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.

“I’m here because the Church’s failure to take responsibility continues to endanger people globally,” Pearson told the South Cook News.

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

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

“What’s really significant about Prevost is he’s in a position of oversight of abuse claims,” Pearson said. “That Vatican body recommends who should be made bishops around the world. If you’ve failed to protect children in the past, how can you be trusted to shape the future of the Church?”

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. “Not even an acknowledgment. Whistleblowers send letters, and they hear nothing.”

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. “If you're going to accept someone who’s admitted to all these crimes… and place him next to a school without informing them, that is unacceptable.”

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.

“These sisters were very young—one of them just 19 when they made the report about abuse that happened when they were under 10,” Pearson said. “They did everything right, but still, their claims weren’t taken seriously.”

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

“This wasn’t just someone in the pews. He was saying Mass while supposedly under investigation,” Pearson said. “And when we raised this, there wasn’t an apology or a call for accountability. There was just denial and deflection.”

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

“The sisters say they were never even called to testify. So how can you claim there was an investigation?” she said. “That’s why we filed a report. It needs to be looked at by an independent investigator—not someone the Vatican hand-picks to give them the answer they want.”

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. 

“You’re asking people to submit themselves to judgment. And isn’t that what they ask Catholics to do every week in confession?” she said. “Confess, accept consequences, and ask for forgiveness.”

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

“We’ve asked for whistleblower information and we’re getting it,” she said. “There are clergy who’ve tried to raise red flags internally and were shut down. Now they see a way to be heard.”

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. 

“If you respond to a letter from abuse survivors by saying ‘that’s not true’ instead of ‘how can we help,’ then you don’t have the moral authority to lead this Church,” she said.

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.