WASHINGTON
Yakima Herald
By Jane Gargas
jgargas@yakimaherald.com
YAKIMA, Wash. — The Lay Advisory Board of the Catholic Diocese of Yakima will not be listing the names of local clergy on its website who have had credible claims of sexual abuse leveled against them.
The board last month discussed listing priests’ names on the diocesan website and took no action nor made any recommendations to Bishop Joseph Tyson.
The seven-member group, which meets quarterly, investigates any allegations of sexual misconduct in the local Catholic church.
The subject arose after the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle published a list of clergy and other church personnel accused of sexually abusing children on its website in January. The 77 names were those who either admitted abuse, had credible claims made against them or claims established to be true, the Seattle Archdiocese said.
In an email sent last week to the Yakima Herald-Republic, Monsignor Robert Siler, Yakima Diocese chancellor, explained that the lay advisory board concluded that the names of credibly accused priests here already had been made public, either released in notices by the diocese, listed in this newspaper or named in the legal system.
“While the Bishop will continue to consult widely (including the Board) as to the advisability of making any further public release of names, the Diocese does not see a pressing need to do so at the present time,” Siler wrote.
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