Woman reports abuse by Yakima-area priest

The Catholic Diocese of Yakima says a woman has reported she was sexually abused in the late 1980s by a Jesuit priest.

The Yakima-area woman was described as a "vulnerable" adult at the time of the abuse attributed to the Rev. Frank E. Duffy, the diocese said Thursday.

Duffy, who died in 1992, was assigned as an associate pastor at St. Joseph Parish in Yakima in August 1970, primarily serving Spanish-speaking parishioners. From 1979 to 1989 he provided Hispanic ministry at St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Cowiche.

Duffy moved to a Jesuit residence in Portland, Ore., in 1989, then to the Jesuit community in Spokane.

The diocese defined "vulnerable victim" as someone who "because of physical, mental or emotional impairment, is unable or unlikely to report abuse or neglect without assistance."

The abuse report was received in early May and the woman gave permission Thursday for her case to be made public, said the Rev. Robert Siler, diocese chief of staff.

Because of the victim's request for confidentiality, Siler said he couldn't comment on whether she received any compensation.

He did say the woman and family members met with Yakima Bishop Carlos Sevilla soon after the report was received. The Rev. John Whitney, leader of the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) has also met recently with the woman and her family, Siler said.

The Yakima diocese has received no other abuse complaints naming Duffy, Siler said.

"We're grateful any time a survivor finds the courage to break his/her silence and report these horrific crimes," said Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, outreach director for the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, a national victims advocacy group.

Founded in 1951, the Yakima diocese serves a sprawling seven-county area in central Washington.