'Shocked' Victim Urges Supervisors to Vote against Monsignor John Urell
By Peggy Lowe
Orange County Register
October 18, 2006
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1322696.php
Santa Ana – The Orange County Board of Supervisors postponed a vote Tuesday to reappoint a priest involved in an infamous child abuse scandal to the county's human relations commission.
The nomination of Monsignor John Urell was tabled after the board heard descriptive testimony from one of the victims in the case against the Orange County Diocese. Urell was named as one of the officials accused of covering for the diocese's pedophile priests during the 1990s – a lawsuit that lead to a record $10 million settlement last year.
Urell, who is now pastor at St. Norbert's Parish in Orange, was placed on the commission two years ago by Supervisor Bill Campbell, who is a member of the same church. Earlier this week, Campbell defended his decision to again nominate Urell, saying the priest had done a good job with commission work.
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| Monsignor John Urell |
That angered Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, who said she was shocked that the board would consider such a man for the panel.
"Would you reappoint Charles Manson to the commission based simply on the fact that he behaved well and asked good questions during meetings -- and ignore the fact that he is a multiple murderer?" she said.
"It is an egregious public safety risk and a slap in the face of every sexual abuse victim in Orange County."
Mary Pitcher, a graduate of Mater Dei High School who now lives in Long Beach, told supervisors they must ask Urell what he has done to protect children and families.
"Please question the character of anyone who would protect predators and an institution at the cost of children's innocence," she said.
The county's human relations commission, first established in the 1970s, is a coalition of race, faith and other communities that do work such as diversity training in schools.
Court documents show Urell knew of at least two priests' sexual abuse of children but denied there were problems to the children's families and others.
Campbell said his knowledge of Urell as his parish priest led him to place him on the human relations board. But Campbell said the postponement, requested by Supervisor Lou Correa, was a "wise suggestion."
"It's very clear it's a very sensitive issue," he said.
Urell was present at Campbell's swearing-in ceremony in January 2005, giving the invocation and appearing on the dais with Campbell's wife, Mary.
Urell's nomination was blasted earlier this week by a lawyer for the victims, John Manly, a Republican who said Campbell may pay "a political price" for the nomination. Manly declined to say specifically what that price may be.
"One thing that liberals and conservatives agree on is that children get to be protected and they don't like it when persons in a position of authority are not protecting the children," he said.
The nomination will be back before the board next Tuesday.
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