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.

The mother church of the Diocese of Yakima is St. Paul Cathedral in Yakima. As of 2023, the current bishop is Joseph J. Tyson.

Territory

The Diocese of Yakima comprises Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat and Yakima Counties.

History

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. 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. 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.

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. He was replaced by Pope John Paul II with Monsignor Francis George in 1990. George was named archbishop of Portland in 1996.

Auxiliary Bishop Carlos Arthur Sevilla of the Archdiocese of San Francisco was the next bishop of Yakima, named by John Paul II in 1996. Sevilla retired in 2011. To replace Sevilla, Pope Benedict XVI named Auxiliary Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of Seattle in 2011.

In 2011, Tyson began a migrant ministry program in which every seminarian assists and ministers to migrant workers. This was inspired by the Youth Migrant Project in the Archdiocese of Seattle As of 2014, the diocese had 41 parishes and seven Catholic schools.

As of 2023, Tyson is the current bishop of the Diocese of Yakima.

Sex abuse

The Diocese of Yakima in January 2008 agreed to pay $25,000 each to four women who claimed to have been sexually abused by Reverend Michael Simpson. The alleged crimes took place at Saint Aloysius Parish in Toppenish when the plaintiffs were children. In 2005, a woman from Zillah also sued the diocese, claiming sexual abuse by Simpson.

In April 2008, Bishop Sevilla accepted blame for hiring Reverend Juan Gonzalez from Oregon 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. Sevilla knew about the investigation, but hired Gonzalez anyway. Police later notified Sevilla that charges had been filed against Gonzalez, but there was no follow-up by the diocese.

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.

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. 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.

In July 2019, the diocese published a list of 21 priests and deacons with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors. In September 2019, the Vatican instructed Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle to investigate Sevilla's 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.

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  Diocesan Pastoral Center in Yakima
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  Diocesan Pastoral Center

Bishops of Yakima

1. Joseph Patrick Dougherty (1951–1969)
2. Cornelius Michael Power (1969–1974), appointed Archbishop of Portland in Oregon
3. Nicolas Eugene Walsh (1974–1976), appointed auxiliary bishop of Seattle
4. William Stephen Skylstad (1977–1990), appointed Bishop of Spokane
5. Francis George (1990–1996), appointed Archbishop of Portland in Oregon and later Archbishop of Chicago (elevated to Cardinal in 1998)
6. Carlos Arthur Sevilla (1996–2011)
7. Joseph J. Tyson (2011–present)

Education

The Diocese of Yakima has six elementary schools and one high school:

• 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

See also