Diocese of Yakima's New Bishop Comes Home to Central Washington, by Adriana Janovich, Yakima Herald-Republic, April 13, 2011

Diocese of Yakima's New Bishop Comes Home to Central Washington

By Adriana Janovich
Yakima Herald-Republic
April 13, 2011

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2011/04/12/diocese-of-yakima-s-new-bishop-comes-home-to-central-washington

[with video]

Bishop Joseph Tyson, center, poses for a photograph with Father Argemiro Oruzco, left, after Tyson was introduced as the new bishop for the Catholic Diocese of Yakima at a news conference April 12, 2010 in Yakima. Father Bill Vogel, right, takes the photograph.

YAKIMA, Wash. -- He was baptized at Yakima's St. Paul Cathedral more than half a century ago.

And Tuesday, in a way, he returned home.

The Most Rev. Joseph J. Tyson, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle whose roots trace back to Central Washington, is the new bishop of the Diocese of Yakima.

He succeeds the Most Rev. Carlos A. Sevilla, who has led the local diocese since 1997.

The appointment by Pope Benedict XVI was announced Tuesday morning during a reception with priests from throughout the diocese at Yakima's Holy Family Parish.

"It's a real pleasure, a real blessing, to receive this holy name," said Tyson, who was born in Moses Lake and spent summers visiting his grandparents in Yakima after moving to Seattle as a child. "I'm just thrilled to be coming back to Central Washington."

Tyson, 53, has served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle since 2005. One of his duties was heading the Archdiocesan Catholic Schools system, which serves approximately 23,000 students in some 72 schools.

"He's a man who loves the people of the church," said the Most Rev. J. Peter Sartain, archbishop of Seattle, who attended Tuesday's gathering. "We are proud he will be coming this way. Without a doubt, we will miss him."

Tyson is slated to be formally installed as Yakima's seventh bishop at a special Mass at 11 a.m. May 31 at Holy Family Parish.

Sevilla, 75, introduced his successor at 10:30 a.m. in Murtagh Gathering Hall, calling Tuesday a "very significant, historic and joyful day" and telling Tyson, "We're so glad to have you."

With the appointment, Sevilla becomes the apostolic administrator and bishop emeritus for the diocese, where he plans to remain to lead retreats, provide spiritual direction and fill in for priests as needed.

Sevilla submitted his resignation last summer when he turned 75, the age at which all bishops are required to turn in a resignation letter to the Vatican.

Sevilla succeeded the Most Rev. Francis George, now the cardinal archbishop of Chicago. Before coming here, Sevilla served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. He was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1966.

"We've been blessed in having Bishop Sevilla with us for the last 14 years," said Monsignor John A. Ecker, pastor at Yakima's St. Paul Cathedral. "But the church is always changing. We're sorry to see him go, but we welcome his new successor."

Tyson, Ecker said, is "kind of coming home to us. We're very happy to have him."

The incoming bishop said his immediate plan is to get to know the diocese, its parishes, priests and parishioners.

"It's going to take a good year for me just to get the lay of the land and get to know the challenges," he said.

One of them could be dealing with allegations of sexual abuse, something for which the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, has criticized the diocese, Sevilla in particular.

In a news release Tuesday, the group responded to Tyson's appointment by saying, "Pope Benedict has recently appointed compromised clerics with terribly disappointing histories of ignoring and concealing horrific child sex crimes. So we are skeptical that Bishop Tyson will be much better than Sevilla."

Tuesday, Tyson said, "Always, the biggest challenge is making Christ real in the face of the daily challenges for people."

He added, "Anything like the sex abuse scandal compromises our capacity to proclaim the Gospel."

And, he said, "The church cannot apologize enough to the victims of clergy."

Tyson graduated from Seattle's Bishop Blanchet High School in 1975 and attended the University of Washington, earning undergraduate degrees in Russian and Eastern European Area Studies and journalism.

He completed his master's degree in international relations at the UW's Jackson School of International Studies in 1984.

And he received his master's degree in divinity at the Theological College at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1989, the same year he was ordained.

He served parishes in Bellevue, Seattle and Monroe before spending nine years as the pastor of St. Edward, St. Paul and St. George, three culturally diverse parishes and schools in south Seattle.

In addition to his native English, he speaks Spanish and German as well as some Serbo-Croatian and Vietnamese.

And he's traveled to the Philippines, Vietnam and Mexico in order to better understand the origins and cultures of his parishioners and priests.

The Rev. Tom Kuykendoll, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Wenatchee, called Tyson's appointment "a good move."

"I think he's a man with good organizational skills," Kuykendoll said. "He's personable."

The Diocese of Yakima, founded in 1951, covers almost 18,000 square miles and seven rural counties in Central Washington: Yakima, Kittitas, Klickitat, Grant, Douglas, Chelan and Benton.

It's made up of 41 parishes, about 60 priests and some 80,000 Catholics, a majority of whom are native Spanish speakers.

"I hope they come to know that I love them and want to serve them well and bring them closer to Christ," he said. "I want them to know I have that desire."

Meantime, he said, "This is like Christmas morning right now. I'm just opening the gifts."