A new report out today says Catholic clergy in Rhode Island abused hundreds of children for decades while church leaders minimized the scandal.

William Brangham has more.

Jeff, according to the report, more than 300 children were molested or sexually assaulted by at least 75 different clergy members over 70 years.

The abuses documented date back to the 1950s all the way to 2011.

According to Rhode Island's Attorney General Peter Norona, whose office wrote this report,

those numbers could be even higher.

The report alleges the diocese kept a secret archive

detailing abuse allegations and often moved accused priests to new parishes rather than alerting

following the report's release, the new Bishop of Providence, Reverend Bruce Lewandowski

stressed that the church has instituted new standards for reporting abuse,

and he expressed sorrow for the trauma and pain experienced by victims.

I take this opportunity to apologize to the victim survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy

for the failures of church personnel and others in past decades

to protect them and keep them safe. But investigators and survivors continue to call for a

fuller reckoning of this story. For more on this investigation, I am joined by Anne Hagen Webb.

She is a survivor of clergy's sexual abuse and now advocates for survivors.

Webb was abused between the ages of five and 12 years old by a priest at her school in West Warwick.

And thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today.

Some of your own abuse stories were detailed in this report,

and I just wonder how this must feel to you,

after so many years of being told that your allegations were not credible,

to now have this report out in the public for everyone to see.

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