Providence, Rhode Island — An estimated 75 priests have abused more than 300 children since 1950, a new investigation into the Catholic Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, found, with the state’s top law enforcement official warning Wednesday that the scope of the abuse was likely much greater.
The report was issued by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neroha, whose office Diocesan investigation Since 2019.
According to Neronha, the church can do more to address child sexual abuse. However, diocese leaders have backed away from the report’s conclusions, asserting that there are “no credibly accused clergy in active ministry.”
Here’s what to know about the investigation.
The report described church records as “damned,” declaring that the diocese often failed to take appropriate steps to protect children from sexual abuse. While clergy abuse had been widely exposed, until Wednesday’s report, the scope of what happened in Rhode Island was largely unknown.
The report noted that the diocese often transfers accused priests to new assignments without thoroughly investigating complaints or contacting law enforcement. The practice was common, as other investigations in Boston, Philadelphia, and elsewhere revealed.
This includes the Diocese of Providence opening a “spiritual retreat-style facility” in the early 1950s, where many accused priests were sent elsewhere for a period of time with the goal of returning to work. The practice evolved into sending accused priests to more formal treatment centers after it was determined that clergy abuse may stem from mental health problems.
The report said the diocese’s “over-reliance and misplaced faith” in treatment centers was at best “ridiculously Pollyannaish.”
By the 1990s, accused priests were sometimes given sabbatical leave.
In all, he encountered only 20 people — about a quarter of the clergy identified in the report Criminal chargesOnly 14 were convicted. Dozens of others were secularized or expelled from the theocracy.
Neronha’s office has accused four current and former priests of sexual abuse in allegations relating to the period from 2020 to 2022.
Three of them are still awaiting trial. The fourth priest died after being deemed incompetent to stand trial in 2022.
In a lengthy response, the Diocese of Providence acknowledged “serious mistakes” made by church leaders in the past, but stressed that the diocese willingly shared internal records under a 2019 agreement with the state.
“The report presents this 75-year history in ways that might lead the reader to conclude that these issues are an ongoing diocese problem or that these are new discoveries. They are not,” the statement said.
The state report urged clergy leaders to address ongoing concerns about abuse, outlining several changes for the diocese, which include providing clear timelines and guidelines for the investigation.
The report then stressed the need for the diocese to abandon the practice of requiring victims to take polygraph tests and to stop refusing to investigate third-party complaints about priests.
Separately, Neronha called on Rhode Island lawmakers to change various state laws that would remove obstacles for victims to come forward. He specifically noted that state law currently prohibits grand jury reports from being released to the public. This means his office cannot use that option to investigate the diocese because it does not want the results to remain confidential.
Neronha also recommended extending the criminal statute of limitations on second-degree assault and extending the civil statute of limitations on certain child sexual abuse allegations. These bills are currently being introduced within the Democratic-controlled state House.