5 things to know about Pope Leo XIV
5. He has faced allegations of not responding adequately to sex abuse allegations.
As the possibility of Prevost becoming pope began to emerge last week, the publication InfoVaticana reported on the contents of a March 2024 letter to Pope Francis.
The correspondence maintains that during his tenure as Bishop of Chiclayo, the future pope “took no action” against a priest who allegedly sexually assaulted three minors. The article also maintained that the Diocese of Chiclayo paid $150,000 to abuse victims who accused Cardinal Prevost of covering up the abuse.
The diocese strongly defended Prevost’s handling of the abuse allegations, insisting that he reached out to the victims and opened a canonical investigation into the alleged acts of abuse.
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Prevost also faced criticism after reports surfaced alleging that a priest convicted of engaging in sexual misconduct with minors was allowed to stay at a priory located near an elementary school during his tenure as provincial in the Augustinian Province in Chicago.
However, a clarification of the reports revealed that the priest in question had been accused but not tried or sentenced, and that the proximity between the priory and the school was not as close as implied. The objectivity of the reporter who broke the news was also called into question.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
