Rhode Island Attorney General's Report on Clergy Abuse (the Neronha Report)

The Attorney General's report concluded that, for decades, Diocese of Providence leadership protected priests and the Church's reputation rather than protecting children. Its preface states that the investigation "produced incontrovertible evidence of decades of clergy child sexual abuse by Diocesan clergy, and inaction, concealment, and denial by Diocesan leadership, including bishops." The report found that, particularly under two of the diocese's earlier bishops, "accused priests were repeatedly returned to ministry, in positions where they had access to, and sexually abused, more children," and that instead of reporting complaints to authorities, diocesan officials "sent accused priests to different parishes, or to 'treatment,' before ultimately returning them to active service." For much of the period the report reviewed, the Office said the diocese's response was driven "whenever possible, by a single focus: concealment." The Office also found ongoing gaps at the time of publication, including a failure to monitor accused priests and "continuing to ask victims to submit to polygraphs," but found no evidence of any recent child sexual abuse by clergy: the most recent complaints it reviewed "generally concerned abuse that reportedly took place decades ago."

The Attorney General's March 4, 2026 announcement lists eight recommendations to the Diocese of Providence — introduced as what the Office recommends "among other things" — and four legislative reforms for the Rhode Island General Assembly. We quote them as the announcement words them.

To the Diocese of Providence:

1. "Establish a monitoring program for credibly accused clergy" (p. 239).
2. "Strengthen preventive measures, such as requiring regular nationwide background checks for all clergy, and investigating and disciplining grooming behaviors."
3. "Improve and expand Diocesan policies and procedures for internal investigations of sexual misconduct complaints, including clear deadlines, meaningful oversight, and the use of trauma-informed investigative practices."
4. "Establish and fund an independent survivor compensation program" (p. 256).
5. "Update and formalize the policies of the Review Board, which should include at least one victim representative."
6. "Adopt a survivors-rights policy."
7. "Improve transparency by (1) expanding the currently published Credibly Accused List and (2) creating an on-line document repository for key records relating to the Diocese's past and present response to the abuse crisis" (p. 260).
8. "Enter into a revised Letter of Understanding with this Office to include a wider range of sexual misconduct offenses involving minors, and clarify that reports to the Office and the State Police must be made within 24-48 hours of receipt by the Diocese."

We could not confirm that the diocese has publicly reported on any of these eight items since March 2026.

To the Rhode Island General Assembly:

1. "Amend Rhode Island's civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse to permit plaintiffs whose claims previously expired to sue the institutions and supervisors responsible for enabling or covering up their abuse" (p. 268). Enacted — this became the revival window that opened July 1, 2026.
2. "Increase the criminal statute of limitations for second-degree sexual assault" — specifically, a proposed "ten-year statute of limitations for second-degree sexual assault, measured from the date of the offense" (p. 267). A bill to do this, H 8086 Sub A, passed the House on April 7, 2026 but, according to LegiScan, did not pass the Senate.
3. Clarify the state's mandatory reporting law to explicitly require reporting of known or suspected child sexual abuse "committed by clergy and other religious leaders, or any person employed by a church or religious body with supervisory responsibilities over children" (p. 273). Status not confirmed.
4. "Adopt a grand jury reporting statute that authorizes grand juries to issue public reports on their findings, even when they do not return an indictment, subject to court oversight and procedural safeguards" (p. 265). Status not confirmed.