Pope Leo XIV, the newly elected head of the Roman Catholic Church, is facing scrutiny from clergy abuse survivors who allege he overlooked serious allegations of sexual misconduct during his time as a church leader in the United States and South America.

Cardinal Robert Prevost, who was elected pope Thursday, taking the name Leo XIV, previously served in leadership roles in both the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru.

Advocates for victims of clergy abuse say his track record raises troubling concerns about the Church's commitment to addressing systemic sexual abuse.

Eduardo Lopez de Casas, a national vice president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), expressed what he called an "ironic sense of happiness" over Prevost's selection.

"For them to choose a cardinal who has hidden sexual abuse and is American only means that this person will be scrutinized from left to right," Lopez de Casas told DailyMail.com.

"That's helpful for victims everywhere because we have this pope who will be under the public eye in terms of things he was involved with in the past," he said.

SNAP and other survivor advocacy groups say they made a concerted effort to inform the 135 eligible cardinals voting in the conclave about Prevost's alleged inaction in multiple abuse cases.

"You can't cover up sexual abuse and be a good priest," Lopez de Casas said. "Staying silent is a sin. It's not what God wants us to do. Jesus wants us to stop these things, not make a healthy garden for sexual abuse to grow."

Abuse Allegations in Peru and Chicago

Prevost led the Diocese of Chiclayo from 2014 to 2023.

According to The Pillar, a Catholic news outlet, the diocese failed to open formal investigations into multiple allegations of abuse during his tenure, including claims made by three sisters — Ana Maria, Juana Mercedes, and Aura Teresa Quispe — against Father Eleuterio Vásquez Gonzáles dating back to 2007.

The outlet reported that the victims alleged their complaints were downplayed or misrepresented when sent to the Vatican, effectively stalling church action.

In April 2022, Prevost reportedly met with the accusers and advised them to contact civil authorities.

However, a church probe was later shelved due to a lack of evidence and the expiration of the statute of limitations.

In Chicago, Prevost's leadership of the Midwest Augustinians from 1998 to 2014 has also come under fire.

During that period, he allowed Father James Ray — an Augustinian priest accused of sexually abusing minors — to live at the St. John Stone Friary in Hyde Park, just steps from St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School.

At the time, church officials said Ray was under supervision and not ministering publicly.

He remained there for two years until he was relocated under new policies adopted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Another accused priest, Father Richard McGrath, also lived at the friary while Prevost was in charge.

McGrath, the former president of Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, Ill., was ousted after a student reported seeing nude images of boys on his phone.

One former student, Robert Krankvich, accused McGrath of sexually abusing him during his childhood. Krankvich died in April from addiction-related health issues after settling with the church for $2 million.

"Money doesn't bring happiness... it gave him no closure," his father told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Longstanding Warnings

Lopez de Casas, who grew up in Galveston, Texas, and says he was abused by both schoolteachers and a priest as a child, worked for the Galveston Diocese for 18 years.

He told his family, who were not fluent in English, that they were never advised to contact law enforcement after he spoke up about the abuse.

"He was high on our watchlist at SNAP to make sure he was not selected for pope," said Lopez de Casas. "But now, here we are."

As part of its campaign to block specific candidates from the papacy, SNAP sent a letter to the Vatican detailing Prevost's alleged inaction on cases in both Peru and Chicago.

Despite these efforts, the College of Cardinals elected Prevost to succeed Pope Francis. Supporters, including administrators from Providence Catholic High School, hailed the decision.

"It is just excellent news," said Father John Merkelis, the school's current president and a former seminary classmate of Prevost. "We're all just beaming here."

Theresa Thormeyer, an administrative assistant at the school, added, "It's so cool to see the kids so excited."

Pope Leo XIV, originally from the Chicago suburb of Dolton, has yet to respond publicly to the allegations raised by survivors and advocacy groups.