CHICAGO (WLS) — While the election of the new pope from Chicago’s South Side brings celebration for many, there are others who remain concerned. They see this as a crucial moment for the Catholic Church to address the issue of priest-related child abuse more effectively.
The Chicago-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) expressed their concerns to ABC7 Chicago’s I-Team, highlighting that the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, had not responded swiftly or openly to local incidents of child sexual abuse by clergy members.
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Peter Isley of SNAP said he is sounding the alarm.
“We cannot have another pope who conceals sex crimes,” Isley stated to the I-Team from Rome. “The last three popes have been guilty of this; we cannot allow it to happen again. We must not carry this issue into another papacy.”
SNAP said when then-Robert Prevost was head of the Midwest Augustinian order, in a position of power and authority, he did not take action quickly enough after alleged abuse committed by Father Richard McGrath.
McGrath was principal of Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox.
In 2018, ABC7 spoke with Bob Krankvich, after he accused Father McGrath of sexually abusing him during his freshman and sophomore years at Providence Catholic High School.
“I realize I have to do this; I have to do this to give other people a voice, not just for myself but for other victims,” Krankvich said.
Krankvich sued the Augustinian Order and Providence High School in 2018. The case settled in 2023 in Krankvich’s favor for $2 million.
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The Midwest Augustinian Order confirmed to the I-Team McGrath was dismissed from the order in December 2024, and his whereabouts are unknown to church authorities.
Abuse survivor Krankvich died last month, after heart and liver issues associated with long-term alcohol abuse, Krankvich’s attorney Marc Pearlman told the I-Team.
Looking back at this litigation and other cases involving the Augustinian Order, Pearlman said the church, under Prevost’s leadership, did not act “transparently or compassionately.”
“Their words ring hollow, and their actions speak volumes,” Pearlman said.
Pearlman said Prevost was referenced in multiple documents in this and other alleged abuse cases he has litigated with the Augustinian Order.
SNAP and the organization Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA) wrote a letter in 2023 to Cardinal Christophe Pierre, accusing Prevost and four other Illinois church leaders of “inaction” after the McGrath allegations became public.
Pearlman hopes that this new papacy will bring change.
“I’ve watched the coverage on the new pope, and no one even mentioned sex abuse, and we better keep talking about it,” Pearlman said. “What the new pope can do is address this issue head-on, and act with transparency and compassionately.”
Prevost has given several public statements about the Catholic sexual abuse scandal, telling the Portugal news publication “La Republica” in 2019, “If you are a victim of sexual abuse by a priest, report it.”
“We reject cover-ups and secrecy; that causes a lot of harm because we have to help people who have suffered due to wrongdoing,” Prevost said.
One representative from SNAP told the I-Team the first American pope is the spotlight their organization needs to root out sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. SNAP is urging the new pope to sign a zero-tolerance sexual abuse policy into Catholic law.
“He needs to tell the truth to the Catholic people, and he needs to sign that zero tolerance law,” Isley said. “And we will work with him.”
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