Roman Catholic Diocese of Yakima
Diocese of the Catholic Church From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Diocese of Yakima (Latin: Dioecesis Yakimensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese of the Catholic Church in central Washington State in the United States. It is a suffragan see in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Seattle.
Diocese of Yakima Dioecesis Yakimensis | |
|---|---|
 St. Paul Cathedral | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Territory | Central Washington State |
| Ecclesiastical province | Province of Seattle |
| Population |
|
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | June 23, 1951 |
| Cathedral | St. Paul Cathedral |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Sede vacante |
| Bishop | Joseph J. Tyson |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Paul Etienne |
| Bishops emeritus | Carlos Arthur Sevilla |
| Map | |
 | |
| Website | |
| yakimadiocese.org | |
The mother church of the Diocese of Yakima is St. Paul Cathedral in Yakima. As of 2023, the bishop is Joseph J. Tyson.[2]
Territory
The Diocese of Yakima comprises Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat and Yakima Counties.
History
Summarize
Perspective
1950 to 2000
The Diocese of Yakima was erected on June 23, 1951, by Pope Pius XII. Its territory was taken from the Dioceses of Seattle and Spokane. The pope named Reverend Joseph Dougherty of Seattle as the first bishop of Yakima.[3] In 1969, Dougherty became an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
The second bishop of Yakima was Monsignor Cornelius Power of Seattle, selected by Pope Paul VI in 1969.[4] Five years later, he became archbishop of the Archdiocese of Portland. To replace Power, Paul VI named Reverend Nicolas Walsh from the Diocese of Boise in 1974. After only two years, Walsh became an auxiliary bishop in Seattle.[5]
In 1977, Paul VI appointed Reverend William S. Skylstad of Spokane as the next bishop of Yakima. After 13 years of service as bishop, Skylstad became bishop of Spokane in 1990.[6] He was replaced by Pope John Paul II with Monsignor Francis George in 1990. George was named archbishop of Portland in 1996.[7]
Auxiliary Bishop Carlos Arthur Sevilla of the Archdiocese of San Francisco was the next bishop of Yakima, named by John Paul II in 1996.[8]
2000 to present
Sevilla retired in 2011. To replace Sevilla, Pope Benedict XVI named Auxiliary Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of Seattle the same year.[9] In 2011, Tyson began a migrant ministry program in which every seminarian assists and ministers to migrant workers.[10] This was inspired by the Youth Migrant Project in the Archdiocese of Seattle.[11]
In November 2023 Reverend Jesús Mariscal, the parochial vicar at St. Paul's Cathedral, delivered a set of twins just outside the cathedral. With instructions from a 911 operator, Mariscal delivered the babies and helped one of them to start breathing.[12] That same month, the diocese erected a memorial stone in the Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Yakima to the saint Maria Goretti. The stone contains a prayer for healing for all victims of sexual abuse.[13]
As of 2024, Tyson is the bishop of the Diocese of Yakima.
Sex abuse
In January 2008, the Diocese of Yakima agreed to pay $25,000 each to four women who stated they had been sexually abused by Reverend Michael Simpson. The alleged crimes took place at Saint Aloysius Parish in Toppenish when the plaintiffs were minors.[14] In 2005, a woman from Zillah also sued the diocese, saying she was sexually abused by Simpson.[15]
In April 2008, Bishop Sevilla accepted blame for hiring former diocesan seminarian Juan Gonzalez in 2003 to work as a retreat director for the diocese. Gonzalez was being investigated at that time by police in Marion County, Oregon, for viewing child pornography.[16] Sevilla said he knew about the investigation but hired Gonzalez anyway.
After Gonzalez was arrested in Yakima County on an Oregon warrant, Sevilla said he was never notified of the charges. He also acknowledged he never followed up with authorities.[17] The charges later were dropped.[18]
In May 2008, Sevilla admitted that he failed to notify parishioners in the diocese about Reverend Jose Joaquin Estrada Arango, convicted earlier in 2008 of fondling a 14-year-old girl in Oregon. Estrada had worked in four parishes in Yakima between 2001 and 2003.[19]
In 2014, Sevilla testified in a civil lawsuit against the diocese. The plaintiff claimed to have been sexually assaulted in 1999 at age 17 by seminarian Aaron Ramirez at Resurrection Catholic Church in Zillah. The suit alleged that the diocese had been negligent in checking Ramirez's background when he applied to enter the priesthood.[20]
Ramirez fled to Mexico after the incident, where he became an Anglican priest. Sevilla did not notify the Mexican Anglican archbishop about Ramirez's alleged crimes until 2005.[21] A federal judge ruled in 2024 that the diocese and Resurrection Parish were not liable for the 2014 abuse.[22]
The Richland Police Department arrested Robert Davalle, a permanent deacon at Christ the King Parish in Richland, in June 2017 on two counts of first-degree child molestation.[23] Two sisters had accused him of touching them inappropriately when they were young girls in the 2000s. The girls said that Davalle kissed them and felt their breasts.[24] He pleaded guilty in May 2018 to two counts of child molestation and was sentenced to prison for at least five years.[25]
In July 2019, the diocese published a list of 21 priests and deacons with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors.[26] In September 2019, the Vatican instructed Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle to investigate Sevilla's handling of sexual abuse cases and to determine if he retaliated against diocesan employees who criticized his actions. In July 2022, Francis released a formal reprimand to Sevilla over his handling of sexual abuse allegations.[27]
Diocesan Pastoral Center, Yakima, Washington (2023)
Diocesan Pastoral Center
Bishops of Yakima
- Joseph Patrick Dougherty (1951–1969)
- Cornelius Michael Power (1969–1974), appointed Archbishop of Portland in Oregon
- Nicolas Eugene Walsh (1974–1976), appointed auxiliary bishop of Seattle
- William Stephen Skylstad (1977–1990), appointed Bishop of Spokane
- Francis George (1990–1996), appointed Archbishop of Portland in Oregon and later Archbishop of Chicago (elevated to Cardinal in 1998)
- Carlos Arthur Sevilla (1996–2011)
- Joseph J. Tyson (2011–present)
Churches
As of 2025, the Diocese of Yakima had 44 parishes.[28]
Education
As of 2025, the Diocese of Yakima had six elementary schools and one high school:[29]
- Christ the King School – Richland
- Christ the Teacher Catholic school – Yakima
- La Salle High School – Yakima
- St. Joseph/Marquette School – Yakima
- St. Joseph School – Kennewick
- St. Joseph School – Wenatchee
- St. Rose of Lima School – Ephrata[30]
See also
- Catholic Church by country
- Catholic Church in the United States
- Ecclesiastical Province of Seattle
- Global organisation of the Catholic Church
- List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent)
- List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical) (including archdioceses)
- List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including archdioceses)
- List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States
References
External links
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