Louis Edward Gelineau

Louis Edward Gélineau (May 3, 1928 – November 7, 2024) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as bishop of the Diocese of Providence in Rhode Island from 1972 to 1997.

After his retirement in 2004, Gelineau was named in multiple lawsuits regarding sexual abuse by priests in the diocese during his tenure as bishop.

Biography

Early life Louis Gélineau was born on May 3, 1928, into a French-Canadian family in Burlington, Vermont, to Leonidas and Juliette (née Baribault) Gélineau; he had an older brother, Robert. After attending St. Joseph's Elementary School and Cathedral High School in Burlington, he studied at St. Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont, for two years. Gélineau then entered St. Paul's University in Ottawa, Ontario, obtaining a Licentiate of Sacred Theology and a Bachelor of Philosophy degree. Gélineau was then assigned as assistant pastor at All Saints Parish in Richford, Vermont (1954–1956) and at St. Stephen Parish in Winooski, Vermont (1956–1957).

In 1985, Gélineau registered opposition to a 1985 ordinance for the City of Providence to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination. He said, "Homosexual acts are contrary to God's command and contrary to his purpose in creating sex. To give support to this proposed legislation may easily be interpreted as supporting the homosexual lifestyle." In 1995, when the Rhode Island Senate passed an LGBTQ+ rights bill, Gélineau stated, "If [proposed legislation] seeks to afford protection from unjust discrimination, which is not now afforded under our laws, then those laws should be changed."

In a 1997 legal deposition, Robert Cadorette accused Gélineau of abusing him when Gélineau was a brother assigned to St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Burlington in the 1950s. Cadorette claimed that on one occasion in 1951, Gélineau tried to pull down Cadorette's fly. When Cadorette ran away, Gélineau allegedly caught and tried to drown him.

Retirement and legacy Gélineau submitted his letter of resignation as bishop of Providence to Pope John Paul II. The pope accepted it on June 11, 1997. In October 2019, Gelineau and the diocese were named in a lawsuit by Philip Edwardo. The plaintiff said that Gélineau helped perpetrate sexual abuse by Reverend Philip Magaldi against Edwardo when he was a minor between 1978 and 1983. In February 2020, Gélineau and the diocese were sued by Robert Houllahan, who alleged sexual abuse by Reverend Normand Demers. Houlihan claimed that Demers was also preying on other boys in Haitian orphanages and rectories in Rhode Island while the diocese was protecting him. Citing his advanced age, Gélineau declined comment on the lawsuit.

In March 2020, Gélineau was accused by Jeannette Costa, a parishioner in Cranston, Rhode Island, of ignoring a sexual abuse accusation by her son in 1993 against Reverend Daniel Azzarone. She had sent a letter to Gélineau in June 1993 after her son told her that Azzarone had fondled him during the 1980s. A diocesan lawyer contacted Costa in 1993 by a diocese lawyer, telling her that Azzarone's parish priest would supervise him. In response to this accusation in 2020, the diocese said that they had reported Azzarone in 1993 to a law enforcement agency in Rhode Island that declined his prosecution. Azzarone remained in ministry.

In November 2021, a Providence grand jury indicted Reverend James Silva on 11 counts of sexual assault between 1989 and 1990. The Providence Journal article mentioned a 1980 lawsuit against Gelineau from parents of a boy in Burrillville, Rhode Island, who claimed Silva assaulted him. Gélineau had then transferred Silva to St. Lucy's Parish in Middletown, Rhode Island, without notifying that parish or the authorities. When informed that Silva had molested a child at St. Lucy's, Gélineau's response was “Oh, no. Not again!"

Gelineau died at the St. Antoine Residence in North Smithfield, Rhode Island, on November 7, 2024, at the age of 96.