Leading experts defend Prevost's handling of abuse cases

Experts defend Prevost's handling of cases

Accusation of abuse cover-up against Pope apparently untenable

Robert Francis Prevost had barely been elected Pope when allegations surfaced of the American's alleged misconduct in his previous handling of abuse cases. Experts and victims alike see this as an act of revenge.

When Leo XIV stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on Thursday evening, not everyone was celebrating. Initiatives of victims of abuse in the Catholic Church accused the new Pope of previous misconduct in his dealings with perpetrators and victims. The allegations are not new and have already been rejected.

Hans Zollner, a global child protection expert, suspects the same community that Robert Prevost vigorously opposed during his time in Peru is behind the allegations. The Vatican dissolved this very community, "Sodalitium Christianae Vitae," in mid-April for cases of sexual violence, abuse of power, and cover-ups, among other things.

Two Cases

The current allegations specifically concern two cases. The first takes place in Chicago in 2000. Prevost was then the regional leader of his order, the Augustinians. The Archdiocese of Chicago had to accommodate a priest who was accused of multiple cases of child abuse. At that time, the accused had already been banned from his ministry for around ten years, worked in the administration of the diocese, and was under surveillance. Because the archdiocese sold the priest's previous residence, they sought new accommodation and found it in a monastery of the Augustinian Order – in compliance with disciplinary measures.

As provincial superior, Prevost had to approve the move of the monitored offender into the religious house. He is now accused of failing to recognize the house's proximity to a Catholic elementary school as a risk when housing a suspected sex offender. It wasn't until two years later that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops published the Dallas Charter, which contained stricter guidelines on child protection and handling cases of abuse. At that time, in 2002, the diocese completely removed the priest from active ministry, and he left the religious house. The man, against whom further allegations of abuse were later made, has since been removed from the priesthood.

He has so far experienced Prevost as someone committed to combating abuse – "without saying that everything was perfect," says Hans Zollner.

The second case has already been closed under both canon and civil law, but has been partially reopened after receiving considerable attention in some media outlets. Three women are accusing the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru and its former bishop and current pope of alleged misconduct, including a cover-up, in the handling of allegations they reported against two priests. The alleged sexual assaults by the clergy occurred before Prevost's appointment as Bishop of Chiclayo in 2014 and were not reported until 2022.

The Peruvian diocese responded to public allegations in a television report in September 2024 with a detailed statement denying all allegations. Prevost had initiated a preliminary investigation, suspended the priest from ministry, and forwarded the results of the investigation to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome. The women were offered psychological support and advised to file a civil lawsuit. The state investigation was discontinued due to a lack of evidence. The outcome of the renewed investigation in the Vatican is still pending.

An act of revenge by a dissolved community?

While some victims' associations are now accusing Prevost of allegedly inadequate handling of these cases, prominent abuse survivors are defending the new Pope. 

Journalist Pedro Salinas, co-founder of an initiative for victims, acknowledged Prevost's "decisive role in addressing the Sodalicio case – one of the worst abuse scandals in Latin America" ​​in a statement. Like Zollner, he suspects a campaign by former members of the dissolved "Sodalitium Christianae Vitae" community, known as Sodalicio for short.

Zollner, who heads the Safeguarding Institute at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, stated that he has so far experienced Prevost as someone committed to combating abuse – "without saying that everything was perfect." The Jesuit priest attests to Leo XIV's very high sensitivity to the issue.

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