CV NEWS FEED // Survivors of clergy sexual abuse have formally requested that the Vatican launch a canonical investigation into Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, the current Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and former Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru.
In a letter dated March 25, Shaun Dougherty, president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), submitted documentation to the Holy See’s Secretariat of State and three additional dicasteries, asserting that Cardinal Prevost’s handling of abuse allegations raises grave concerns under Pope Francis’ accountability norms set by Vos estis lux mundi.
“We the undersigned members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) wish to report to you the conduct of Cardinal Robert Prevost, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, consisting of actions or omissions intended to interfere with or to avoid a civil or canonical investigation,” the letter stated.
The accusations refer both to Cardinal Prevost’s time as a provincial of the Augustinians in Chicago and as bishop in northern Peru.
The case of then-Father James Ray, who was laicized in 2012, forms part of the dossier. Accused of 13 accounts of sexual abuse against minors, Ray was restricted from ministry by the Archdiocese of Chicago in the early 1990s.
Despite these restrictions, SNAP alleges, “Ray was permitted to reside at the St. John Stone Augustinian Friary in Hyde Park in Chicago near St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School” in 2000 under the authority of then-provincial Robert Prevost. The letter further claims the school administration was not informed of Ray’s presence or his history.
SNAP noted that Cardinal Prevost was made aware of Ray’s restrictions and history with minors when the Archdiocese of Chicago sought his approval, as Provincial, for Ray’s residence at the friary.
“Nonetheless, Ray was permitted to live at the Priory in the vicinity of an elementary school without informing the administration of the school,” SNAP said. “By doing so, Cardinal Prevost endangered the safety of the children attending St. Thomas the Apostle.”
Ray was removed from the friary in 2002.
In Peru, the case centers on complaints from multiple women who accused diocesan priests Fathers Eleuterio Vásquez Gonzáles and Ricardo Yesquen of abusing them as minors. One of the alleged victims, Ana María Quispe Díaz, publicly identified herself and accused the two priests of abuse beginning when she was 9 years old.
According to the letter, three victims contacted then-Bishop Prevost in April 2022, but “the victims report that they were not asked to testify for an investigation or called by any investigator to make a deposition, and were not offered any psychological support or assistance by the diocese.”
Though the Diocese of Chiclayo later reported the allegations to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), SNAP argues the canonical investigation was compromised.
The DDF closed the case in August 2023 after the Peruvian civil investigation was dropped due to the statute of limitations. According to SNAP, the DDF’s decision was the result of the “missing essential evidence” that would have been accessible had then-Bishop Prevost not failed to open an investigation following the allegations.
“As the Ordinary of the Diocese of Chiclayo, there is serious reason to believe that Cardinal Prevost did not follow the procedures established by the Holy See for carrying out investigations following reports of abuse,” the letter stated.
SNAP also pointed to alleged misrepresentations in diocesan communications, claiming the accused priests continued celebrating public Mass even after their supposed suspension. Photographs and social media screenshots are cited as evidence.
“The victims’ testimony was not gathered, Cardinal Prevost did not notify the civil authorities of the allegations, and the victims were not offered psychological support or assistance,” SNAP said.
Given that Cardinal Prevost now holds a top Vatican role overseeing investigations into bishops, SNAP emphasized the importance of an impartial and transparent process.
“As we are requesting that he himself be made subject to an investigation,” the organization stated, “not only should this investigation be overseen by other authorities, it is all the more urgent that an investigation is conducted with the results made public.”
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