Joseph J. Tyson

Joseph Jude Tyson (born October 16, 1957) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Yakima since 2011. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Seattle from 2005 to 2011.

Biography

Early life Joseph Tyson was born on October 16, 1957, in Moses Lake, Washington, and attended Blessed Sacrament Parish School in Seattle. He then entered St. Alphonsus Elementary School in Seattle in 1971 and graduated from Bishop Blanchet High School in Seattle in 1975.

Tyson then studied at Shoreline Community College in Shoreline, Washington, and the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle. He obtained in 1980 a Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian and Eastern European area studies and a Bachelor of Arts degree in editorial journalism. Tyson earned a Master of International Relations degree from the Jackson School of International Studies at the UW in 1984. After his 1989 ordination, the archdiocese assigned Tyson as parochial vicar of the St. James Cathedral Parish. He left St. James to serve as pastor at the following parishes in Washington State:

St. Mary of the Valley in Monroe (1993 to 1996) St. Edward, St. George and of St. Paul in Seattle (1996 to 2005) He is a devoted cyclist, even receiving news of his episcopal appointment while riding his bike.

In addition to his native English, Tyson speaks Spanish, German, Vietnamese, and Serbo-Croatian.

LGBTQ In 2007, Tyson testified at a Washington State Legislature hearing on a proposed Washington initiative to offer domestic partnership benefits to same-sex couples; he promoted broadening its provisions, a controversial strategy used elsewhere by the Catholic Church, extending the definition of partnership to relationships beyond that of unmarried couples, to prevent discrimination against an elderly parent, a sibling, housemate or another in residence thus limiting its potential affirmative impact for gay rights, consistent with the Catholic Church's long-standing position.