This page concerns William O'Neill, born September 16, 1941, ordained June 8, 1968, a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence who died May 3, 2000. He is a different person from Father John Francis O'Neil, who appears in the Attorney General's Appendix A, and from Father William O'Connell, who also appears on the Diocese's list. This page does not refer to any other person of the same or similar name. Assignments are reproduced from the Diocese’s records and the Attorney General’s report — see how this database is verified.
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Father William O’Neill’s ministry in the Diocese of Providence ran from 1968 to 1971, with assignments at St. Mary Church in Carolina, Immaculate Conception in Cranston, and Blessed Sacrament in Providence. He is named on the Diocese of Providence’s published List of Credibly Accused Clergy and is among the 72 clergy included in the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 report on the Diocese (Appendix A, p. 2).
What happened to Father O’Neill?
According to the Diocese of Providence’s published list, his status reads, in full: “Left Ministry 7/10/1971; Died 5/3/2000”. The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Appendix A entry separately records that O’Neill was voluntarily laicized on October 7, 1972 — laicization is a distinct event from the “Left Ministry” date the Diocese publishes, and both are stated here as each source records them (Appendix A, p. 286).
According to the Attorney General’s report, the Diocese received two reports about Father O’Neill, in 1994 and 1995. In 1995, a complainant’s brother reported to Bishop Louis Gelineau that his sister had been abused during a camping trip in the late 1960s; at that time, O’Neill was no longer a priest and was working as a music director at St. Jude Parish in Lincoln. In an April 4, 1995 memorandum relaying the complaint, Bishop Gelineau wrote: “Problem now: He is working at St. Jude’s. Has access to children” (Appendix A, p. 287).
The report records that in an August 26, 1996 interview with Robert McCarthy, Director of the Diocese’s Office of Education and Compliance, O’Neill denied abusing the boy but made admissions regarding the girl; McCarthy determined there were “sufficient facts to warrant a guilty finding” as to that allegation. Bishop Gelineau nevertheless decided that O’Neill would remain at St. Jude under conditions set by its pastor, which he did until he died in 2000. As the report states: “There is no record indicating that any Diocesan official ever reported the abuse allegation, O’Neill’s admission, or the other allegations, to law enforcement” (Report, p. 91).
Where Father O’Neill served: assignment history
The Diocese of Providence publishes the following assignment record:
| Assignment | Location | Years |
|---|---|---|
| St. Mary Church | Carolina, RI | 1968 |
| Immaculate Conception Church | Cranston, RI | 1968–1969 |
| Blessed Sacrament Church | Providence, RI | 1969–1971 |
Source: Diocese of Providence, individual clergy record, verified July 7, 2026. The Attorney General’s Appendix A prints the 1968 St. Mary Church location as Charlestown rather than Carolina, and adds two further lines recording that O’Neill was suspended on leave in 1971 and laicized in 1972 (Appendix A, p. 286).
What the official lists say
William O’Neill appears on the Diocese of Providence’s published List of Credibly Accused Clergy (Deceased), and the Rhode Island Attorney General’s report (March 4, 2026) includes Father William O’Neill among the 72 clergy “determined by the Attorney General to have been credibly accused of child sexual misconduct in the Diocese of Providence” (Appendix A, p. 2). He is one of the 75 names on the Diocese of Providence credibly accused list, explained.
The report’s summary of the allegations states: “Father William O’Neill was accused of sexually abusing two minors, a boy and a girl, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He admitted to sexually abusing the girl but denied abusing the boy” (Appendix A, p. 286). The same summary adds that the complainants first disclosed the abuse to the Diocese in 1994 and 1995, and that “The Diocese never referred the accusations against Father O’Neill to law enforcement” (Appendix A, p. 286).
As the Attorney General’s report itself states, unless otherwise noted, the details in its Appendix A are allegations — not facts proven in a courtroom or admitted by the accused — and the individuals named are generally entitled to a presumption of innocence. The Attorney General’s report records no criminal charge against Father O’Neill: it states that the Diocese never referred the accusations against him to law enforcement, and he died in 2000 (Appendix A, p. 2; Appendix A, p. 286; Report, p. 91).
If you were at these parishes between 1968 and 1971: the Rhode Island revival window
Rhode Island’s revival window allows civil claims for childhood sexual abuse regardless of how long ago it occurred — the late 1960s included — until June 30, 2028. His death in 2000 does not affect the right to bring a claim; claims are brought against the responsible institution:
- How Rhode Island’s revival window works
- Can you still sue if the priest has died?
- The June 30, 2028 deadline
- Who can file a claim
Common questions
Is William O’Neill on the credibly accused list? Yes. He appears on the Diocese of Providence’s published List of Credibly Accused Clergy (Deceased) and in Appendix A of the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 report.
Is this the same person as Father John Francis O’Neil or Father William O’Connell? No. All three are separate individuals. John Francis O’Neil appears in the Attorney General’s Appendix A; William O’Connell is a different priest on the Diocese’s list with his own record.
Was Father O’Neill ever criminally charged? The Attorney General’s report records no criminal charge against him. It states that the Diocese never referred the accusations to law enforcement, and O’Neill died in 2000 (Appendix A, p. 286).
He left ministry in 1971 — does that matter for a claim? No. Claims under the revival window may be filed until June 30, 2028, regardless of when the alleged abuse occurred or the priest’s later status. (The Attorney General’s records separately note that he was laicized in 1972.)
Confidential help
If something happened to you at one of these parishes, you can speak with a Rhode Island attorney confidentially, at no cost and with no obligation. You don’t need records or proof in hand to have a conversation, and you don’t need to have told anyone before. Contact Marin & Murphy Law Firm confidentially.
Other credibly accused clergy who served at these parishes
The official assignment records above overlap with those of other clergy on the official lists — the same institution of record, at any period, which is not an assertion that they served there at the same time:
- Father Edmund Micarelli — also served at St. Mary Church, Carolina
- Father Roger Belhumeur — also served at Immaculate Conception Church, Cranston
- Monsignor John Allard — also served at Immaculate Conception Church, Cranston
Related town records: see all verified Providence records and Cranston records.
Reporting resources
Anyone with information about abuse may contact the Rhode Island State Police Special Victims Unit at (401) 764-0142, the RI Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-RI-CHILD (1-800-742-4453), or the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office at (401) 274-4400.
See also the separately listed record for Father William O’Connell.
Questions About These Records? Talk With Marin & Murphy — Confidentially
If the assignment history on this page overlaps with your own — a parish, a school, a set of years — and you want to understand what it may mean for a claim under Rhode Island’s revival window, our attorneys can review it with you. Marin & Murphy Law Firm is a Rhode Island law firm representing survivors of childhood sexual abuse under the revival window (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2028). A conversation is free and confidential, nothing is filed and no one is contacted unless you decide, and there is no fee unless you recover. Call (401) 269-3381, or start with our Rhode Island clergy abuse lawyer page.
Corrections: we maintain a corrections policy for these pages, with a named contact and a 48-hour review commitment. If you believe anything on this page is inaccurate, please tell us.
Verification: every fact on this page is checked against both official sources — the Diocese of Providence’s published records and the Rhode Island Attorney General’s report — with source conflicts stated, not silently resolved. See how this database is verified.
Sources: Diocese of Providence, List of Credibly Accused Clergy and individual clergy record (verified July 7, 2026); Rhode Island Attorney General, Report on the Diocese of Providence and Appendix A (March 4, 2026). Where the two official sources differ (the location of the 1968 St. Mary assignment — Carolina vs. Charlestown; the Diocese’s “Left Ministry 7/10/1971” status alongside the Attorney General’s October 7, 1972 laicization record; and the Attorney General’s additional 1971 suspension and 1972 laicization lines), both are stated with attribution. Information current as of July 7, 2026; official lists are working documents and may change.