The Worthy Adversary

Tag: diocese of orange

Diocese of Orange Child Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Update

What the heck is going on?

If you saw the local news this week, probably saw headlines about the $3.5 million settlement that the Diocese of Orange has agreed to pay a survivor of former Mater Dei Principal Michael Harris. The diocese also put out a horrible, tone-deaf, anti-survivor, unchristian statement about the survivor and the settlement, but that’s going to be the subject of a later post.

But back to the settlement … As a result of the news, I have been getting a ton of questions. Let’s answer a few:

Why could this survivor come forward?

The survivor in this case came forward because of AB 218, the California Child Victims Act. It was a law that opened the civil window for survivors of child sexual abuse, allowing them to come forward and sue the person who abused them, as well as any organization that covered up the abuse.

How many other survivors have come forward because of this law?

There are approximately 4000 cases pending across the State of California (this number is loose, because several California dioceses have taken the coward’s route and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy). Not all of these cases are against Catholic entities—AB 218 was written so that survivors of child sexual abuse in public schools, camps, and other youth-serving organizations could use the civil courts for justice.

According to attorneys for survivors, there are 227 child sexual abuse and cover-up cases pending in the Diocese of Orange. In October of this year, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to an $880 million settlement with approximately 1300 survivors of child sexual abuse.

How many of these cases involve Mater Dei High School?

I wish I could give you a good answer, but there are several challenges. The primary hurdle is that for the first 20+ years of the school’s existence, it was a part of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (The Diocese of Orange was formed in 1976 and Mater Dei was founded in 1950). Cases of abuse that occurred before 1976 (and yes, there was abuse and there are documents to support survivors accounts) are a part of the $880 million settlement with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The second challenge is that while the cases are coordinated, the much of the information is under protective order. (If there are attorneys out there repping these survivors who feel comfortable sharing info with me, please do). I do know that one firm, Jeff Anderson and Associates, has eight Mater Dei cases. Manly, Stewart, and Finaldi also has a bunch (attorney John Manly is a graduate of the school), but I don’t have an exact number. I’ve also spoken to other firms who have a case or two.

So, while I can’t give a solid number, I can say this: the number is big and it’s ugly.

Why did this Harris case settle while others are under protective order?

This Harris case (as well as 9 others) were chosen as “Bellwether cases.” That means that the judge asked the two sides (the church and attorneys for survivors) to get together and choose 10 cases to take to trial. All of these cases settled before going to trial (no surprise there), but during the process, survivors’ attorneys were allowed to take depositions, conduct investigations, and gather evidence. (Spoiler alert: once this starts, the diocese starts to look reeeeeeeaaaally bad).

Because these cases resolved somewhat peacefully, the judge has ordered a new set of bellwether cases to be released for trial. Ten of those cases are for the Diocese of Orange and two are from Mater Dei.

The Mater Dei cases include another Michael Harris case and a child sexual abuse case against former Mater Dei football/track coach Patrick Callahan.

Another predator on the bellwether list who will be familiar to readers of this blog is All American Boys Chorus founder and director Fr. Richard Coughlin. He was sent to OC from Boston in the 1960s because he—you guessed it—abused kids. So, he came here to OC and founded a boys’ choir. Because that’s what you do …

Later posts will discuss other perps on the new bellwether list.

Got other questions? Intel? Let me know!

December 20, 2024
A Rotten Legacy Ends – Bishop Tod Brown Retires

From my SNAP statement:

Today, the Diocese of Orange has announced the retirement of Orange County, California Bishop Tod D. Brown. We will learn the name of his successor tomorrow.

The author and Tod Brown at the press conference announcing the Diocese’s $100 million settlement with 97 victims of child sex abuse

Simply put: we are grateful to see him go. Why? The facts of his tenure are shocking for victims of abuse, Catholics and the Orange County community.

For more than ten years, Brown cultivated an environment that fostered and rewarded the cover-up of clergy abuse. Need some examples? Since he became Bishop of Orange, he:

— Sent his former highest ranking priest out of the country to avoid a sex abuse and cover-up deposition and then faced criminal contempt of court charges,

— Used an over-priced PR stunt to announce “reforms” in his diocese – reforms that he never took seriously,

— Kept numerous priests in ministry who had been accused of abuse, and then removed them in events that deceived parishioners and shamed victims about the true nature of the abuse,

— Currently keeps an accused priest in ministry, even transferring him to a wealthy south county parish without giving complete information to parishioners, and

— Broke his own rules of transparency and remained silent about sexual abuse allegations against him secret – saying that he was ashamed – years after he and his fellow bishops promised transparency and honesty.

It’s important to note that Brown’s cover-up of child sex crimes was no solo operation. We suspect that current and former diocesan and parish staff may have ignored, concealed and enabled child sex crimes. This is important to note: Brown’s departure doesn’t automatically usher in some new, magically safer era for children. The culture and climate and patterns of reckless and secrecy surrounding child sex crimes in the church are deeply rooted and long standing. They won’t be suddenly erased by one man’s departure.

In order to help heal the wounds caused by Bishop Brown, his successor should take steps to remove other church officials, such as Msgr. John Urell, who have helped perpetuate these cover-ups. He should also remove priests with open allegations of abuse against them, such as Fr. Timothy Raemaekers, and go through all the diocesan personnel files and turn over all evidence of abuse to secular authorities.

This will be the new bishop’s first test of leadership in Orange County – will he depart from the dangerous secrecy of his predecessor or will he continue that pernicious trend? We hope that it will be the former.

September 20, 2012
The Troubling Case of Timothy Ramaekers

What we know is bad. What we don’t know is scary.

Last week, family members of Matthew Carrigan gathered outside of Corpus Christi Parish in Aliso Viejo to warn parishioners about Fr. Tim Ramaekers. According to a lawsuit filed by Carrigan, Ramaekers allegedly molested Carrigan when he was a young student at St. Justin Martyr Parish and School in Anaheim ~~Buena Park.~~

Ramaekers denies the allegations.

And that’s where the problem starts.

When Ramaekers spoke at the Saturday and Sunday masses, he continually referred to “false allegations.” He kept mum about the lawsuit, even though the suit itself is in jeopardy. Because of the recent California Supreme Court decision in the Quarry case, it could be dismissed on the statute of limitations, NOT because of the merits of the case. Ramaekers said nothing about that.

The Diocese and Ramaekers also said that the Diocese did a complete investigation on the allegations. To date, they have not publicly disclosed the findings. What we do know is that the investigator had no access to Ramaekers’ secret personnel file, which is the sole property of the bishop and can only be released by a court order. We also know that a church-hired investigator has the same credibility as Enron hiring a private investigator (in fact, Arthur Anderson, Enron’s auditor, was criminally charged with shredding Enron documents).

Ramaekers also said that the Sexual Misconduct Oversight and Review Board (read more about it here) decided that the allegations were without merit. But similar boards in Kansas City, Philadelphia, San Fransisco, Orange (yes, Orange), and other places have either said publicly that information was withheld from them or that the bishop did not take their recommendations. In fact, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia hid allegations against 37 priests from its board. A Grand Jury had to sniff those out.

We also know that in the past, Orange diocese officials have not disclosed findings against priests like Michael Pecharich. Diocese officials told parishoners that Pecharich only had one allegation of a boundary violation. What they didn’t know was that he had been accused of child rape by four boys and that Brown and his people (in this case, John Urell) had known about the allegations since Brown became bishop in 1998 (and did nothing). Their “complete investigation” failed to disclose that.

What else do we know? Well, we know that Ramaekers worked at St. Justin Martyr alongside two notorious predators, Sigfried Widera and Robert Foley. Boise Bishop Michael Driscoll (then the chancellor of the Orange Diocese) sent Foley to England to escape prosecution. Widera was sent to Orange after being arrested for child sex abuse in Milwaukee. He went on to molest at least a dozen children at parishes in Orange County. He committed suicide while on the run from police.

We also know that Tod Brown mislead Catholics about 1997 allegations against him, when it could have been just as easy to say (just like he did with Ramaekers), “There was an investigation, and they found nothing.” But he decided to keep the allegation hidden, because it was easier.

We know that Brown has little respect for victims and the courts. In 2007, when former Chancellor Msgr. John Urell was summoned for a deposition in the Andrade/Mater Dei High School sex abuse case, Tod Brown sent Urell to Canada, defying the court and the law. Brown was charged with contempt, but the charges were dropped when the case was settled.

Diocese officials are also standing behind the “there is only one accuser” meme. I was the only accuser of my perp, but documents showed that he molested other girls as well. Did I mention that the diocese and my perpetrator denied my claims until the moment the documents were released?

None of this makes Ramaekers a predator. But how do we know it doesn’t, if we can’t trust the people giving us the information?

Simply put: The Diocese of Orange has a real credibility problem.

Ramaekers called the accusations his 9/11 moment. Unfortunately, the parishioners now have to sift through the rubble and debris in an attempt to find the truth. Hopefully, they won’t find any children.

July 11, 2012
Wikipedia or PR? You be the judge

On a lark, I looked up the Wikipedia entry for Orange County Bishop Tod Brown.

I was inspired after I saw that Bishop Accountability had just completed a newer edition of Brown’s assignment history. Bishop Accountability included details of the sex abuse allegation against Brown, as well as the fact that Brown had refused to disclose the allegation, calling it “very embarrassing and very painful.”

I admit that I am guilty of using Wikipedia for references on my own blog posts. But after reading Brown’s entry, I’m going to have to rethink that practice.

The Wikipedia entry – no doubt edited by Brown’s PR people – makes NO mention of the $100 million settlement with 97 victims of abuse in 2005. It makes NO mention of the 1997 allegation against Brown (which was front page news); NO mention of the 2007 settlements with four women who were sexually abused as children; NO mention of the fact that Brown was charged with contempt for allowing John Urell to flee the country in order to avoid a deposition; and NO mention of last month’s $2 million settlement with a victim of Michael Harris.

His entry has been scrubbed so cleanly of the facts, that it shines as brightly as his new glass cathedral.

Too bad Brown can’t be just as transparent.

July 2, 2012
Breaking: Michael Harris case settles for $2 million

After years of litigation and on the eve of what was going to be a blockbuster trial, the Diocese of Orange has settled its most recent case against notorious former priest and Mater Dei/Santa Margarita High School principal Michael Harris for $2 million.

The victim is a decorated Air Force pilot. He risked a lot more than most victims by coming forward.

Just think: if Msgr. John Urell and Bp. Michael Driscoll had done the right thing, Harris would be in jail. But no … that would have been the RIGHT thing to do.

Something tells me that this is not the end of the story ….

June 19, 2012