PROVIDENCE (RI)
SNAP - Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests [Chicago IL]
June 4, 2026
SNAP Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests is ecstatic that the Rhode Island Senate has approved legislation that would open the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence to sex abuse lawsuits after survivors in the state worked tirelessly to get justice on behalf of all those affected by predatory priests.
Rhode Island Senators voted 37-0 Wednesday to approve a bill to create a two-year window allowing previously time-barred claims against church hierarchy, who enabled the abuse to continue and covered it up. The window would open on July 1, 2026 and close on June 30, 2028.
“SNAP is over the moon with this vote to allow more time for survivors to seek justice,” said Angela Walker, SNAP’s Executive Director. “We believe that survivors, their families and the people of Rhode Island deserve complete transparency and a full accounting of what happened, who knew and how survivors’ abuse was allowed to persist over decades.”
The vote follows the release of a report earlier this year ago by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha’s office’s investigation into clergy sexual abuse.
The Attorney General’s findings confirm what survivors have said for decades: leaders of the Catholic Church in Rhode Island repeatedly endangered their congregations, giving known sex offenders full access to children and moving them from parish to parish, resulting in a prolonged campaign of preventable sexual violence.
“Beyond the atrocities themselves, the grooming that preceded the crimes and the betrayal of trust that followed reveal the depth of depravity to which these priests descended. Aided and abetted by the Diocese of Providence, they placed their perverted desires and self-protection ahead of their spiritual mission,” said Dr. Herbert, “Hub” Brennan, himself a Rhode Island survivor. “Thanks to this report, we have a public record of deviant and criminal conduct that has been kept hidden for far too long.”
When the report was released in March, SNAP strongly condemned church officials who obstructed justice by refusing to be interviewed and by withholding their full cooperation to investigators. Claims that the Church has now “cooperated” with this investigation are highly questionable when investigators were only permitted access to documents curated by the diocese, limited to a self-selected list of priests the Church had already publicly named, while critical evidence of criminal abuse and institutional cover-up was withheld. The Attorney General’s office uncovered 10 new names during their investigation, and four arrests were made.
Next Monday, the full Rhode Island House of Representatives will hear and vote on the amended bill. “The governor has promised to sign the passed legislation the minute it hits his desk,” Dr. Brennan said today.
***
Read Press Conference Statements by Rhode Island Survivors, Ann Hagan Webb, EdD, Advocate and Psychologist and Dr. Herbert “Hub” Brennan.
Read the latest news: RI Senate approves bill reviving expired clergy abuse lawsuits
Read the full report from the Rhode Island State’s Attorney Office.
A dedicated clergy abuse hotline has been seen up by the Rhode Island State Police Special Victim’s Unit: 401-764-0142 and encourages survivors to make their reports.