A defrocked priest, James M. Ray, has made controversial claims against Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Robert Prevost, regarding his handling of the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandal during his tenure in the USA.

Ray, who has been accused of sexually abusing at least 13 children, alleged that Prevost permitted him to reside in a Hyde Park monastery near a Catholic elementary school despite prior abuse accusations, per Chicago Tribune.

Ray, included on an Archdiocesan list of accused sexual offenders, asserted that the Vatican’s new leader approved his relocation to the St. John Stone Friary in 2000.

"He's the one who gave me permission to stay there," he told the Chicago-Sun Times.

According to DailyMail UK, monastery was located less than a block from St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School and adjacent to a child care centre.

Reports have suggested that neither the school nor the child care centre had been notified of his presence as a past offender.

He further claimed that Prevost's approval came based on documentation and accounts from church officials about his conduct.

Ray’s tenure at the monastery lasted two years before policy changes from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops mandated stricter distancing of accused clergy from children.

He was removed from public ministry in 2002 following widespread revelations in an investigative report by The Boston Globe. A decade later, in 2012, Ray was officially defrocked.

"I felt abandoned by the Church, but never felt abandoned by God. My faith is still strong. I live out my life each day the best I can," Ray said, claiming that whenever someone brings up his sexual assault allegations , there was a pain his chest.

Church records indicated that Ray admitted to incidents of inappropriate conduct, including one that occurred during a 1993 visit to Medjugorje, a town famous for reported Marian apparitions.

In total, a 2023 Illinois Attorney General report identified at least 13 victims of his abuse, aged between 10 and 18. The disturbing claims are outlined in documentation, as below:

"The common theme within these three formal allegations of sexual abuse was that Jim Ray became close to their families... Then Jim Ray physically touched them inappropriately by having them sit on his lap, which over time led to him giving them back rubs that eventually went lower."

Beyond his connection to Ray, Pope Leo XIV has previously faced criticism regarding his response to sexual abuse allegations within the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, where he served as bishop from 2014 to 2023.

Victims have alleged that under the new pontiff's leadership, evidence of abuse by two priests was downplayed and hindered from reaching Vatican authorities for formal action.

Despite these concerns, Prevost had previously stated in a 2023 interview with Vatican Media, that 'Silence is not the solution... We must be transparent and honest, because otherwise their wounds will never heal.'

"I can’t change the past. I don’t necessarily want to defend myself either. But on a scale of 1 to 10, I was wrong, but it was a 1 or maybe a half even," Ray said.

Legit.ng earlier reported that Pope Leo acknowledged his past connection to Nigeria, specifically Lagos, in a recent invitation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The pontiff mentioned that he had once worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s, highlighting his familiarity with the nation and its people.

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Source: Legit.ng