[See also other articles by Gustavo Arellano.]

I'm currently at Hamilton College , ready to spread the Good News about Mexicans, so I couldn't attend last night's Diocese of Orange Red Mass at Holy Family Cathedral. Thankfully, longtime sex-abuse victim advocate Joelle Casteix was there and provided this dispatch:


The red mass was not well attended. I was pretty surprised. At least it wasn't raining. There were less than half of the people that we saw in 2004.

I also didn't see Callahan or Schinderle (Gustavo note: the Orange diocese pedo-protectors on the legal side). They could have been avoiding me, but neither of them marched down the aisle.

Two guys came out to talk to me. Both of them claimed to know "the real facts about the Andrade case and Urell," but of course, they were full of it.

KDOC was there, and wouldn't talk to us. They had some special deal set up with the diocese PR people.

I didn't get to hear most of the homily (KFWB showed up) ... but the talk was about conscience. Someone told me it was as close to an apology as I was ever going to get - and it was also a backhanded way to tell people that voting democrat is a sin. Paprocki is dry and a legal professor to the core.

Something that really surprised me, however, was how feeble [Orange Bishop Tod D.] Brown has become [pictured above in healthier days]. He walks slowly, is a little stooped, and looks bad. I think he's sick.

BTW - my 20-year Mater Dei reunion was great. I had a ball. People fell all over themselves to talk to me and tell me that they were proud of what I was doing. It was cathartic.

On this last point we don't believe Casteix--Mater Dei alumni not greeting a sex-abuse survivor with taunts of "slut" and "you asked for it"? What's next-the Angels beating the Red Sox when it matters?

E-mail: GARELLANO@OCWEEKLY.COM