BishopAccountability.org
	Yakima Diocese Challenged Again on Clergy Sexual Abuse By Jane Gargas Yakima Herald-Republic May 14, 2008 http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/4020 A national advocacy group for victims of clergy sexual abuse is challenging the Catholic Diocese of Yakima to do more to find if there are other victims. But the diocese stands behind its efforts. "I believe we're doing a good job," the Rev. Robert Siler, diocesan chief of staff, said Tuesday. The victim advocacy group, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, recently sent a letter to Bishop Carlos Sevilla, urging him to do more investigations and outreach. SNAP said it's particularly critical to seek out any victims at parishes served by priests linked to sexual transgressions. SNAP also released the name of a former priest here, now deceased, whom the group said was a pedophile. SNAP said that the Rev. Frank Duffy, a Jesuit, had credible allegations of child molestation made against him in the Portland archdiocese. He was accused of molesting four girls under the age of 10 while serving in two parishes in the archdiocese in the 1960s. Siler verified that the archdiocese and the Oregon Province of Jesuits, who were both named in lawsuits, settled the claims against Duffy. Duffy served in the Yakima diocese from 1971-89, after the sex abuse allegedly occurred, according to documents released by the Portland archdiocese. When the archdiocese agreed to a $75 million settlement of clergy sexual abuse claims last year, it publicly released documents about abuse claims. Siler said there is no record of claims made in the Yakima diocese against Duffy, who served as an associate pastor at St. Joseph Parish from 1971-79 and provided Hispanic ministry at St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Cowiche from 1979-89. Duffy also worked in the Spanish-speaking apostolate of the diocese, visiting farm worker camps around the Valley to give religious instruction to children, according to Yakima Herald-Republic archives. Sister Rebecca Berghoff, who served as principal of St. Joseph/Marquette School for more than 20 years beginning in 1976, remembers Duffy but doesn't think he had contact with children at the school. "He lived there with the Jesuits, but he didn't have much to do with the parish people," she recalled. Duffy moved to a Jesuit residence in Portland in October 1989 and died in 1992 when he was in his early 80s. A letter written in October 1989 by a priest in the Portland office of clergy personnel was released by the archdiocese, saying that Duffy "has been under treatment for some sex problems." Although there have been no claims made against Duffy here, Siler urged anyone with concerns to call the diocesan confidential phone line for reporting abuse, 888-276-4490. The diocese refers claims to its lay advisory board, which investigates allegations. "If there are any victims, certainly we want them to come forward," Siler said. But that's not adequate, David Clohessy, national director of SNAP, said from his St. Louis office. "The bishop should make announcements and use bulletins to alert families to come forward if they saw or suffered any inappropriate behavior," Clohessy said. He emphasized that the bishop needs to be proactive in finding possible victims. "The passive, do-nothing approach leaves more victims in pain and ultimately causes more disillusionment among Catholics," Clohessy said.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.