PROVIDENCE (RI)
Providence Journal [Providence RI]
July 6, 2026
By Katie Mulvaney
- An advocacy consultant specializing in canon law suggests that a diocesan consultation may be a precursor to bankruptcy.
- The Diocese of Providence states the consultation is part of a pastoral planning process and is unrelated to bankruptcy or lawsuits.
- Rhode Island recently opened a two-year window for civil suits alleging childhood sexual abuse, a move the diocese opposed.
A notice in the church bulletin at the Cathedral of SS. Peter & Paul in Providence caught Patrick Wall’s eye in early June.
A former Benedictine priest and advocacy consultant specializing in canon law, Wall says he has seen similar notices before.
“In the 44 prior Roman Catholic bankruptcies in the United States, that was one of the precursors. That they did a reorganization. … They started the consultation process. It looks very inert,” said Wall, an advocacy consultant with the national law firm Grant & Eisenhofer, which filed the first federal lawsuit in Rhode Island on behalf of a Georgia resident who alleges he was abused by a priest as a child in Central Falls and plied with gifts, candy and home-cooked meals.
The notice might seem innocuous to the average parishioner. It announces that Bishop Bruce Lewandowski has established a “new one time program” for a diocesan consultation with parish assemblies this summer or early fall. The purpose is to review present diocesan ministries and activities and through prayer and consultation to prepare a direction for the next few years,” it said. Those results will be reviewed in a diocesan assembly in the fall.
“When I read that notice in the bulletin in the cathedral, one of the things that struck me is this is a typical sign of the normal procedure they go through in order for different things to happen. One of those things is the possible reorganization of the diocese, the reorganization of parishes and schools. Another one, though, is the possible pathway to bankruptcy,” Wall said in a recent interview. He is in Rhode Island assisting lawyers bringing lawsuits on behalf of alleged victims of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy.
He said the process is governed by internal rules and is required for a bishop to get permission to file for bankruptcy, as played out in dioceses nationwide amid claims of clergy abuse.
“I want people to have a heads-up to how this has worked out in the past,” said Wall, a co-author of “Sex, Priests and Secret Codes.”
What the Diocese of Providence says
The parish assemblies mentioned in the cathedral bulletin “are one part of a larger, Diocesan-wide pastoral planning initiative announced by Bishop Lewandowski called “Three Pathways, One Mission,” according to Michael Kieloch, spokesman for the diocese.
He said the pastoral planning process began several years ago under the leadership of former Bishop Richard G. Henning, now the archbishop of Boston.
“The pastoral planning process is focused on creating stronger, more vibrant parishes that are better prepared for mission and evangelization. Our pastoral planning is entirely focused on the mission of the church and has nothing to do with bankruptcy or lawsuits,” Kieloch said.
Stiff opposition to lifting statute of limitations
The Diocese of Providence objected to legislation passed this past session and signed into law by Gov. Dan McKee that opened a two-year “revival window” for people to bring civil suits alleging childhood sexual abuse against the church and other institutions. The clock on the two-year window began July 1.
The diocese warned that the removal of the statute of limitations for already-expired claims was unconstitutional and that the legislation threatened to bankrupt the church and its ministries.
What led to passage of the law
Legislation proposing to lift the statute of limitations on child sex abuse claims lingered for years until passing this year following a scathing report by Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.
Seven years in the making, the report chronicled decades of alleged abuse by clergy members against legions of Rhode Island children and the subsequent cover-up by the diocese as it shifted priests from parish to parish.
In response, the diocese stressed the steps it had taken to address the issue and its cooperation and “unprecedented transparency” with state prosecutors. It noted that the report “does not have the force of law but rather offers untested perspectives of the Attorney General,” with the majority of its “focus on historical cases of abuse from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.”
It faulted the timing of the report as intended to influence state lawmakers to pass the legislation.
“It is undeniable that the Diocese of Providence has effectively responded to these issues by instituting wide-ranging reforms. Beginning more than thirty years ago, and improved throughout the following years, the diocese can confidently say that our protections for children have proven to be overwhelmingly effective,” the diocese said in a statement.
“The report itself reveals no evidence of recent child sexual abuse by clergy, no credible accusations against those in ministry today, and no instances of the diocese’s failure to meet its legal reporting obligations,” the statement continued.
Attorneys are watching how the diocese will respond
Timothy J. Conlon, a lawyer who’s spent decades representing clients of childhood sexual abuse, says he is watching to see how the diocese proceeds.
“We’re mindful of the tea leaves, and we watch tea leaves carefully,” he said during an interview with Wall at his firm’s office at 1 Turks Head Place in Providence.
Conlon wrote in an open letter to the Diocese of Providence on the eve of the July 1 filings that “Attorney General Neronha’s report spoke not just of litigation, but of reconciliation.”
“This is an opportunity for the Diocese to own past failures, address the horrific damages that those mistakes spawned, and move forward from failed attempts to evade accountability,” he said.
“Rhode Island’s attorneys can and will fight, but when the Diocese wants to talk about justice for victims – let’s have that conversation,” he said.
More than 30 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy have been filed this week in state and federal court in Rhode Island.
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