PROVIDENCE (RI)
WPRI-TV, CBS-12 [Providence RI]
March 5, 2026
By Sarah Bawden, Ethan Logue
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha is urging state lawmakers to pass legislation that would hold the Diocese of Providence accountable for the actions of the 72 credibly accused priests revealed in his sweeping clergy sex abuse report.
The legislation was introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee, whose sister, Dr. Ann Hagan Webb, is a clergy sex abuse survivor.
McEntee’s legislation would specifically establish that institutions, organizations and individuals can be held civilly liable for the negligent supervision or concealment of anyone who sexually abused a minor.
RELATED: AG report details generations of clergy abuse in RI
Her proposal would be retroactive up to 35 years, with a two-year revival window of action beginning July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2028.
“I’ve tried for a long time to secure some form of justice for victims of childhood sexual abuse, and I will continue to do so until accountability is delivered,” McEntee said. “This is personal for me. My dear sister Annie endured years of abuse as a young girl from our parish priest, and when she finally summoned the courage to confront this terrible crime perpetrated against her, she was met with silence and gaslighting from the institution that should have been protecting her and her innocence.”
“Sexual abusers of children, and those who protect these disgusting predators, should not be able to hide behind statutes of limitations or other time delaying tactics to avoid liability for these perverse and evil crimes,” she continued. “Victims of these attacks live with their assaults for their entire lives, and any individual or organization that willingly allowed or turned a blind eye to these crimes needs to be held accountable.”
Neronha unveiled his 370-page report Wednesday, standing alongside a number of survivors of clergy sex abuse.
Webb was among those survivors.
“This report should make Rhode Island Catholics and non-Catholics alike gasp in horror at the organized culture of cover-up,” Webb said. “It is time for the diocese to feel ashamed.”
MORE: Clergy sex abuse survivors speak out following release of AG’s report
In a message to parishioners, Bishop Bruce Lewandowski acknowledged the diocese’s past misconduct following the release of Neronha’s report.
“We know that we can never undo the grave abuses committed by clergy in the past,
however, we can reaffirm in the strongest ways possible our sacred duty to protect
children by continuing the strong and effective safeguards that we already have in
place,” Lewandowski said.
Lewandowski also stressed that there are “no credibly accused clergy in active ministry.”
“Today’s Catholic clergy here in Rhode Island are good and holy men,” Lewandowski said.
The Diocese of Providence also expressed concern about McEntee’s legislation in a separate statement issued in response to Neronha’s report.
“The report and the timing of its release is intended to sway legislative debate,” the diocese argued. “[The report’s] intent is to bolster proposed and previously-rejected legislation that seeks to suspend long-standing statute of limitations laws for civil suits.”
“The report’s emphatic historical focus is constructed to create tailwinds for that legislation and discredit any opposition to its passage,” the statement continued. “Other states have tried this approach, and it has led dozens of other dioceses to bankruptcy.”SEE ALSO: List of 72 ‘credibly accused’ clergy named in AG report
Neronha refuted the diocese’s argument.
“The diocese would have you believe that this report is historical; that child sexual abuse by clergy members is a thing of the past and not worth drudging up,” Neronha said. “To that I say: the pain that survivors and their families suffer knows no statute of limitations, and history always has something to teach us.”
“Child sexual abuse in the Diocese of Providence occurred on an abhorrent, staggering scale,” he added. “For decades the Diocese of Providence engaged in a well-worn pattern of protecting the reputation of the church and its priests over the welfare of children.”
Neronha urged lawmakers to pass McEntee’s legislation and for the diocese to create an independent compensation program for clergy sex abuse survivors.
“This must never happen again,” he concluded.
Tim Conlon, an attorney who’s represented a number of clergy sex abuse survivors over the years, told 12 News he’s unsympathetic to the diocese’s concerns with McEntee’s proposal.
“I’m much more concerned about the welfare of the victims than the welfare of the diocese,” Conlon said.
McEntee has also introduced three other proposals in the wake of Neronha’s report:
- The first piece of legislation would allow grand juries to issue reports and would provide a process for review and acceptance by the Superior Court.
- The second would provide that the statute of limitations for second-degree sexual assault shall be 10 years from the date of the offense, or, in the case of a victim who is under the age of 18, 10 years from the victim’s 18th birthday, whichever is later.
- The third would expand the definition of “educational program” for purposes of the state’s Abused and Neglected Children General Law to include charter schools, parochial schools, after-school programs, camps and various other programs involving children. It would also amend certain provisions of the law relative to the reporting of physical, mental or sexual abuse or neglect.
“This report is eye-opening in the most horrific way possible, and it pains me to say that our long-held suspicions of church complicity were correct,” McEntee said. “With the ugly truth finally revealed to the public, now is a time for healing and justice.”
House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi commended McEntee for her continued efforts to seek justice for clergy sex abuse survivors.
“Many victims have suffered immense and irreparable harm due to the actions of those who exercised power and authority over them and the institutions that protected the perpetrators,” Shekarchi said, noting that House lawmakers overwhelmingly passed her proposal to extend the statute of limitations for civil liability last year.
Despite passing the House, McEntee’s proposal died in the Senate.
McEntee’s four proposals will once again be considered by the House Judiciary Committee on March 12.