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.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.