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A defrocked priest accused of sexually abusing at least 13 children has claimed that Pope Leo XIV—then a provincial leader of the Augustinian religious order—approved his controversial placement near a Catholic elementary school in Chicago, despite his known history of alleged child sexual abuse.
James M. Ray, formerly a priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago, told the Chicago Sun-Times that Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, personally authorized his move to the St. John Stone Friary in Hyde Park in 2000. At the time, Prevost served as the head of the Midwest province of the Augustinians. The friary is located less than a block from St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School and directly adjacent to a child care centre—neither of which were reportedly notified of Ray's presence.
"He's the one who gave me permission to stay there," Ray told reporters, referencing both written documentation and a verbal account he said came from Rev. James Thompson, the late friary prior assigned to monitor him during his stay from 2000 to 2002.
Ray's accusations surface just weeks after Prevost was installed as pope, taking the name Leo XIV. The timing has reignited questions about the new pope's past oversight and the broader Church's handling of abuse allegations.
According to church records and a 2023 Illinois attorney general report, Ray molested at least 13 minors between the 1980s and 1990s. Though never criminally convicted or listed on a public sex offender registry, he was placed on a list of accused priests by the Arch-diocese and was subject to ministry restrictions starting in 1990. After his prior residence was scheduled for demolition, Ray said church leaders began looking for new accommodations, and the Augustinians were "the only ones who responded."
Attorney Michael Airdo, representing the Augustinians, issued a statement distancing Prevost from the decision, claiming that then-Cardinal Francis George, the Archbishop of Chicago, initiated Ray's relocation and that the ultimate authority rested with the local prior, not the provincial leader. "The role of then-Provincial Prevost was to accept a guest of the house at the remuneration rates noted," Airdo stated. "The Prior of the Friary had exclusive control over the acceptance of any new residents."
Still, Ray maintains it was Prevost who formally approved the arrangement. "That's what the paperwork said," Ray insisted, while also acknowledging he never met Prevost personally.
The case raises additional concerns because records show that archdiocesan officials erroneously claimed "there was no school in the immediate area" when approving the move—despite the friary's proximity to both a school and a daycare facility.
Ray lived at the monastery until 2002, when the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops implemented stricter protocols for dealing with clergy accused of abuse. He was removed from ministry that year and defrocked in 2012.
In past remarks, Pope Leo XIV has emphasized the Church's duty to address abuse with "transparency and honesty." In a 2023 Vatican interview, he stated: "Silence is not the solution. We must accompany and assist the victims." When asked by the Sun-Times about the multiple allegations, Ray described the abuse as a "back rub," later adding, "I can't change the past. On a scale of 1 to 10, I was wrong, but it was a 1—or maybe a half."
