[See also other articles by Gustavo Arellano.]

When I was studying for my Confirmation at St. Boniface Church in Anaheim in the late 1990s, I remember that we took a weekend retreat to some nun's convent in Los Angeles--can't remember the name, but it was within the city. We slept in same-sex dorms, and it was a humbling experience that taught us about the importance of the Nazarene's message. And there was Danishes (the pastry, not the people)!

Scene to be seen?

Two years ago, St. Boniface's finances were in such dire straits due to Diocese of Orange Bishop Tod D. Brown and his pedophile priests that not only did His Excellency close down the church's school, but that year's Confirmation retreat was in the church's basement (my youngest sister served as a teacher). Too bad the princes of the Orange diocese can't join young Catholics in forced abstention.

All next week, the Orange diocese will hold their annual priest retreat at the chi-chi La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs , where the amenities include tennis courts, 72 holes of golf, and a men's spa. This is at least the fourth straight year that Brown has partied with his boys in the desert; the source for this is no less than the Orange County Catholic, the official diocesan newspaper. Isn't it comforting to know that the arrogance of Brown and his hierarchy is such that he can tell his herd that while they suffer due to millions of dollars in sex-abuse settlements for rapes that should've never happened, his gang will lounge in luxury with the satisfaction that the faithful won't do anything?

E-mail: GARELLANO@OCWEEKLY.COM