Report will show ‘stunning’ scale of R.I. diocese’s mishandling of sexual abuse by clergy, Neronha says – The Boston Globe

“I don’t think Rhode Islanders will be surprised that there have been abuse cases involving priests — we’re all aware of that,” Neronha said. “I think the scale, when all put together, is stunning. And the church’s lack of appreciation for the harm that was caused is troubling. It’s almost like the institution felt protected from societal norms in how they reacted.”

Neronha said the report includes instances of credibly accused priests being moved to other churches.

 “They moved these guys around, and there were many instances where priests were sent off for counseling or self-reflection — however the church described it,” he said. “Look, it got better over time. It’s better today than it was 20, 30, 40 years ago. No question.”

He said that improvement was spurred on by exposés such as The Boston Globe Spotlight Team’s 2002 series that investigated the systematic coverup of child sexual abuse by priests within the Catholic Church.

“That changed a lot,” Neronha said. “But still, there are ways to improve. Look, do I think that the church’s consciousness of what to do is better? Yes. Are there still things they could do better? Yes.”

Neronha said the report will include “some criticism of how the church handled things,” including its practice of requiring polygraph tests for victims. He called the use of polygraphs, which are generally not admissible in court because they can be unreliable, “just bad practice.”

Michael Kieloch, spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, issued a statement on Wednesday, saying, “We await release of the draft report, and are unable to respond or comment until we are allowed to read and review it.”

A spokesman for Neronha said he hasn’t yet determined how much time the diocese will have before its release.

State Representative Carol Hagan McEntee, a South Kingstown Democrat, said she hopes the public can read the report before the next legislative session begins in January.

For years, McEntee has been on the forefront in pushing for legislation to hold the diocese and its accused priests accountable for decades of abuse of children. Her sister, Ann Hagan Webb, has testified that a now-dead West Warwick parish priest raped her when she was a child.

While McEntee succeeded in getting “Annie’s law” passed in 2019 to extend the deadline for victims to sue over childhood sexual abuse, the state Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that the law does not retroactively apply to people or institutions who may have enabled child sexual abuse.

McEntee has tried for years to change that. This year, the House passed her legislation, but the Senate didn’t act.

She hopes other legislators will be persuaded to act in the next session, when they read the attorney general’s report and see the volume of allegations against priests and the diocese.

“This legislation is about protecting children from pedophiles and holding the institutions that shield them accountable,” McEntee said Wednesday.

Neronha noted that he has been trying for years to get legislation passed that would allow a grand jury, with court oversight, to issue a report with findings and recommendations — even when it decides no one should be charged with a crime.

“This is the perfect case for a grand jury report,” Neronha said. “Why? Because I couldn’t force anybody to come in and cooperate with us. I couldn’t force a bishop still alive, if there was one, to come in and testify under oath. And that’s the main weakness of the report.”

So, he said, he had to choose between preparing the 400-page report or convening a grand jury without releasing any further information.

“But if I had a grand jury report, I’d have the best of both worlds,” Neronha said. “I could get every witness who knows something before a grand jury under oath and make them testify under oath. And the inability to do that is the weakness of the report. But there was no way around it because I can’t get this bill passed.”

In 2019, the attorney general’s office and then-Bishop Thomas J. Tobin entered a memorandum of understanding that gave prosecutors and the state police access to 70 years of diocesan files and records — whether or not the allegations were deemed credible by the diocese.

Neronha said at the time that the review was intended to identify any prosecutable cases and ensure there are no credibly accused clergy in active ministry. His office would also give the diocese recommendations into improving its policies and procedures for preventing such abuse and responding to allegations of abuse.

The review expanded on a 2016 letter of understanding with the diocese, by providing greater access to historical records.

The attorney general’s review led to charges against several priests.

Former Reverend John Petrocelli, who was on the diocese’s list of “credibly accused” clergy, was charged in November 2020 with molesting three boys while he was an assistant pastor at Holy Family Parish in Woonsocket.

Petrocelli, now 80, was indicted on three counts of first-degree child molestation sexual assault, and nine counts of second-degree child molestation sexual assault.

Former Reverend James Silva was indicted in November 2021 on two counts of first-degree child molestation sexual assault, and nine counts of second-degree child molestation sexual assault.

Silva, now 85, is accused of sexually assaulting a boy who was under the age of 14 between 1989 and 1990, while Silva was interim director and assistant director at the diocese’s Office of Ministerial Formation. He was removed from ministry in 1993.

Kevin Fisette, on the diocese’s list of credibly accused priests, was indicted in 2022 on a charge of sexually abusing a boy in the early 1980s. Fisette, now 70, had been removed from ministry in 2009 but never removed from the priesthood.

Their cases are still pending.

Another former priest was found incompetent to stand trial. Edward Kelley had been indicted in 2021 on three counts of first-degree sexual assault, but a judge determined in early 2022 that Kelley had dementia. Kelley died in months later at age 80.

Amanda Milkovits can be reached at amanda.milkovits@globe.com. Follow her @AmandaMilkovits. Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.