Statement by Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach, SNAP Volunteer Western Regional Director

As the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Orange, Bishop Kevin William Vann will preside over a transparent cathedral. It is now time for him to create a transparent church as well.

Bishop Vann steps into a legacy fraught with sex abuse and cover-up. While Catholic leaders will boast about former Bishop Tod Brown’s purchase of the Crystal Cathedral, we must also remember and reflect upon the other “accomplishments” of Brown’s tenure in Orange County.

After he nailed his “Covenant of the Faithful” on the front door of Holy Family Cathedral in 2004, Tod Brown has:

• Posted only a partial list of proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting clerics on his website
• Refused to keep the list up permanently or put in in parish bulletins
• Concealed his own sex abuse allegation, saying it was “embarrassing,”
• Sent a high-ranking church official to Canada to avoid a deposition, and
• Was held in contempt of court in 2007.

This is a legacy that must end. Bishop Vann has the opportunity and the mandate to enforce real change to protect children in the Diocese of Orange. In order to restore faith in the diocese’s claims of child safety, Bishop Vann must, immediately:

• Remove all priests accused of abuse, such as Fr. Timothy Raemakers, from positions where they will encounter children,
• Remove all priests who actively enabled sex abusers to remain in ministry and fostered continued abuse, like Msgr. John Urell,
• Immediately re-post the names of all known, admitted, and credibly accused clerics, volunteers and employees on the diocese’s website, and
• Reach out to victims of child sexual abuse, who are the key to implementing real change for child safety.

Brown’s “Covenant of the Faithful” is proof that words without action are worthless. It is up to Bishop Vann to show Catholics, through real action, that child safety and transparency are true priorities of the Diocese of Orange.

The story this post was based on is incorrect. I am sorry for any confusion this post caused and pain that any victims may have suffered as a result.

I accept full responsibility.

This morning, former LA priest Carlos Rene Rodriguez was arrested on charges of lewd acts on a child under 14. This is Rodriguez’ second arrest. He was convicted of child sex abuse in 2004. What’s worse is that LA church officials have known Rodriguez is a predator since 1987, and have fought since 2007 to keep his personnel files secret. The files are finally scheduled to be released later this month.

Former Los Angeles priest arrested for abuse, victims respond

Statement by Joelle Casteix, SNAP Western Regional Director

Our hearts ache for the child who came forward to say that he or she was hurt by former LA priest Carlos Rene Rodriguez. Our hearts ache even more because if church officials done the right tEhing more than 25 years ago, this child and others may never have been harmed.

Rodriguez was convicted for child sex crimes in 2004. Yet Cardinal Mahony and church officials knew the man was a predator as early as 1987 … and did little to protect children. They, and new Archbishop Gomez, have made it perfectly clear that they care more about convicted predators than children and that is unacceptable.

Southern California families would know about Rodriguez, his crimes, his workplaces, and his whereabouts if Los Angeles Catholic officials hadn’t spent hundreds of thousands of parishioners’ donations and more than five years successfully fighting to keep predator priests’ personnel files under wraps.

Although Rodriguez’ file is expected to be released later this month, it it too little, too late.

We hope that anyone with knowledge of Rodriguez’ crimes and the cover-up of those crimes comes forward and reports to law enforcement.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers and increasingly, victims who were assaulted in a wide range of institutional settings like summer camps, athletic programs, Boy Scouts, etc. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

The incorrect story

Former L.A Priest Arrested on Allegations of Sexual Abuse

Los Angeles: This morning, at approximately 6:00 a.m., Los Angeles Police Detectives arrested 46 year-old Carlos Rene Rodriguez, a former priest within the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, at his residence in the City of Commerce. Rodriguez was arrested on a warrant, and will be booked for a violation of Section 288(a) of the Penal Code – Lewd Acts with a Child Under 14 Years Old.