Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha has dropped a blistering report that pulls back the curtain on decades of clergy sexual abuse in the Diocese of Providence. Released Wednesday, the investigation found that 75 clergy members were credibly accused of sexually abusing more than 300 children between 1950 and 2011. According to the report, diocesan leaders repeatedly shielded accused priests, shuffled them between parishes, and put the church’s reputation ahead of children’s safety. Investigators also flagged holes in recordkeeping and current policies that, they warn, still leave some risks on the table.
The multiyear probe kicked off in 2019 under a memorandum of understanding with then-Bishop Thomas J. Tobin. Investigators dug through more than 250,000 pages of records and tried to reach over 300 victims, successfully contacting nearly 150 of them, according to the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office. Neronha wrote that “the Diocese kept the abuse secret; they hid and they obfuscated,” and his office noted it also created a dedicated hotline and secured criminal indictments tied to historical abuse.
What investigators found
The report describes a deeply entrenched “culture of secrecy” in which bishops sent accused priests to treatment, reassigned them, and in some cases put them back into ministry, which allowed additional abuse to occur. Investigators also found that the diocese kept a separate archive and maintained inconsistent records, making it harder to see the full scope of what had happened, as reported by The Boston Globe.
Charges and prosecutions
The Attorney General’s Office says it has brought criminal charges against four current or former priests: John Petrocelli, James Silva, and Kevin Fisette, along with a fourth defendant, Edward Kelley, who died after being found incompetent to stand trial. The indictments center on alleged assaults from the 1980s and 1990s, and prosecutors emphasized that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty, according to the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office.
Diocese response and survivors
The Diocese of Providence issued a statement and released a video message from Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, who apologized to survivors and said the diocese has implemented broad reforms. Church officials also pointed to the report’s finding that there is “no evidence of recent child sexual abuse by clergy,” according to The Boston Globe. Survivors and advocates were not satisfied with apologies alone, arguing that real accountability requires enforceable changes such as expanding civil windows for lawsuits and creating an independently funded compensation program, as reported by Boston 25.
Recommendations and next steps
The report lays out a slate of reforms for the diocese, including a monitoring program for credibly accused clergy, mandatory nationwide background checks, trauma-informed internal investigations, and a compensation program for survivors. It also urges the General Assembly to overhaul civil and criminal statutes of limitations and to clarify mandatory reporting requirements for clergy. Those proposals, summarized by the Associated Press, are intended to bolster accountability and expand access to justice for victims.
Why this matters here
Because Rhode Island has one of the highest shares of Catholic residents in the country, the report’s findings reverberate statewide and could reshape how institutions and lawmakers respond to abuse allegations, The Washington Post noted. Survivors’ groups are already pressing for public hearings and rapid legislative action to see whether Neronha’s recommendations translate into enforceable change.
For many survivors, this report functions less as a final chapter and more as a starting gun. For the diocese and for state lawmakers, it is effectively a to-do list of reforms to embrace, resist, or try to water down. In the weeks ahead, the real test will be whether the public sees concrete moves on legislation, open forums with survivors, and follow-through on the transparency and accountability the report says have been missing for so long.
