Father Normand Marcantonio was one of the most extensively documented child sexual abusers in the history of the Diocese of Providence. His case is not just about one man’s crimes. It is about a system that protected him, moved him from parish to parish, and stayed silent while children were being harmed. If you were abused by Father Marcantonio, or if you believe the Diocese failed to protect you, you have rights, and those rights may now be stronger than ever under Rhode Island law.

Table of Contents

• Who Was Father Normand Marcantonio and What Did the Diocese of Providence Know?
• The Scale of Allegations Against Father Marcantonio and the Diocese’s Response
• Rhode Island’s 2026 Child Sexual Abuse Law (H-7200A/S-2616A) and What It Means for Marcantonio Survivors
• How the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 Report Shapes These Claims
• Your Legal Rights as a Survivor: Filing a Civil Claim Against the Diocese of Providence
• FAQs About Father Normand Marcantonio and Rhode Island Clergy Abuse Claims

Who Was Father Normand Marcantonio and What Did the Diocese of Providence Know?

Father Robert Normand Marcantonio was ordained as a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Providence and began his ministry in 1967 at Sacred Heart Church in West Warwick. Within three years, diocesan leaders were alerted that he had molested multiple boys. That knowledge did not lead to his removal. It led to a transfer.

Rather than remove Marcantonio from ministry, the diocese sent him to Iowa. There, with priestly faculties arranged by Bishop McVinney and granted by the Archbishop of Dubuque, he served at a parish in Ames, Iowa, near Iowa State University, where he was also permitted to study. The Diocese’s own internal correspondence reveals how deliberate this decision was. According to the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Diocese of Providence, Bishop McVinney wrote to the Archbishop of Dubuque that Marcantonio’s “case has been a rather serious one here,” and expressed hope that Marcantonio would remain in Iowa for his priestly work, away from Rhode Island.

Bishop Louis Gelineau, who succeeded Bishop McVinney in 1972, knew why Marcantonio was in Iowa. Rather than investigate, remove him, or contact law enforcement, Bishop Gelineau allowed Marcantonio to stay in Iowa to complete his doctorate in psychology. Then, in 1975, Bishop Gelineau quietly invited Marcantonio back to Rhode Island as a part-time assistant at St. John Vianney Church in Cumberland.

Over the 22 years leading up to his removal, Marcantonio served as a pastor at five parishes, six colleges, a high school, and a seminary, spanning three states. He was not removed from ministry until 1989. He died in 1999 and was included on the Diocese’s Credibly Accused List in 2019. None of this was your fault if you were among those he harmed.

The Scale of Allegations Against Father Marcantonio and the Diocese’s Response

According to the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 report, Marcantonio was among the most prolific of the alleged abusers identified, with the five most active accused priests collectively accused of sexually abusing a combined total of 85 children. Marcantonio alone was documented as having 17 victims in the Attorney General’s findings.

The Attorney General’s Report details that the Diocese received a dozen abuse complaints against Marcantonio over the course of his ministry: one each in 1970, 1981, and 1989; four in 1992; three in 1993; one in 1994; and one in 1995. There is no indication in the records produced by the Diocese that any of those complaints were ever referred to law enforcement while Marcantonio was alive. There is also no indication that the Diocese investigated any of the allegations after he was suspended from ministry in 1989.

Father Marcantonio was also accused of sexually abusing three boys in Iowa during his time there, as well as several more boys upon his return to Rhode Island. When an investigator from the Attorney General’s Office contacted the Diocese’s Director of Education and Compliance in 2002, following a new complaint, the Director acknowledged that Marcantonio’s file was “approximately one foot thick,” yet stated that no investigation had been conducted because Marcantonio had been suspended before the Director’s arrival.

The accused priests targeted children who were especially vulnerable to isolation and manipulation, including children from troubled homes and children who served as altar boys or attended Catholic schools or youth programs. Many committed horrific acts of sexual abuse in parishioners’ homes, churches, rectories, Catholic schools, and a Catholic-run foster care facility. Survivors of this abuse carried these experiences for decades, often in silence. That silence was not weakness. It was a direct result of how the institution handled these matters.

Rhode Island’s 2026 Child Sexual Abuse Law (H-7200A/S-2616A) and What It Means for Marcantonio Survivors

On June 11, 2026, Governor Dan McKee signed Rhode Island House Bill H-7200A and Senate Bill S-2616A into law. The new law amends the statute of limitations for claims of sexual abuse of a child and creates a two-year window for victims to bring otherwise time-barred claims against institutions and supervisors accused of enabling or covering up sexual abuse. The new law takes effect on July 1, 2026.

The new law establishes a two-year civil “revival window” that opens from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2028. During this 24-month period, survivors can file civil suits even if the statute of limitations on their claims had previously expired. This is a critical development for anyone who was abused by Father Marcantonio or by other clergy in the Diocese of Providence, and who previously believed their time to pursue a civil claim had passed.

In 2023, the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled that a 2019 law only applied to suits against individual perpetrators, not the institutions or supervisors who enabled them. The 2026 law directly addresses that gap. It now allows survivors to pursue claims against institutions, such as the Diocese of Providence, and supervisors who are accused of enabling or covering up abuse.

Future claims must be filed by whichever date is later: either 35 years from the date of the abusive act, or seven years from when the survivor first discovers or reasonably connects their adult injuries to the childhood abuse. The statute of limitations begins running when the survivor turns 18. For survivors whose claims were already time-barred before July 1, 2026, the revival window is the critical opportunity. All time-barred claims must be filed by June 30, 2028, or they may be forever barred.

How the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 Report Shapes These Claims

The Attorney General’s report is significant not just because of damning details about the abuse and cover-up, but also because Rhode Island is the nation’s most Catholic state, per capita. Released publicly on March 4, 2026, by Attorney General Peter Neronha, the report is the product of a multi-year investigation into child sexual abuse within the Diocese of Providence.

The investigation involved an examination of more than 250,000 pages of documents held by the Diocese dating back to 1950, including personnel files, treatment reports, internal investigation records, Diocesan policies and procedures, and other materials. What those documents revealed was a pattern of institutional failure that stretched across decades and involved multiple bishops.

The report identifies 75 credibly accused clergy members who, in total, abused more than 300 victims between 1950 and 2011 according to Diocesan records. Twenty of these names were not publicly identified on the Diocese’s own Credibly Accused Clergy list. Marcantonio was among those named. His case is documented in Appendix A of the report, which the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office has made publicly available at riag.ri.gov.

Despite turning over church documents half a dozen years ago, the Diocese refused the Attorney General’s requests to interview Diocesan personnel who oversaw the handling of abuse investigations. That refusal matters in a civil lawsuit. When an institution withholds cooperation from investigators, survivors and their attorneys can use that conduct to build a broader picture of institutional accountability. A sexual assault lawyer who understands Rhode Island clergy abuse litigation can help you understand what that means for your specific claim.

Your Legal Rights as a Survivor: Filing a Civil Claim Against the Diocese of Providence

A civil lawsuit is separate from a criminal prosecution. You do not need a criminal conviction, and you do not need to prove your case beyond a reasonable doubt. In a civil claim, the standard is a preponderance of the evidence, meaning that it is more likely than not that the abuse occurred and that the institution bears responsibility for enabling it. This is a meaningful distinction for survivors whose abusers are deceased, as Father Marcantonio is.

Rhode Island General Laws govern civil claims for childhood sexual abuse. Under H-7200A/S-2616A, the Diocese of Providence, as an institution accused of enabling and concealing abuse, falls squarely within the scope of parties that can be sued during the two-year revival window. The law specifically targets institutions and organizations such as churches, schools, youth programs, healthcare facilities and sports leagues, as well as supervisors.

You may be wondering whether you qualify to file a claim. If Father Marcantonio abused you, or if you were abused by another credibly accused priest in the Diocese of Providence and the Diocese failed to protect you, you may have a valid civil claim. Survivors who were abused at parishes connected to Marcantonio’s assignment history, including Sacred Heart Church in West Warwick, St. John Vianney Church in Cumberland, Rhode Island College, the University of Rhode Island, or Bryant College, should speak with an attorney as soon as possible.

The attorneys at Sommers Schwartz represent survivors of clergy sexual abuse in Rhode Island civil proceedings. As a sexual assault attorney with experience in institutional accountability claims, we understand what it takes to hold the Diocese responsible. We also understand how difficult it is to come forward. You are not alone, and what happened to you was not your fault. Contact Sommers Schwartz today for a confidential, no-obligation consultation. Our team handles these cases with the care and discretion that survivors deserve.

If you have questions about whether your claim falls under the revival window, or if you want to understand how the new law applies to your situation, speaking with a sexual abuse lawyer at Sommers Schwartz is the right first step. Time is limited. The revival window closes June 30, 2028, and there are no extensions.

FAQs About Father Normand Marcantonio and Rhode Island Clergy Abuse Claims

Was Father Normand Marcantonio ever officially listed as a credibly accused priest by the Diocese of Providence?

Yes. Father Normand Marcantonio was included on the Diocese of Providence’s Credibly Accused Clergy list in 2019, more than 20 years after his death in 1999. He is also documented extensively in the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Diocese of Providence, which identifies him as one of the most prolific alleged abusers in the Diocese’s history, with 17 documented victims. His case appears in Appendix A of the Attorney General’s report.

Can I still file a civil lawsuit if Father Marcantonio is deceased?

Yes. Father Marcantonio’s death does not eliminate your right to pursue a civil claim. Under Rhode Island’s new law, H-7200A/S-2616A, survivors can file claims against institutions and supervisors, including the Diocese of Providence, that are accused of enabling or covering up abuse. You do not need a living perpetrator to bring a valid civil lawsuit. The Diocese itself, as the institution that received complaints about Marcantonio and failed to act, can be named as a defendant in a civil claim filed during the revival window, which runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028.

What is the two-year revival window under Rhode Island law, and how does it apply to me?

The revival window is a provision created by Rhode Island H-7200A/S-2616A, signed by Governor Dan McKee on June 11, 2026, and effective July 1, 2026. It temporarily lifts the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse claims that were previously time-barred, meaning claims that could no longer be filed under the old deadlines. The window runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028. During this period, survivors can file civil suits against institutions and supervisors accused of enabling or covering up sexual abuse of a child, even if those claims would otherwise have expired. If your claim falls within this category, you must act before June 30, 2028.

What kinds of evidence are used in a civil claim against the Diocese of Providence?

Civil claims against the Diocese of Providence can draw on a wide range of evidence. This includes the Diocese’s own internal records, which were produced to the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office and form the basis of the 2026 report. Personnel files, assignment histories, internal communications between bishops, and records of prior complaints are all relevant. The Attorney General’s report itself, which documents the Diocese’s pattern of handling abuse complaints, can also provide important context. Your own testimony, the testimony of other survivors, and records of prior civil or criminal proceedings involving the same priest are additional forms of evidence that your attorney will evaluate.

Do I have to identify myself publicly if I file a lawsuit?

No. Rhode Island courts allow survivors of sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits anonymously using a pseudonym such as “Jane Doe” or “John Doe.” This protection allows you to pursue a legal claim without your name appearing in public court records. Protecting your privacy is a priority, and your attorney can file the necessary motions to keep your identity confidential throughout the process. If you are concerned about privacy as you consider whether to move forward, this is one of the first things you can discuss in a confidential consultation with a Sommers Schwartz attorney.

More Resources About Clergy Abuse

• Diocese of Providence Clergy Abuse
• Father John Abruzzese
• Father Raymond Allard
• Father Argencourt
• Father Azzarone
• Father Barnes
• Father Battel
• Father Belhumeur
• Father Bordignon
• Father Dennis Brodeur
• Father Campbell
• Father Carpentier
• Father Cavanaugh
• Father Charland
• Father Corbesero
• Father Crafton
• Father D’Angelo
• Father DeAngelis
• Father Louis Demers
• Father Albert Desrosiers
• Father Paul Desrosiers
• Father Diogo
• Father Dolan
• Father Doran
• Father Dunn
• Father Dziob
• Father Edes
• Father Feeney
• Father Oscar Ferland
• Father Ferry
• Father Fitzgerald
• Father Flanagan
• Father Gagnon
• Father Gillooly
• Father Gorton
• Father Guertin
• Father Holden
• Father James Jackson
• Father Edward Kelley
• Father Lacasse
• Father LaMountain
• Father Leboeuf
• Father Paul Henry Leech
• Father Lepire
• Father Lonardo
• Father Philip Magaldi
• Father Manu
• Father Joseph McCra
• Father McIntyre
• Father Meehan
• Father Meglio
• Father Menard
• Father Micarelli
• Father O’Connell
• Father J.F. O’Neil
• Father W. O’Neill
• Father Powers
• Father Rafferty
• Father Raiche
• Father Reynolds
• Father Rocha
• Father Sadowski
• Father Santagata
• Father Francis Santilli
• Father John Scagnelli
• Father Smyth
• Father Tanguay
• Father Tedeschi
• Father Tormey
• Father Tousignant
• Father Turillo
• Father Ventre