Diocese of Orange Settles Latest Round of Sex-Abuse Lawsuits, While Bishop of San Diego Asks Priests and Parishioners for Help
California Catholic Daily
October 9, 2007
http://calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=eec54546-0b44-4fe8-9d59-55d49404ccbb
In the most recent of a flurry of sexual-abuse lawsuit settlements, Bishop Tod Brown of the Diocese of Orange has agreed to pay $6.885 million to settle four cases brought by women who say they were abused by diocesan employees between 1991 and 1999 (Brown has been the bishop since 1998). The accused were all lay employees of the diocese.
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A diocesan press release about the Oct. 5 settlement quotes Bishop Brown as saying the agreement "represents the moral obligation for the Church for such behavior by adults in positions of responsibility. By settling these cases I sincerely hope that it will enable the women who brought these actions to begin the process of healing and reconciliation."
But plaintiffs' attorney John C. Manly in a separate press release countered that Brown's statement was "nothing more, nor less, than a litany of misstatements, misrepresentations, and outright falsehoods." Manly added, "At no point throughout this entire process did anyone from the Diocese of Orange, or their lawyers, say a kind word, offer healing, or do anything other than try to defeat the spirit of these four brave women." The diocese settled the cases "at the point of a legal gun… on the eve of trial," said Manly.
Bishop Brown still faces a contempt motion brought by Manly, charging that Brown sent Msgr. John Urell, a key witness, out of the country for unspecified medical reasons. Urell, who broke down in tears while being deposed, is in the Southdown Institute near Toronto, Canada. The diocese's press release also quotes diocesan attorney Peter Callahan, insisting that the diocese intends to fight the motion. "The effort to repudiate Bishop Brown's character, and by extension Msgr. John Urell, is unwarranted," said Callahan. "We will seek a clear ruling of dismissal by Judge Andler at the earliest opportunity."
In 2005, the Diocese of Orange paid a settlement of $100 million with 87 plaintiffs in sex abuse cases after two years of mediation. That settlement involved 30 priests, two nuns, one religious brother and 10 lay personnel.
The Diocese of Orange case is only the latest of a series of settlements affecting every Southern California diocese. On Sept. 7, the Diocese of San Diego reached a settlement of $198 million with 144 plaintiffs. The San Diego diocese, which earlier had declared bankruptcy, last week announced it would return to court on Oct. 25 and ask that for dismissal of its bankruptcy petition.
In the meantime, San Diego Bishop Robert Brom is asking priests and parishioners to sacrifice in order to help pay for the settlement. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Oct. 6 that Bishop Brom has asked each of his diocesan priests to donate a month's salary to help pay the settlement. According to the Union-Tribune, Brom sent a memo to nearly 280 priests that said, in part, "We cannot ask of others what we are unwilling to do ourselves…" The newspaper also reported that, in a diocesan campaign called "Embracing Our Mission," Brom will be mailing packets to every parish in the diocese asking Catholics to make a "generous contribution" to "cover the expense involved in compassionate outreach to our brothers and sisters who suffered sexual abuse within the family of the church."
Sale of San Diego diocesan properties is also possible. Diocesan chancellor Rodrigo Valdivia told the Union-Tribune, "Every property of the diocese is under consideration."
In July, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay a record $660 million settlement.
In 2005, the Oakland diocese agreed to a $56 million settlement, and the same year, the Diocese of Sacramento paid out $35 million in settlements.
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