OLYMPIA (WA)
The Olympian [Olympia WA]
May 9, 2024
By Shauna Sowersby
The Catholic Accountability Project lined up pictures outside the Attorney General’s Office Tuesday of 151 clergy members in Washington who so far have been convicted of sexual abuse. The organization said they believe the AGO opened an investigation in August of three more bishops in the state.
An investigation into three Washington dioceses of the Catholic Church became public Thursday for the first time after the state Attorney General announced legal action against the Seattle Archdiocese for failure to comply with a subpoena.
The Diocese of Spokane, Diocese of Yakima and Seattle Archdiocese were all first subpoenaed in summer of 2023 for an investigation looking into whether allegations of sex abuse by clergy was covered up using charitable funds, according to a news release from the AGO.
The investigation is now public as the state has moved to seek a court order to enforce the second subpoena against the Seattle Archdiocese.
So far, none of the dioceses have responded fully to the second set of subpoenas issued in spring 2024 after only providing information that was already public the first time they were subpoenaed. Should the Spokane and Yakima dioceses also refuse to comply the state is prepared to take legal action, the AGO said.
Including Washington, 23 states have opened similar investigations into the Catholic Church.
“Washingtonians deserve a public accounting of how the Catholic Church handles allegations of child sex abuse, and whether charitable dollars were used to cover it up,” said Attorney General Bob Ferguson in the statement.
The announcement confirmed what spokespersons with the Catholic Accountability Project said in February at a news conference.
In a news release Thursday, CAP said they welcomed the announcement, and that they expected the investigation would “extend to Catholic religious orders.”
“Survivors of clergy abuse and advocates have long called for such an investigation as an essential step towards achieving justice and accountability for victims who have suffered immeasurable harm at the hands of members of the clergy and bishops who concealed their crimes,” CAP said in the statement.
SHAUNA SOWERSBY
Shauna Sowersby was a freelancer for several local and national publications before joining McClatchy’s northwest newspapers covering the Legislature.