YAKIMA (WA)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Yakima
Published on Monday, 17 December 2012
The Diocese of Yakima has received credible allegations of abuse of a minor by a visiting priest from Mexico at the Catholic parish in Moses Lake, Wash. in the early 1970s. The Diocese is encouraging any other potential victims to come forward.
The alleged abuser, the late Rev. Hilario Ramírez, was invited to Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Moses Lake by a Hispanic family in the early 1970s. A member of the family had met him in Dilley, Texas where he had been a guest priest, and thought his ministry would be helpful in the Moses Lake parish.
During his stay of a few weeks in Moses Lake, Ramírez lived with at least two families, and is alleged to have abused four children, all boys ranging in age from 7-13. Two of the victims are deceased.
One of the surviving victims, from Texas, was able to provide the Diocese basic information about the priest and the abuse. The Diocese, through its investigation, recently was able to surface the name of another victim, who lives in Washington state. Both men have been offered counseling.
Ramírez returned to Mexico after being treated for a stomach ulcer. The Diocese learned from parishioners who stayed in contact with Ramírez that he died in an automobile accident in Mexico in the early 1980s.
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