Diocese apologizes, enacts new policy

Deepa Bharath

The head of the Catholic Church for Orange County, while apologizing

to victims of clergy sex abuse on Thursday, laid down new policies

that he said will make the church more accountable to its followers.

Bishop Tod Brown read out a “Covenant of the Faithful” during a

news conference stating that the Diocese of Orange will not only help

victims of abuse heal, but also work to promote an atmosphere of

openness and try to rebuild shattered trust.

“There is no excuse for having allowed a small percentage of

priests to become a disgraceful cavalcade of priest after priest

committing crimes against children and young people over and over

again,” he said. “Anyone who contributed to keeping acknowledged

pedophiles in ministry or moving them from one parish to another must

and will be held accountable.”

Orange County sex abuse victims filed a barrage of civil lawsuits

against the Los Angeles and Orange dioceses before the Dec. 31

deadline. Many of the reported cases could not be criminally

prosecuted because of a Supreme Court ruling last year that caused

the statute of limitations to run out.

Brown’s apology was not convincing enough for Corona del Mar

resident and victim Joelle Casteix, who said she was the only victim

at the press conference.

“If this was going to be a serious apology, they should have

opened it up to all the victims and the faithful,” she said.

What Brown announced on Thursday was nothing concrete, Casteix

said.

“I want to see a serious action plan,” she said. “These were broad

brush strokes. I need fine details.”

She also wants to see the Diocese open up all personnel records of

priests and other laity involved in the lawsuits. Casteix, who has

been open about her story, has filed a lawsuit against the diocese

alleging that she was sexually assaulted by a lay person who taught

at Mater Dei High School.

The Diocese has been “very open” with records, Brown said during

an interview after the news conference.

“To my knowledge, we have never withheld any information on these

matters,” he said.

The purpose of Thursday’s conference was to reiterate his desire

to seek the victims’ forgiveness, Brown said.

“I wanted to apologize and to contribute to easing the pain of

victims and their families,” he said.

He is eager to meet with victims and hear their stories, Brown

said.

“I’ve met with some already,” he said.

During his speech, Brown declared this year’s Lent as a season of

remorse and as a time to pray for the healing of those abused. He

said the new policies will be read out in the form of a letter from

him on Sunday in all county churches, including those in Costa Mesa

and Newport Beach.

The next Sunday, a card will be handed out to churchgoers, Father

Joe Fenton said.

“They can fill out the card and let us know how we can serve them

better,” he said.

The healing process will take time, said Dominic Luong, the

resident bishop at Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in

Newport Beach.

“There’s so much mistrust out there,” he said. “We need to learn

from our past mistakes and plan the future better.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.