He's also a businessman.

So he looks with almost cool detachment at the groundbreaking settlement between the Diocese of Orange and 87 people who raised allegations of abuse by clergy.

"The Catholic Church is no different from an Enron or WorldCom - it's an organization headed up by people, and unfortunately, people sometimes make mistakes," said Espenship, 63, an eight-year member of Holy Family Cathedral in Orange.

Strength amid the struggle Reaction: Michael Keller, a parishioner at Holy Family Cathedral, said the abuse allegations and the settlement are on his mind as he worships now. “It’s the same feeling when a loved one dies, an inner pain that it’s among us, and it’s a reality,” he said. Sang H. Park, The Register

"This is a situation that we needed to deal with as a community, and I think Bishop (Tod D.) Brown has done it proactively," said Espenship, of unincorporated Tustin. "I think the church gets criticized for not knowing how to run an operation, but he went out and said, 'How do we go out and solve this?' "

For many Orange County Catholics, faith in the church's teachings and devotion to their parishes remain strong as they struggle to put one of the most troubling chapters in the church's history behind them.

They say the scandal has not shaken their belief in the church's mission and their desire to financially support their parishes, even though they remain angry at the errant priests and church leaders who, insome cases, reassigned them, hoping the ugly truth would go away.

It didn't, culminating in last week's groundbreaking settlement with the Diocese of Orange for an amount estimated to be at least $100 million.

During an early evening Mass at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange on Saturday, the Rev. Donald Romito didn't mention the settlement. A number of parishioners declined to talk about how the settlement changes their relationship with the church.

But Michael Keller, a parishioner at Holy Family since the early 1970s, said the allegations and the settlement are on his mind as he worships now. It's as though the debauchery of the secular world has infiltrated his religion, he said.

"It's the same feeling when a loved one dies, an inner pain that it's among us, and it's a reality," said the 57-year-old general contractor, who lives one house away from Bishop Brown in Santa Ana.

"It's very simple. There is a whole lot of good and a whole lot of evil. You pray for the common good, that there might be a little more good tomorrow than there is today. You pray that when they're screwed into the ground, they (accused priests) are better than they are now.

"They've snuck into the church, and they've changed a lot of hearts. ... This is a societal deal, not a religious thing." The settlement provides a sense of closure that priests and devout churchgoers say they needed.

Strength amid the struggle Attending service: Parishioners at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange celebrate Mass Saturday night. Sang H. Park, The Register

"Glad is not a good word, because this isn't a happy thing," said Meg Waters, a Ladera Ranch mother of two and public-relations specialist who helped the Diocese of Orange craft an announcement in 2002 about the ouster of the Rev. Michael Pecharich.

Pecharich was booted from San Francisco Solano in Rancho Santa Margarita after admitting a sexual affair with a boy more than 19 years earlier.

"I just hope this is a step forward for the church," Waters said. "Until they reached a settlement, this was just an open wound.

"It wasn't the Catholic Churchthat did this. It was bad people who used the church as a cover to do bad things. We got into trouble because we, as Catholics, believe that through confession, one finds forgiveness. Well, we have had a very public confession, and I'm hoping they (the plaintiffs) are forgiving the church and the people who made errors in judgment."

Some are just unsure about the whole scandal.

Talking to a neighbor while standing in front of his home on Central Avenue in Santa Ana on Saturday, Walter Marlow said he was "somewhat perplexed" by the whole controversy.

While some of the lawsuits might have merit, Marlow, 79, said, he thought many did not. "I'm suspicious of a lot of these cases," he said.

He believes that all the news coverage on the sexual-abuse allegations has caused lawyers to see a big payday.

He also believes a few allegations are getting a lot of attention.

"I sort of feel there's a systematic attempt by the liberal elite to bring down not only the Catholic Church, but all religious faith."

And watching the large settlements, Marlow says he wonders.

"We're extracting money that could be put to better use. The Catholic Church does a great deal of good throughout the world."

For the Rev. Arthur Holquin, pastor of Mission Basilica in San Juan Capistrano, the settlement provides an end to a sense of "suspended animation" he feels was shared by priests and parishioners in Orange County.

"We all want to get on with the work of the church - work that we feel has been put on hold," Holquin said. "There is a collective sigh of relief. The individuals who have been most critical (about the scandal and the church's response) mostly have been those who are no longer active in the Catholic faith. Whatever issues they had, I wish we could talk to them.

"For the folks who are active, practicing Catholics, there's a sympathetic understanding - there's a hurt, sure. ... But you know Bishop Brown did not create thissituation."

The size of the settlement - one of the largest inthe nation - is not expected to negatively effect donations, because most of the money people give each week goes to their local parish, not to the Diocese of Orange, Holquin and others said.

Diane Greenberg, an office manager at Holy Family Cathedral, said the settlement won't affect how much money she gives each Sunday.

"There is so much more that the church does besides pay off settlements," Greenberg said, citing such programs as feeding the poor and activities for children.

"We'll all work together to pay this off and continue the mission we're here for, which is to take care of God's people."

For Espenship, there is no question about the scandal's effect on his faith.

"I will stay with the Catholic Church," he said. "I step back and look and ask, 'What is it all about? Is this going to affect the way the church ministers to its people?'

"And I think, 'No, it won't.' I think it will make the church stronger."

Register staff writers Sam Miller and Norberto Santana Jr. contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: (714) 796-2286 or ghardesty@ocregister.com