Chicago Priest Accuses Pope Leo of Approving Abuse-Accused Relocation

James M. Ray, a defrocked Chicago-area priest accused of sexually abusing at least 13 children, alleges that Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV and former head of the Midwest Province of the Catholic Church's Augustinian order, personally approved his 2000 relocation to the St. John Stone Friary in Hyde Park. This friary was located less than a block from St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School and near a child care center, neither of which were notified of Ray's presence despite his history and restrictions imposed since 1990. Church records initially claimed there was no nearby school, a statement later disproven. Ray contends that the archdiocese, which held ultimate responsibility, sought housing for him through church organizations, with the Augustinians being the only group to respond, and that Prevost knowingly accepted him as a guest. The move has drawn criticism due to the friary's proximity to children and the lack of transparency or notification to the community. While Ray has never been convicted or placed on a sex offender registry, the incident raises questions about Church leadership's handling of accused priests during that period.