux, a digital news agency covering Catholic issues, which is rumored to be advocating for Prevost said he's the first American “with a serious shot” at the papacy.