Yakima Catholic Diocese won’t publish list of sex-abusers

YAKIMA — The Catholic Diocese of Yakima will not publish the names of local clergy accused of sexual abuse on its website.

The Yakima Herald-Republic reported that the church’s lay advisory board discussed listing priests’ names last month but took no action.

Robert Siler, the Yakima Diocese chancellor, says the board concluded such names have already been made public through diocese notices as well as in local newspapers and legal cases.

In January, the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle published a list of 77 child-sex abusers who served or lived in Western Washington over the past several decades. Its list included cases where allegations of child sex abuse have been admitted, established or determined to be credible.

Siler says the bishop will continue to consult on the matter but that the diocese “does not see a pressing need to do so at the present time.”