Rhode Island opens revival window for clergy sex abuse lawsuits
Key Questions
What new law did Rhode Island pass regarding clergy sex abuse lawsuits?
Governor McKee signed legislation creating a two-year window for victims to file suits even if previously time-barred. Lawyers have begun filing cases naming priests and institutions, with calls for release of secret diocese archives.
What does the investigation into Father Alfred Lonardo reveal?
Lonardo, named in the 2026 AG report but absent from the diocese list, allegedly enabled another abuser before being sent to Rome. The case underscores patterns of cover-up in the Providence diocese.
How has the diocese responded to historical abuse allegations in Rhode Island?
Dioceses have used polygraphs and sham evaluations to dismiss victims, as in the Father Fitzgerald case, while continuing financial support for convicted priests like Father Leech.
Rhode Island Governor McKee signed a law creating a two-year window for clergy sex abuse victims to file lawsuits even if time-barred. Lawyers are now filing the first wave of lawsuits naming specific priests and institutions, and advocate Garabedian is calling for secret archives to be released. A newly highlighted case of Father Edmund Fitzgerald shows diocese using polygraph results to dismiss a victim and reinstating Fitzgerald after a sham evaluation, underscoring systemic cover-up. Another case: Father Paul Henry Leech, convicted in 1985, continued to receive diocese financial support after arrest; AG's 2026 report adds two more survivors. A new investigation details Father Alfred Lonardo, a deceased Providence priest named in the RI AG's 2026 report but not on the diocese's list, who enabled another abuser and was sent to Rome after allegations. This is a major legal development for institutional accountability.