Parishioners at St. Norbert Church in Orange Angry That Presbyterian Minister Allowed to Celebrate Mass--But What about John Urell?, by Gustavo Arellano, Orange County Weekly, February 15, 2011

Parishioners at St. Norbert Church in Orange Angry That Presbyterian Minister Allowed to Celebrate Mass--But What about John Urell?

By Gustavo Arellano
Orange County Weekly
February 15, 2011

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2011/02/parishioners_at_st_norberts_in.php

This story is too rich: The orthodox California Catholic Daily is reporting that parishioners at St. Norbert Catholic Church in Orange are angry that a Presbyterian minister was allowed to officiate over Mass and take and receive Communion this past Sunday. They have already written to Diocese of Orange Bishop Tod D. Brown asking that the presiding Catholic priest, Agustin Escobar, be censured, and Brownie's flunkies are already promising immediate action.

If only St. Norbert parishioners were so livid about their beloved former pastor, John Urell.

Urell, of course, is the worst pedo-priest protector in the history of the Orange diocese, the one link to all of the bishops that have lorded over the county's million-plus Catholics. Most good people would've given Urell the boot as details of his sordid past emerged in 2007--but instead of being good people, St. Norbert parishioners rallied around Urell, laughingly so. Urell still visits the parish from time to time, and why shouldn't he? Only at St. Norbert (home to more than a few Republican hacks, from Supervisor Bill Campbell to blogger Matt Cunningham, whose admiration of Urell was so blind he actually released the names of sex-abuse victims in a rush to defend the fool) could such a ghoul be loved and priorities be horribly skewed. Because at the end of the day, what's the bigger sin--having a Covenanter say some words about Jesus, or coddling a pedo-protector? For St. Norberters, the former--heckuva job, Brownie!