Just weeks into his reign as Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost is rocked by explosive new accusations.

A defrocked Chicago-area priest says the newly elected pope personally approved his move to a monastery in Hyde Park — just steps from an elementary school — despite knowing the priest was accused of molesting children.

Lived less than a block from a school
James M. Ray, a former priest himself, told the Chicago Sun-Times that Prevost, who was then head of the Midwest province of the Catholic Church’s Augustinian order, signed off on letting him live at St. John Stone Friary from 2000 to 2002.

“He’s the one who gave me permission to stay there,” Ray said bluntly.

And here’s the kicker: Ray had already been accused of sexually abusing at least 13 children and was under strict restrictions. Yet he lived less than a block from St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School — which, shockingly, was never informed of his presence.

According to Sun-Times, official church records initially claimed there was no school in the immediate area — an assertion now proven false. A child care center was also just across the alley, with no notification to parents or staff.

“The Augustinians were the only ones who responded when the Archdiocese put out the word looking for housing,” Ray said, dismissing claims that the Archdiocese forced the order to take him in.

Did he knew about this arrangement?
Although the archdiocese, rather than the Augustinians, held ultimate responsibility for Ray as one of its priests, there’s no evidence that anyone was legally required to notify neighbors about an accused abuser living nearby.

However, a complaint claims that Prevost knew about this arrangement, referencing a 2000 internal archdiocesan memo, and should have informed the school.

Meanwhile, a lawyer for the Augustinians insists Prevost merely “accepted a guest of the house” and that the friary’s onsite monitor, the late Rev. James Thompson, was responsible for overseeing Ray.

Ray was eventually removed from public ministry in 2002, following a landmark Boston Globe investigation that exposed the Church’s systemic cover-up of abuse.

He was defrocked in 2012.

“I felt abandoned by the church, but never felt abandoned by God,” he said. “My faith is still strong. I live out my life each day the best I can. When this comes up, there’s a pain in my chest.”

Despite multiple victims — some as young as 10 — Ray minimizes the allegations:

“It was a young man I gave back rubs to,” he told reporters. When pressed, his explanations became unclear, ending with a simple “I don’t know.”

”Silence is not the solution”
As the Church grapples with its abuse legacy, Pope Leo XIV has publicly pledged transparency and healing. In 2023, after taking on the Vatican role responsible for choosing bishops, Prevost told Vatican News that while some bishops have made progress in handling abuse cases, more effort is required to support “bishops who have not received the necessary preparation” to address these issues.
He emphasized: “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.”

But this explosive claim raises urgent questions about what happened under his leadership as a top Augustinian. The pope himself has never been accused of any abuse.

When asked about his thoughts on Prevost as pope, James M. Ray joked, “Why did it have to be an Augustinian?” upon hearing the news of his appointment.

Despite the joke, Ray said Prevost’s selection gives off “very positive vibes.”

Ray also says he’s not the only controversial figure from Prevost’s era — hinting at others who remain in the shadows. And for a Church desperately trying to move forward, the past may still be casting a long, dark shadow.