Cardinal James Harvey

Photo: Coral Garnick/Journal Sentinel

Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls

Dioceses/Religious Orders: Archdiocese of Milwaukee

As a former member of the Vatican State department and the Prefect of the Papal Household from 1998 to 2012, Harvey used his position and influence to actively promote the advancement of known offender clergy from the United States. He actively pushed for Msgr. Daniel Pater’s promotion in the Catholic Diplomatic Corps, in defiance of explicit warnings from Pater’s own bishop, Lawrence Breslin, that Pater was ineligible due to his abuse of a 14 year old girl. Harvey also defended and supported Cardinal Bernard Law even after Law was forced to resign in disgrace over his role in covering up clergy abuse in Boston. Furthermore, Harvey backed Theodore McCarrick’s appointment to Washington, D.C., despite reports of McCarrick’s sexual misconduct—while personally benefiting from McCarrick’s financial gifts.

SNAP filed a complaint against Harvey under the pope’s 2023 decree Vos estis lux mundi on April 15, 2025

Vos estis lux mundi, Pope Francis’ 2023 decree, allows any bishop, cardinal, or religious superior to be reported and investigated for abuse or cover-up. These complaints, submitted to the Vatican, are not verdicts of guilt. They are evidence-based calls for investigation—each meeting the church’s own standard of “serious indications” that a violation occurred. In civil terms, this is equivalent to probable cause or reasonable grounds to investigate.

Every filing draws from a solid foundation of survivor and eyewitness testimony, public records and church statements, independent investigations by media and legal experts, official church documents and canonical proceedings, testimony, depositions, and court-ordered documents from criminal and civil cases.