TRUMP IS RIGHT: LEO HAS BEEN SOFT ON CRIME

Pope is guilty of 'aiding and abetting.'

Many media outlets reported that President Donald Trump accused Pope Leo XIV of being “weak on crime.” What the media failed to address is whether there is evidence to support this allegation. Based on my work as a sex abuse victims’ advocate and investigative reporter, I have to concur with the accusation and say that the American-born Pope is not only “weak on crime,” but one reason he was elected was to continue the legacy of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who covered up the crimes of hundreds of bishops and thousands of priests.

Lisa Roers, who reported to civil authorities that she and another woman were sexually abused in Elgin, Nebraska, by Father Dennis Hanneman when they were around 10 years old, appealed to Pope Francis, requesting that her complaint be properly investigated and justice be served. Her open letter was never acknowledged or answered. Church leaders in both Nebraska and the Vatican, familiar with the case, do not want to follow proper protocol by removing Hanneman from ministry pending the results of an investigation because they know it could result in many victims coming forward who could corroborate Lisa’s claims.

Following the death of Pope Francis, Lisa wrote to Pope Leo on May 15, 2025, after the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) had accused him in a Vos Estis Lux Mundi complaint of having covered up abuse in Chicago and Chiclayo. Lisa argued that her case was not properly investigated owing to the fact that the Archdiocese never inquired into the identity or location of the second victim she mentioned in her complaint. Had her letter not reached Pope Leo, she never would have received a response two months later, on July 15, 2025, from the Omaha Archdiocese. The fact that neither the Omaha Archdiocese nor Pope Leo has responded to Lisa’s letter of November 11, 2025, would indicate that the Pope and Church officials continue to cover up the criminal sexual abuse that she and another victim suffered as documented in “The Prayer of the Prey.”

Another example to support the accusation that Pope Leo is “soft on crime” is based on the fact that the Pope, after almost a year in office, has yet to laicize or excommunicate even one of over 160 bishops credibly accused of abusing minors and vulnerable adults. Many accused bishops, like Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony and others, have paid out millions of dollars in out-of-court settlements in order to avoid being included in the list of credibly accused prelates. Because many countries do not report and prosecute clerical sex offenders, the number of abusive prelates is probably ten times greater than the 160+ bishops identified by Bishop Accountability.

Cardinal Roger Mahony, who was one of the senior cardinals selected to take part in the ceremonial closing of Pope Francis’s coffin in St. Peter’s Basilica, met with Pope Leo in the Vatican despite a report that there are “21 certified abuse claims in Los Angeles Superior Court which name Mahony as the actual perpetrator of rape, forced oral copulation, and abuse of mostly immigrant teenage boys — claims that were buried in a $880 million settlement to avoid trial.”

In addition to Mahony, prelates like Cardinal Robert McElroy, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Cardinal Edwin O’Brien, and others are not only known for covering up abuse, but also for punishing whistleblowers who report abuse and cover-ups. Washington Father Michael Briese has been removed from ministry for over seven years by Cardinals Gregory and McElroy for accusing them of covering up for Father Adam Park who was alleged in court documents to have preyed on seminarians and to have engaged in homosexual misconduct.

President Trump is correct in accusing Pope Leo of being “weak on crime” when he fails to discipline prelates who engage in or cover up abuse; when he allows sexual abuse victims like Lisa Roers to be denied justice; and when priests like Father Marko Rupnik, accused of raping over twenty nuns, are not held accountable for their crimes. If rape and child sex abuse truly constitute criminal behavior, then Trump has no reason to apologize for calling Leo “weak on crime.”

If you appreciate my research and writings, please contribute to the “Save Our Seminarians” Fund that will help safeguard young men from becoming victims of homosexual predation in U.S. Catholic seminaries.

Gene Thomas Gomulka is a sexual abuse victims’ advocate, investigative reporter, author, and screenwriter. A former Navy (O6) Captain/Chaplain, seminary instructor, and diocesan Respect Life Director, Gomulka was ordained a priest for the Altoona-Johnstown diocese and later made a Prelate of Honor (Monsignor) by St. John Paul II. Email him at msgr.investigations@gmail.com.