Church assault victims speak out after Bishop Tobin holds day of prayer

By: Amanda Pitts

alpitts@abc6.com

@AmandaPittsTV

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Church sex abuse victims are speaking out after Bishop Tobin held a day of prayer Friday as a response to recent clergy abuse findings in Pennsylvania.

A grand jury found hundreds of priests there sexually abused children. Tobin was an auxiliary bishop in Pittsburgh for part of the time. He addressed the abuse during his homily.

"We come first of all to ask gods forgiveness of our sins, especially the sins of sexual abuse committed against children and youth in our diocese across the country and around the world," said Tobin.

That wasn’t enough for Jim Scanlan of Providence, who was sexually assaulted when he was 15 by a priest in Boston.

"The response he’s had has been indicting truly. We know what happened there now, and the fact that Bishop Tobin acknowledges that, the same playbook is run here."

Scalan feels a grand jury investigation should be opened up here in Rhode Island as well.

Ann Hagan Webb of Narragansett agrees. She says she was sexually assaulted from Kindergarten to 7th grade at Sacred Heart Church in West Warwick.

"All the prayer in the world and the day of fasting is a ludicrous response to the seriousness of what’s going on," said Hagan Webb.

She’s calling on the church to release records of past sexual abuse in Rhode Island, to get to the bottom of the issue, and prevent more children from becoming victims.

"Transparency is the beginning of fixing this problem," Hagan Webb added.

Weeks ago, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Providence said Bishop Tobin would be available to answer reporter’s questions on the Pennsylvania report Friday, but when asked, the Bishop would not speak to us, saying the day should be only about prayer.

(c) WLNE-TV 2018