Bishop Louis E. Gelineau, former leader of Rhode Island’s Catholic diocese, faces new lawsuit alleging sexual abuse of altar boy in 1980s.

Bishop Louis E. Gelineau, who led the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence for 25 years, has been accused of raping an altar boy in the 1980s. The new lawsuit, filed in Providence County Superior Court, names Gelineau, who died in 2024 at age 96, as one of three priests allegedly responsible for the abuse. The plaintiff, identified as John Doe in the lawsuit, is a Newport man who was around 10 years old when he began serving as an altar boy at St. Luke’s Church in Barrington.

The lawsuit alleges that St. Luke’s was the center of a ring of pedophiles led by Gelineau himself. During his tenure, Gelineau oversaw a system where priests accused of abuse were moved from parish to parish and to treatment centers and back, keeping those incidents quiet. This approach has been a recurring issue in Catholic Church abuse cases, with critics arguing it allowed perpetrators to continue harming children.

John Doe told the Boston Globe in an exclusive interview that he struggled to come forward with his allegations. He described the difficulty of speaking out, noting the skepticism he faced as a 13-year-old. “Who’s going to believe a 13-year-old? Or, are they going to believe the esteemed ‘Pope of Rhode Island’?” he said. The Globe does not name alleged victims of sexual abuse without their permission.

When Gelineau became the sixth bishop of the Providence Diocese in December 1971, about two-thirds of Rhode Islanders identified as Catholic. It is still the most-Catholic state in the U.S. During his 25 years as leader, Gelineau took action against causes and people he believed went against Catholic teachings. He oversaw 157 churches and 62 schools in the state’s only Roman Catholic Diocese.

The abuse began when John Doe was around 10 years old, serving as an altar boy under the Rev. Oscar Ferland. The priest began abusing him soon after he became an altar boy, summoning him into the sacristy, the rectory, and the church basement under the guise of needing help with “altar boy duties.” The abuse began with groping and fondling and progressed over time to rape, according to the lawsuit. The priest would often tell Doe he was helping him discover who he was as a person.

The lawsuit is part of more than 100 filed against the Diocese of Providence since July. A spokesperson for the Diocese of Providence said that responses to the lawsuit will be confined to that forum. The case highlights ongoing concerns about accountability and transparency within the Catholic Church, particularly regarding the handling of abuse allegations.

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