A recent report confirms that since 1950, in Rhode Island, where nearly 40% of the population identifies as Catholic, a landmark investigation has revealed 75 Catholic clergy allegedly abused more than 300 minors.
Attorney General Peter Neronha released a six-year investigation report on March 4, detailing decades of sexual abuse within the Catholic clergy. Neronha stated that because some bishops cared more about protecting the church's reputation and covered up the related behavior, the priest abuse problem in Rhode Island had long failed to be fully exposed.
Investigators pointed out that the actual number of victimized children and priests involved is likely far higher than the verified data.
Most Accused Priests Evaded Accountability
The report found that most accused priests dodged accountability from both law enforcement and the diocese. Church records show that some accused priests were often just transferred to new positions; the diocese neither fully investigated the accusations nor reported to law enforcement agencies. In the early 1950s, the diocese even established a facility similar to a “spiritual retreat” where accused priests received so-called treatment. Later, when sexual abuse was regarded as a mental health issue, these priests were sent to more formal treatment centers. By the 1990s, some accused priests were even arranged for “sabbatical leave” (temporary leave of absence).
The report gives the example that Priest Robert Carpentier was accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy in the 1970s and admitted the related behavior. Subsequently, he was sent to a treatment center and later took a sabbatical at Boston College. After retiring in 2006, he continued to receive diocese funding until his death in 2012.
The report also revealed that those involved in sexual abuse issues were not only ordinary clergy—even a member of the diocesan review board responsible for handling abuse complaints was accused. The report mentions that Priest Rev. Francis Santilli stepped down from the committee position after being complained against. However, even after new accusations surfaced in 2014 and 2021, he continued active ministry until he was removed in 2022.
The report points out that among the named clergy, only 20 of the 75 identified clergy faced criminal charges, with only 14 convicted; another about 12 were laicized or dismissed by the church in other ways.
Diocese Acknowledges Severity of Abuse Problem
The Catholic diocese acknowledges the seriousness of child sexual abuse—especially sexual abuse committed by clergy—but also stated that the report is mainly based on internal records provided under a 2019 agreement with the state government, and these are past incidents rather than new cases.
Previously, a landmark Pennsylvania grand jury report pointed out that since the 1940s, approximately 300 priests in that state sexually abused more than 1,000 children. However, due to Rhode Island state law not allowing grand jury reports to be public, such investigations have long faced institutional obstacles locally.
Neronha stated that although the diocese provided investigators with 70 years of materials, including complaint records from secret archives, civil settlement documents, treatment costs, and other files, the diocese's cooperation in the investigation remained limited. He pointed out in the report: “The diocese repeatedly refused my team’s requests for interviews of diocesan personnel responsible for overseeing the diocese’s investigations.”
The diocese rebutted this claim, emphasizing that without the church's cooperation, this report could not have been completed. The statement said: “Any abuse of children is an abhorrent sin and a terrible crime. The very existence of the Attorney General’s report is the result of the Diocese of Providence’s unprecedented and voluntary agreement to extraordinary transparency.”
Report Hopes to Spur Legal Reforms to Seek Justice for Victims
Neronha, who was raised in a Catholic environment, stated that he hopes this report can push related legal reforms to seek justice for victims. He wrote in the report: “Not until now has there been a comprehensive review of this painful chapter in our state’s history, with a view toward offering transparency, accountability, and systemic reforms that will, I hope, lessen the likelihood of future child sexual abuse, not just within the Diocese of Providence, but in our community as a whole.”
Currently, Neronha's office has brought sexual abuse charges against four current or former priests, cases involving 2020 to 2022. Three of them are still awaiting trial, and the fourth died after being deemed incompetent to stand trial in 2022.
