Assignment Record – Rev. Dominic Doyle, s.j.

Summary of Case: A priest of the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), ordained in 1950, Doyle worked in high schools in Missoula MT and Spokane WA. He also did parish ministry in the dioceses of Boise City ID, Great Falls MT, and Spokane WA. He was involved for many years as a missionary with native Americans on reservations in Washington State and Idaho. In a 2002 lawsuit Doyle was accused of sexually abusing a girl for years, beginning when she was 15 years-old and he was nearly 60. His accuser said she met him when she attended horse camp on the Kalipsel Reservation in Washington. The allegations were deemed credible by the Spokane diocese. Doyle died in 2005.

Ordained: 1950
Died: 2005


     

Start Stop Parish/Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1950

San Francisco archbishop was John Joseph Mitty (1935-1961).

1951 Alma College Alma CA   Throughout Doyle's Directory listings, his middle initial alternates between "W" and "G". In one instance it is "M".

1951

Seattle archbishop was Thomas Arthur Connolly (1950-1975).

1952 Manresa Hall Port Townsend WA tertianship  

1952

Spokane bishop was Charles Daniel White (1926-1955), followed by Bernard Joseph Topel (1955-1978).

1956 Mount St. Michael's Scholasticate Spokane WA Indian missionary  

1956

Boise CIty bishop was James Joseph Byrne (1956-1962).

1957 Sacred Heart, Coeur d'Alene Indian Mission Desmet ID 2/2 Sacred Heart Mission had a school with 30 boys and 43 girls.
1956 1957 Our Lady of Perpetual Help

Plummer ID   This was a mission of Sacred Heart in Desmet.
1956 1957 St. Michael's Worley ID   This was a mission of Sacred Heart in Desmet.

1957

Helena bishop was Joseph Michael Gilmore (1935-1962).

1958 Loyola High School Missoula MT   Loyola HIgh had 126 students, all male.
1958 1960 Gonzaga Prep. High School Spokane WA   Gonzaga High had 688-745 students.

1960

Great Falls bishop was William Joseph Condon (1939-1967).

1962 Our Lady of Loretto Lodge Grass MT 1/1 This parish was attended from St. Xavier's Mission. It had a school with 46 students.
1960 1962 St. Anthony's Wyola MT   This was a mission of Our Lady of Loretto in Lodge Grass.
1962 1965 Mount St. Michael's Scholasticate Spokane WA    

1965

Topel was succeeded as Spokane bishop by Lawrence Harold Welsh (1978-1990).

1987 Gonzaga Prep. High School Spokane WA   Gonzaga Prep. had 610-1,071 students.
1979 1992 Our Lady of Sorrows

Usk, Kalispel Reservation

• In a 2002 lawsuit a woman who accused Doyle of having sexually abused her for years, beginning when she was 15 years-old, and Doyle was almost 60. His accuser said she attended a horse camp that Doyle ran on the Kalispel Reservation. The Spokane diocese deemed the accusations credible.

WA 1/1  
1985 1996 Jesuit Indian Minority Services Spokane WA    

1992

Boise bishop was Tod David Brown (1988-1998).

1996 Sacred Heart Desmet ID 2/3  
1992 1996 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Plummer ID   This was a mission of Sacred Heart in Desmet.
1992 1996 St. Michael's Worley ID   This was a mission of Sacred Heart in Desmet.
1996 2000         Doyle is not indexed in the 1997-2000 Directories.

2000

William Stephen Skylstad replaced Wesh as Spokane bishop (1990-2010).

2003 Regis Community Spokane WA    
    Our Lady of Lourdes Fruitland WA assistant pastor This assignment is per news reports.
2003 2004         Doyle is not indexed in the 2004 Directory.
2004 2005 Regis Community Spokane WA   Doyle died in 2005.

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1951-2005)

• Sex Abuse Suit Names Church, Pope. Woman Says Priest Sexually Abused Her for Years, By Carla K. Johnson, Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA), October 22, 2002
• Women Accuse Priests of Abuse, Claims against Spokane Diocese Now Total at Least $58 Million, By Virginia de Leon, Spokesman Review [Spokane WA], May 21, 2004
• Non-Monetary Undertakings of the Spokane Diocese, Diocese of Spokane , November 21, 2007
• A Safe Environment for Children & Youth, Catholic Diocese of Spokane, November 3, 2009
• Good Jesuit, Bad Jesuit, November 13, 2009


Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Doyle's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on Sept. 5, 2013