O.C. Catholic Bishop Kevin Vann on Tolerance and Immigration: "It's Not about Issues. It's about People"

By David Whiting
Orange County Register
April 6, 2015

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/vann-656805-bishop-campus.html

Bishop Kevin Vann of the Diocese of Orange stands outside the Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove last week as it undergoes a two-year renovation to become a Catholic cathedral.

Bishop Kevin Vann, dressed in black priest’s clothing and sometimes called the Shepherd of Orange, walks through the Christ Cathedral campus discussing the meaning of Easter.

I can’t help but notice Vann is wearing cowboy boots. Could these be the bishop’s famous Our Lady of Guadalupe boots?

Vann grins. He spent the morning in San Juan Capistrano blessing the annual Portola horseback ride. The bishop who still sees himself as a simple parish priest lifts a pant leg.

Blue, yellow and red stitching appears.

Then Vann does something unexpected. He whips off a boot.

It turns out there are layers of meaning in that leather.

EMPHASIS ON PEOPLE

The traditional Our Lady, her palms open, is stitched on the boot’s front. Red roses run down each side, also representing Our Lady and Vann’s honoring of the Latino Apostolate. On the back is the bishop’s personal coat of arms – something all bishops have. Who knew?

The crests are personal and revealing, something like 21st-century tattoos. Pope Benedict XVI is there, recognizing the man who elevated Vann to bishop. Pope John Paul II is there because Vann thinks that pope is way cool.

But it’s the Latin scroll at the bottom that I’m interested in. Vann translates, “In faith and in love that are Christ Jesus.” They are themes that permeate our discussions about Easter.

Still, there is one more thing very special about this particular pair of boots, and that is where they were made.

The boots hail from Fort Worth, Texas, where Vann served before being called to Orange County. And, most important, they were made in the stockyards where much of Vann’s flock worked.

I ask about tolerance, and about illegal immigration in particular.

The bishop immediately dismisses the term “tolerance,” which he says has become a politically-charged word. Instead, the bishop addresses the issue in religious terms, equally telling but more powerful.

He asks if Jesus would turn away a certain group. Answering his own question, Vann says, “God loves you. It’s not about issues. It’s about people.”

Yes, Vann practices what he preaches. As a young priest in Illinois, he taught himself Spanish so he could minister to a Latino family who ran a restaurant. He explains, “You minister to people who come your way.”

The bishop also has taken a leadership role in the immigration debate. In September, for example, Vann, as chairman of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, co-signed a letter to the secretary of Homeland Security. It urged the secretary “to protect undocumented individuals and families as soon as possible.

“With immigration reform legislation stalled in Congress, our nation can no longer wait to end the suffering of family separation caused by our broken immigration system,” he wrote.

And gays?

Vann offers one of many gentle smiles and nods. “I just don’t categorize people.”

The bishop also doesn’t shrink away from the molestation scandals. English, Spanish and Vietnamese leaflets sit in the administration building’s lobby detailing the diocese’s pledge, “To do everything possible to help the healing process of the victims of sexual abuse.”

So what’s all this have to do with Easter? As a lapsed Catholic – and it’s impossible not to re-evaluate one’s relationship to the church when talking to someone like Vann – I would suggest everything.

And that includes this campus in Garden Grove, headquarters for a diocese that oversees the 1.3 million Catholics in Orange County.

RECONNECTING TO FAITH

When the Diocese of Orange decided to buy the 34-acre campus and its seven buildings – which includes what is believed to be the largest glass building in the world – for $57.5 million, there was much rancor within the local Catholic community.

Some said it was too much money, especially considering how much the church paid to settle the molestation mess. Others said the Crystal Cathedral site was too ostentatious.

Vann explains the size of the campus and its buildings allows the community to do many things at once, from worship, to community events, to producing a radio station, to having simultaneous small gatherings. Last weekend, for example, there was a massive youth conference that included dinner.

There’s also something intrinsic on these grounds that speaks to spirituality.

“A campus like this,” Vann allows, “provides a place where people can reconnect to the faith and their roots.”

We walk past a shallow pool being repaired with new reinforcing bar. Soon, it will return to its original state with a statue of Jesus appearing to walk on water. It may not feel Catholic, but that misses the point.

Like other features that were in disrepair when the campus changed hands, most everything is being restored as a respectful nod toward the legacy of Crystal Cathedral founder the Rev. Robert H. Schuller – who passed away last week – and interfaith connections.

While most of the campus is in operation, the famous building with its more than 10,000 glass panes that was once home to elaborate “Glory of Easter” stagings, with intricate costuming and live animals, is under re-construction.

So we check out a neighboring large building with a massive crucifix on the roof. As we stroll through the temporary church, 12 fountains representing the 12 apostles flow outside. We fall into a discussion about the meaning of Easter.

“Christ has risen and he’s waiting for us,” Vann says of Easter. I ask why we should care.

Vann could touch on promising the afterlife, a holy grail of sorts for many. Instead, he chooses to talk about the world of today and finding peace. He quotes Scripture, “Do not be afraid.”

There are different kinds of fear and I find myself turning over the phrase. In the midst of a divorce, I find some comfort. It’s something I didn’t expect in visiting a place that some consider a mere tourist attraction.

Still, there’s one more observation worth sharing on a day when tens of millions of people celebrate Easter. In the bishop’s office, there is a crest on the wall. It clearly predates Vann’s own coat of arms. The bishop confides he made the piece when he was in the eighth grade to honor Bishop William A. O’Connor.

The material? Colored egg shells.

Contact the writer: dwhiting@ocregister.com