A video has emerged of Bishop Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV describing how he was physically attacked in Ireland on a visit there in what was likely 2007. He had previously visited in 2005. Bishop Prevost describes the attack and how another bigger Augustinian friar came to his rescue.
Bishop Prevost is recorded on X speaking in a video in 2019 in Peru during a conference “Promoting a Culture of Prevention and Care for Children in the Context of Sexual Abuse in the Church”.
He describes the great respect for priests in Ireland, the almost adulation they received from Irish Catholics: “I think enough has already been said already but Pope Benedict spoke about the tendency in society to favour the clergy. I have never seen such a radical change and rapid change as we are experiencing in Ireland, especially because of this scandal (child abuse).”
In the video he describes to the audience how well priests were treated in Ireland:
“Where before, around 2005 you could go to Ireland and if you were a priest people almost wanted to carry you on their shoulders. And I’m not exaggerating much, maybe a little, but it was incredible. I’m from the United States but on visits to Ireland you were treated with extreme affection, with love, respect and adulation for the clergy. It was incredible.”
He says that some communities “aren’t so different” in Peru and to be careful, because it can change.
He talks about the attack saying: “After the crisis, never in my life, anywhere in the world have I been attacked as I was in Ireland. Well, just for this, for going out on the street. A man passes by, he looks at me: “You’re a priest” and he starts attacking me. Fortunately, another Augustinian, who is twice as big as me defended me.”
Bishop Prevost responds to this with the concern of a pastor: “The pain and anger from this man…I don’t know if he was a victim or had lost faith in the church, I have no idea what happened to him. But I truly believe it is a very important factor in the experience here in the Church as well.”
The video ends but it is clear that the now Pope has first-hand experience of the anger that clerical abuse and clerical cover-up caused in the Catholic world, something that Pope Francis didn’t always get.
The new Pope will presumably also have a sympathetic ear for the Irish bishops during their next visit to Rome when they outline why they are often reticent to pronounce on issues of the day in the political and social sphere and why there is so little Church/State dialogue in Ireland.
