Washington AG urges Catholic churches to cooperate with child sex abuse investigation
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — After a Seattle institution was accused of declining to cooperate, Washington officials were pushed to uncover their efforts in investigating the Catholic Church.
During a press conference on Thursday, Attorney General Bob Ferguson revealed his office’s plans to look into child sex abuse allegations against the Archdiocese of Seattle, the Catholic Diocese of Spokane and the Diocese of Yakima.
Earlier this spring, he alleged his staff submitted subpoenas asking the institutions to unveil their accounting and financial records — but the Seattle church “refused” to comply.
The attorney general’s typical policy prohibits his office from commenting on investigations, but Ferguson stated this case has been publicized due to the court order he is seeking against the diocese.
His office reported that investigators have reason to believe the Seattle institution was aware of “certain priests’ abusive behavior,” and the church used charitable funds to protect them.
“For example, publicly available information indicates that the Seattle Archdiocese knew for decades that Father Michael J. Cody repeatedly sexually abused children, but it allowed him to stay in positions of power and moved him to different parishes periodically to hide his predations, giving him access to new victims while continuing to support him financially,” the AG’s Office said.
Ferguson claimed the Spokane and Yakima churches also have yet to comply with the investigation, and his staff will take action against them if they fail to do so in the near future.
The Seattle diocese shared a statement in response to Thursday’s announcement, saying it has cooperated with the attorney general since staff submitted their first subpoena in July 2023.
According to the institution, its legal team has already shared some of the documents requested by Washington officials.
Still, the AG’s Office has asked the King County Superior Court to enforce its subpoenas and hear its case on May 22.
“There is still time for the church to do the right thing,” Ferguson, who is Catholic, said. “I can't say I'm optimistic, but there is still time and I hope whoever's listening, you know, the leadership of the church, really reflects deeply about this,” Ferguson said.