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Malay Mail
10-05-2025
- Malay Mail
Church dismisses claims Pope Leo failed to act on abuse cases in Peru, says he ‘respected procedures'
CHICLAYO (Peru), May 10 — Pope Leo XIV's successor as bishop of Chiclayo in northern Peru yesterday rejected allegations that the new pontiff ever covered up cases of sexual abuse within the diocese. Chiclayo bishop Edison Farfan told reporters that Leo had 'listened (to the victims) and respected the procedures' of the Church. The new pope had been 'the most sensitive of all within the Peruvian church' to the issue of sexual abuse, Farfan added. The US-born pontiff was bishop of the coastal city from 2015 to 2023, when he was made a cardinal and moved to Rome. Two victim advocacy groups questioned Leo XIV's commitment to addressing sexual violence in the church after he was announced Thursday. Victims' rights group, Bishop Accountability, has also questioned the US-born pontiff's commitment to lifting the lid on the scourge of clerical abuse. The group's co-director Anne Barrett Doyle noted that Leo had 'released no names' of abusers, whether as head of the Augustinian order, bishop of Chiclayo or most recently, as head of the powerful Dicastery for Bishops, advising his predecessor Francis on the appointment of bishops. She labelled his alleged inaction in Chiclayo, where she said two priests had been accused of sexual abuse, as 'most disturbing.' The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), also issued a statement after his election as pope calling on Leo XIV to take action to support victims of sexual violence. In 2022, a priest in the diocese was accused of having sexually assaulted at least three girls. The diocese's head of communications, Fiel Purizaca, told AFP that the priest targeted by the abuse allegations was 'immediately sent home.' Farfan said the allegations were an attempt to 'discredit' the new pontiff and were 'false.' Farfan said the church was still investigating the abuse claims. — AFP
Malay Mail
10-05-2025
- Malay Mail
Church dismisses claims Pope Leo XIV failed to act on abuse cases in Chiclayo, says he ‘respected procedures'
CHICLAYO (Peru), May 10 — Pope Leo XIV's successor as bishop of Chiclayo in northern Peru yesterday rejected allegations that the new pontiff ever covered up cases of sexual abuse within the diocese. Chiclayo bishop Edison Farfan told reporters that Leo had 'listened (to the victims) and respected the procedures' of the Church. The new pope had been 'the most sensitive of all within the Peruvian church' to the issue of sexual abuse, Farfan added. The US-born pontiff was bishop of the coastal city from 2015 to 2023, when he was made a cardinal and moved to Rome. Two victim advocacy groups questioned Leo XIV's commitment to addressing sexual violence in the church after he was announced Thursday. Victims' rights group, Bishop Accountability, has also questioned the US-born pontiff's commitment to lifting the lid on the scourge of clerical abuse. The group's co-director Anne Barrett Doyle noted that Leo had 'released no names' of abusers, whether as head of the Augustinian order, bishop of Chiclayo or most recently, as head of the powerful Dicastery for Bishops, advising his predecessor Francis on the appointment of bishops. She labelled his alleged inaction in Chiclayo, where she said two priests had been accused of sexual abuse, as 'most disturbing.' The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), also issued a statement after his election as pope calling on Leo XIV to take action to support victims of sexual violence. In 2022, a priest in the diocese was accused of having sexually assaulted at least three girls. The diocese's head of communications, Fiel Purizaca, told AFP that the priest targeted by the abuse allegations was 'immediately sent home.' Farfan said the allegations were an attempt to 'discredit' the new pontiff and were 'false.' Farfan said the church was still investigating the abuse claims. — AFP
The Independent
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Advocates press for accounting of sex-abuse cases in new pope's past jurisdictions
The new pope, Leo XIV, has this in common with many of his peers in the Catholic hierarchy: He's been in positions of authority when accusations of sexual abuse have arisen against priests under his supervision. Now some advocates for victims say there needs to be an accounting of how Leo — the name taken by Cardinal Robert Prevost upon his election Thursday — handled such cases when he held positions of church authority in Chicago and Peru. And they hope that as pope, he will crack down on other bishops who they say are mishandling similar cases. 'Some might advise giving the new pontiff the benefit of the doubt. We disagree. It is on Pope Leo XIV to win the trust of victims and their families,' Anne Barrett Doyle of the advocacy group said in a statement. Some advocates, however, credit Prevost with supporting survivors of an abusive, Peru-based Catholic movement that was eventually dissolved by the late Pope Francis. Prevost 'stood with us when others didn't. That's why his election matters,' said abuse survivor and journalist Predo Salinas, who helped found the group Ending Clergy Abuse. To be clear, no one has accused the pope of any act of abuse himself. Nor is he accused of what many Catholic bishops worldwide have done — knowingly keeping confirmed abusers in public ministry — in what has been the defining scandal of the Catholic Church in recent decades. Rather, he's been accused of falling short in his responses to cases in Chicago and Peru. Survivors network filed complaint in March The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests filed a formal complaint on March 25 against then-Cardinal Prevost with the Vatican secretary of state, alleging he abused ecclesiastical power in his handling of two cases. The filing amounted to a formal call for an investigation under rules established by Pope Francis in 2023 for dealing with the hierarchy's handling of abuse cases. One case involves the time when Prevost was based in Chicago as the Midwest regional leader of the Order of St. Augustine. The case involved James Ray, then a priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago. The archdiocese placed him on restricted ministry in 1990 due to abuse allegations, according to a later report by the Illinois attorney general's office. Bishops often imposed such restrictions — with varying levels of enforcement and typically without warning the public — until the explosive sex-abuse scandal exposed by the Boston Globe in 2002 in the Boston Archdiocese led to a nationwide policy of automatic removal from ministry. According to the complaint, Ray — who was not an Augustinian — was allowed to live at an Augustinian friary in Chicago from 2000 to 2002. The archdiocese, not the Augustinians, had ultimate responsibility for Ray as one of its priests, and there's no indication that anyone had a legal duty to inform neighbors that an accused abuser lived among them. But the complaint alleges that Prevost was aware of the arrangement, citing a 2000 internal archdiocesan memo, and should have informed the school. 'By doing so, Cardinal Prevost endangered the safety of the children,' the complaint said. Ray was moved out of the friary in 2002 and eventually left the priesthood. Prevost became worldwide leader of the Augustinians later that year. Second case arose during Prevost's time in Peru The other case involves Prevost's tenure as bishop of Chiclayo, Peru. In April 2022, three women came forward to accuse two priests — Eleuterio Vásquez Gonzales and Ricardo Yesquen — of sexually abusing them beginning in 2007, when they were minors, according to the complaint. The diocese, led by Prevost, forwarded information about the case to the Vatican office overseeing such complaints. It closed the case without a finding, though the diocese later reopened the investigation in 2023 after Prevost left for a Vatican post. The complaint says the diocese suspended Gonzales from ministry pending investigation but that later photos allegedly showed him continuing to celebrate Mass publicly. It said the diocese reported that Yesquen was no longer in ministry due to his age and health. According to the complaint, Prevost fell short because the diocese did not interview the women — depriving the Vatican investigators of potentially vital information — and failed to offer support to the accusers or to report the priests to civil authorities. But according to news reports, the diocese said it followed the correct steps in investigating and that Prevost did meet with the women. The Vatican investigation said Prevost acted correctly in imposing preliminary restrictions on Gonzales while Peruvian authorities conducted their own civil investigation, the typical way the church handles allegations that are also being investigated by secular authorities. Nine days after Peruvian authorities closed the case because the statute of limitations expired, Prevost was publicly named to take over the Vatican's office for bishops, leaving the diocese. The Vatican's dicastery for the doctrine of the faith ultimately shelved the case, citing a lack of sufficient evidence to proceed with a canonical trial against Gonzales. His role in confronting abuse in Catholic movement Some hoped Prevost's intervention in a scandal involving the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a Catholic movement in Peru, was a sign of reforms to come. Salinas said in a statement that the new pope, then in his role as bishop of Chiclayo, played a pivotal role in confronting the case, which is considered one of the most egregious sex-abuse scandals in Latin America. In a remarkable move, Pope Francis dissolved Sodalitium Christianae Vitae in January over alleged sexual and spiritual abuses and financial mismanagement. 'The world is waiting,' said Gemma Hickey, president of Ending Clergy Abuse. 'Let this pope be remembered not for the global abuse crisis he inherits, but for how he ends it.' In 2023, when he took the Vatican job of overseeing the selection of bishops, Prevost told Vatican News that there has been progress in how some bishops have handled abuse but that more work is needed with 'bishops who have not received the necessary preparation' to deal with it. He added: 'Silence is not the solution. We must be transparent and honest, we must accompany and assist the victims, because otherwise their wounds will never heal." Francis had a mixed record on responding to the clergy sexual abuse crisis. Most notably in 2018, he bungled a major case in Chile before reversing course, ordering an investigation and apologizing to the victims. Ultimately, it became a turning point for how he handled cases of priests sexually abusing children for the rest of his papacy. In its own statement, also contended that unlike many dioceses and religious orders, Prevost never published a list of accused abusers under his supervision. It also contended that no bishops were disciplined for mishandling abuse cases during his tenure in his most recent Vatican post. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Associated Press
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Advocates press for accounting of sex-abuse cases in new pope's past jurisdictions
The new pope, Leo XIV, has this in common with many of his peers in the Catholic hierarchy: He's been in positions of authority when accusations of sexual abuse have arisen against priests under his supervision. Now some advocates for victims say there needs to be an accounting of how Leo — the name taken by Cardinal Robert Prevost upon his election Thursday — handled such cases when he held positions of church authority in Chicago and Peru. And they hope that as pope, he will crack down on other bishops who they say are mishandling similar cases. 'Some might advise giving the new pontiff the benefit of the doubt. We disagree. It is on Pope Leo XIV to win the trust of victims and their families,' Anne Barrett Doyle of the advocacy group said in a statement. Some advocates, however, credit Prevost with supporting survivors of an abusive, Peru-based Catholic movement that was eventually dissolved by the late Pope Francis. Prevost 'stood with us when others didn't. That's why his election matters,' said abuse survivor and journalist Predo Salinas, who helped found the group Ending Clergy Abuse. To be clear, no one has accused the pope of any act of abuse himself. Nor is he accused of what many Catholic bishops worldwide have done — knowingly keeping confirmed abusers in public ministry — in what has been the defining scandal of the Catholic Church in recent decades. Rather, he's been accused of falling short in his responses to cases in Chicago and Peru. Survivors network filed complaint in March The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests filed a formal complaint on March 25 against then-Cardinal Prevost with the Vatican secretary of state, alleging he abused ecclesiastical power in his handling of two cases. The filing amounted to a formal call for an investigation under rules established by Pope Francis in 2023 for dealing with the hierarchy's handling of abuse cases. One case involves the time when Prevost was based in Chicago as the Midwest regional leader of the Order of St. Augustine. The case involved James Ray, then a priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago. The archdiocese placed him on restricted ministry in 1990 due to abuse allegations, according to a later report by the Illinois attorney general's office. Bishops often imposed such restrictions — with varying levels of enforcement and typically without warning the public — until the explosive sex-abuse scandal exposed by the Boston Globe in 2002 in the Boston Archdiocese led to a nationwide policy of automatic removal from ministry. According to the complaint, Ray — who was not an Augustinian — was allowed to live at an Augustinian friary in Chicago from 2000 to 2002. The archdiocese, not the Augustinians, had ultimate responsibility for Ray as one of its priests, and there's no indication that anyone had a legal duty to inform neighbors that an accused abuser lived among them. But the complaint alleges that Prevost was aware of the arrangement, citing a 2000 internal archdiocesan memo, and should have informed the school. 'By doing so, Cardinal Prevost endangered the safety of the children,' the complaint said. Ray was moved out of the friary in 2002 and eventually left the priesthood. Prevost became worldwide leader of the Augustinians later that year. Second case arose during Prevost's time in Peru The other case involves Prevost's tenure as bishop of Chiclayo, Peru. In April 2022, three women came forward to accuse two priests — Eleuterio Vásquez Gonzales and Ricardo Yesquen — of sexually abusing them beginning in 2007, when they were minors, according to the complaint. The diocese, led by Prevost, forwarded information about the case to the Vatican office overseeing such complaints. It closed the case without a finding, though the diocese later reopened the investigation in 2023 after Prevost left for a Vatican post. The complaint says the diocese suspended Gonzales from ministry pending investigation but that later photos allegedly showed him continuing to celebrate Mass publicly. It said the diocese reported that Yesquen was no longer in ministry due to his age and health. According to the complaint, Prevost fell short because the diocese did not interview the women — depriving the Vatican investigators of potentially vital information — and failed to offer support to the accusers or to report the priests to civil authorities. But according to news reports, the diocese said it followed the correct steps in investigating and that Prevost did meet with the women. The Vatican investigation said Prevost acted correctly in imposing preliminary restrictions on Gonzales while Peruvian authorities conducted their own civil investigation, the typical way the church handles allegations that are also being investigated by secular authorities. Nine days after Peruvian authorities closed the case because the statute of limitations expired, Prevost was publicly named to take over the Vatican's office for bishops, leaving the diocese. The Vatican's dicastery for the doctrine of the faith ultimately shelved the case, citing a lack of sufficient evidence to proceed with a canonical trial against Gonzales. His role in confronting abuse in Catholic movement Some hoped Prevost's intervention in a scandal involving the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a Catholic movement in Peru, was a sign of reforms to come. Salinas said in a statement that the new pope, then in his role as bishop of Chiclayo, played a pivotal role in confronting the case, which is considered one of the most egregious sex-abuse scandals in Latin America. In a remarkable move, Pope Francis dissolved Sodalitium Christianae Vitae in January over alleged sexual and spiritual abuses and financial mismanagement. 'The world is waiting,' said Gemma Hickey, president of Ending Clergy Abuse. 'Let this pope be remembered not for the global abuse crisis he inherits, but for how he ends it.' In 2023, when he took the Vatican job of overseeing the selection of bishops, Prevost told Vatican News that there has been progress in how some bishops have handled abuse but that more work is needed with 'bishops who have not received the necessary preparation' to deal with it. He added: 'Silence is not the solution. We must be transparent and honest, we must accompany and assist the victims, because otherwise their wounds will never heal.' Francis had a mixed record on responding to the clergy sexual abuse crisis. Most notably in 2018, he bungled a major case in Chile before reversing course, ordering an investigation and apologizing to the victims. Ultimately, it became a turning point for how he handled cases of priests sexually abusing children for the rest of his papacy. In its own statement, also contended that unlike many dioceses and religious orders, Prevost never published a list of accused abusers under his supervision. It also contended that no bishops were disciplined for mishandling abuse cases during his tenure in his most recent Vatican post. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
New Straits Times
09-05-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Prevost, first US pope, supported Francis and shunned spotlight
ROBERT PREVOST, the choice of the world's Catholic cardinals to serve as leader of the 1.4 billion-member Church, is the first pope from the United States and a relative unknown on the global stage. Aged 69 and originally from Chicago, Prevost has spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru and became a cardinal only in 2023. He takes the papal name Leo XIV, and succeeds Pope Francis, who had led the Church since 2013. Rev Mark Francis, a friend of Prevost since the 1970s, said the cardinal was a firm supporter of his predecessor's papacy, and especially of the late pontiff's commitment to social justice issues. "He was always friendly and warm and remained a voice of common sense and practical concerns for the Church's outreach to the poor," said Francis, who attended seminary with Prevost and later knew him when they both lived in Rome in the 2000s. "He has a wry sense of humour, but was not someone who sought the limelight," said Francis, who leads the US province of the Viatorian religious order. Prevost first served as a bishop in Chiclayo, in northwestern Peru, from 2015 to 2023, and became a Peruvian citizen in 2015; so he has dual nationalities. Pope Francis brought him to Rome that year to head the Vatican office in charge of choosing which priests should serve as Catholic bishops across the globe, meaning he has had a hand in selecting many of the world's bishops. The new pope's views on many issues are little known. During a 2023 Vatican press conference, he expressed scepticism about ordaining women as Catholic clergy, repeating a line Francis often used about the risk of "clericalising" women. Leo's record on sexual abuse cases, a key issue for the global Church, has not been thoroughly examined in public. Bishop Accountability, a group that tracks clergy sexual abuse, said in a statement after the new pope's election that he had a mixed record on the issue. The group praised his efforts to help one abuse victim in Peru, but raised questions about his handling of other allegations levelled against two priests. Jesus Leon Angeles, coordinator of a Catholic group in Chiclayo who has known Prevost since 2018, called Prevost a "very simple" person who would go out of his way to help others. Leon Angeles said Prevost had shown special concern for Venezuelan migrants in Peru, saying: "He is a person who likes to help." More than 1.5 million Venezuelans have moved to Peru in recent years, partly to escape their country's economic crisis. In a 2023 interview with the Vatican's news outlet, Prevost focused on the importance of evangelisation to help the Church grow. "We are often preoccupied with teaching doctrine... but we risk forgetting that our first task is to teach what it means to know Jesus Christ," he said. Prevost said during a 2023 Vatican press conference: "Our work is to enlarge the tent and to let everyone know they are welcome inside the Church." Prevost was born in 1955 and is a member of the global Augustinian religious order, which includes about 2,500 priests and brothers, operates in 50 countries and has a special focus on a life of community and equality among its members. He has a bachelor's degree from Villanova University in the suburbs of Philadelphia, a Master's from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and a doctorate in Church law from the Pontifical College of St Thomas Aquinas in Rome. Prevost first went to Peru as a missionary in 1985, returning to the US in 1999 to take up a leadership role in his religious order. He later moved to Rome to serve two six-year terms as head of the Augustinians, visiting many of the order's communities across the world. He is known to speak English, Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese. Returning to Rome in 2023, Prevost generally did not take part in many of the social events that attract Vatican officials throughout the city. Leon Angeles said he was a person with leadership skills, "but at the same time, he knows how to listen. He has that virtue". "The cardinal has the courtesy to ask for an opinion, even if it's from the simplest or most humble person," she said.
