SPOKANE (WA)
The Spokesman-Review
John Stucke and Virginia de Leon
© The Spokesman-Review
March 8, 2006
Listen to the statement from the diocese, read by diocesan attorney Greg Arpin.
A woman has filed a sexual abuse claim against Roman Catholic Bishop William Skylstad.
Skylstad, the bishop of the Spokane Diocese and the sitting president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, denies the accusation. In a statement to be issued today, Skylstad said he has not violated a vow of celibacy he took 47 years ago.
The claim was filed Dec. 27 by a woman who said she was under the age of 18 in the early 1960s – the time period she alleges that Skylstad sexually abused her. The claim remains hidden from public scrutiny by a court secrecy order. Skylstad, however, acknowledged the claim during a north side regional meeting of parishes last week.
Alleged victims of Catholic clergy sex abuse in Eastern Washington have until Friday to file claims. The number of people alleging abuse had surpassed 135 as of Wednesday morning, according to diocese attorney Greg Arpin.