BishopAccountability.org

Diocese of Providence to name ‘credibly accused’ clergy

By Donita Naylor
Providence Journal
June 30, 2019

https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20190630/diocese-of-providence-to-name-credibly-accused-clergy

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence will publish the names of clergy, diocesan and religious order priests and deacons who have been “credibly accused” of sexually abusing children, a news release announced Sunday night.

The names will be made public at 8 a.m. Monday on the church’s website: www.dioceseofprovidence.org

The announcement comes less than a week after the Rhode Island General Assembly passed legislation increasing from 7 to 35 years the time survivors have to file a civil suit. The new time limit would apply to civil suits against perpetrators, regardless of whether the victims are “time-barred” under current law. Against institutions, the new 35-year rule would be prospective only, except in cases where the victims did not “discover” an injury or condition caused by sexual abuse they suffered as children. In those cases, they would have seven years to sue, starting from the time they realized the connection.

In December, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin had said that the names would be released in 2019. Sunday’s news release gave no other details about the list, such as how far back in diocese history it will go, but the announcement ended with this:

“As this list is made public, it is our hope that it provides healing and consolation to those who have been harmed and is a sign of our ongoing commitment to transparency and protecting children and youth.”

Dr. Ann Hagan Webb — the sister of state Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee, D-South Kingstown, who pushed to get the legislation passed — had been out with her sister Sunday night celebrating that the bill had passed on Wednesday, when they learned of the diocesan announcement.

“I assume the list will be incomplete,” Webb said, explaining that she would be looking for names that survivors told her privately were their perpetrators.

She suggested that any survivor who realizes what happened should consider how a lawsuit can help other survivors. “It gets the name out there,” which can cause another survivor to make the connection, and could keep other children safe.

Sen. Donna Nesselbush, D-Pawtucket, called the announcement “a great step forward for the diocese. ... Whatever names are on there, I hope and pray they lead to justice for the victim.”

She saw it as “an important step for the church ... to seek reconciliation for what has been perceived as a breach in the faith and trust” of the faithful. She said “the church has a long way to go.”

Timothy Conlon, a lawyer who has represented victims of abuse since the early 1980s, observed that the timing was interesting “given that a statute was just amended ... exposing the perpetrators but isolating the institution.

“Given the energy they expended to see that the statute as it was amended retained protections for the institution, it’s not like it’s a courageous move,” Conlon said.

Still, he said, the church did “something that will benefit the victims. Public affirmation about the perpetrator is very reassuring. It validates something for them psychologically that they were ashamed to admit to for many decades.”

Contact: dnaylor@providencejournal.com




.


Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.