Wow, why stop with LA and OC?? Why not include Chicago (George), Bostno (Former Law), New Hampshire (McCormack) among others?
Victims of clergy abuse need closure -- and not only with their perpetrators -- but also with the hierarchy that let it happen for DECADES. The hierarchy is responsible for damages as much as the pedophile priests they protected.

Maybe the feds can get the Cardinal to explain why he allowed Fr. Ramos to continue to function as a priest, substituting on an on.call basis, after his retirement to a community in Los Ángeles County, where he died.

If anyone gets the Cardinal to talk, will someone ask him why he will not meet with the Victims of Father Oliver O'Grady.

If this legal action gains traction, there will be scores of miters and red hats crapping in their cassocks, especially in those dioceses where the records have already been made public or are in the hands of prosecutors. All the proof they'll need to prosecute.

Now, if we can just find any who are more concerned with justice than re-election!

Recommend you change your headline to read " Hey Federales: Don't forget the Pedo-Priest Protectors from (insert your home diocese name here)" .

I am hoping that there are some people quaking in their cassocks as they start warming up the Chancery's shredders.

Support your local Crusading Federal Attorney!

Father Jim and Michael: I think it goes without saying that I think the feds should prosecute ALL pedo-protectors. I focused on the Orange diocese because, well, that's where the OC Weekly is located. Nevertheless, gracias for the keen eyes!

Gustavo -- thanks -- I used to live in Santa Ana when on Active Duty with the Navy -- I am also a VICTIM of clergy abuse -- so you've hit a nerve with me. Out of conscienice I had to step aside from ministry in 2006 because of the actions of Mahoney et al. There is no way I could be an apostle of a bishop who acted the way they have! I absolutely LOVED being a priest -- but when this whole thing hit, there is no way I could do enough good to offset the evil done to me.

People say they want Mahony on trial and in jail. THAT WOULD BE GREAT!! But, I would be just as happy to see his wrinkled old ass kicked out of the country never to return. His Ego Couldn't Take It.

Before you all have a celebration as to the problems the Catholics are having ,perhaps you should look in your neighborhood and see what else is happening there. It may feel great to knock the church because of it's stance on morality, but think again,
Check your internet stories of the other churches and temples, there you'll find a different story. I'm glad to hear that the LA Times is near bankrupcy, they are not a fair newspaper medium. They are very biased towards any religious organization. I gave up my subscription a long time ago. I hope the Church fights back and stop those greedy lawyers from becoming richer. I hate the fact that the church's leadership is weak. I admire Cardinal Mahony though. He can go into the dirt with the best of them. Those silly lawyers. They tried to get church records so that they can dig up more data. The old saying they have is, Give your records so I can sue you. The only reason the other churchs don'f have a problelm, although some have a bigger problem is because they have ditched their records. Estimates regarding the Baptist is that they have a greater problem than the Cathollics, i.e., 1-2% vs. 5-10% by some estimates. Besides who cares about those churches they are small and have no records or money.
Take a look at the following website regarding the school problem as an example.
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/4/5/01552.shtml

Fabiole: You agree, then, with the bishops of Orange and Los Angeles in their decades-long battle to shield their raping priests from the law?

This is just a sad story all around.

Cardinal Roger Mahony says he's, "Mystified and Puzzled" (Why didn't he just say, 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"?), and doesn't know why he is being investigated by Federal Prosecutors. Mahony says, All the priests in question are either dead, or no longer in ministry. Well, I have 3 words for Mahony, "MICHAEL STEPHEN BAKER". Baker is the Roman Catholic Priest who went to Mahony and told him that he (Baker) was molesting children. After Baker was sent to some half-assed treatment program, he was returned to ministry, where he continued to add new child victims to his list. No one was ever warned that Baker was, what we now know he is, A Very Dangerous Man. Yes, Roger, those priests are out of ministry, but their Victims are still suffering. The information Mahony does not offer is how many of these priests whom he states are allegedly, "GONE" are still receiving, or are due to receive, monthly checks from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. And I agree with Chewey's Post, Why is it that Mahony won't meet with the Victims of Father Oliver O'Grady? Shows you what a COWARD Mahony really is.

FABIOLE, as Catholic Children, we were taught that all those other, so called, "religions" were heretical and fake. The Roman Catholic Church is the ONE TRUE FAITH. Our Priests are the, "ANOINTED REPRESENTATIVES OF CHRIST ON EARTH". Our Church and Our Priests, Brothers, Deacons and Nuns, along with the Hierarchy (Lowerarchy Really) are all expected to be held to a higher standard. And FABRIOLE, if you know of these other abuses in the churches, temples and public schools, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. The Catholic Church is being called on the carpet because the Victims of Rape and Sodomy by the Priests, Brothers, Deacons and Nuns and (Some) Bishops of the, "ONE TRUE FAITH" have the courage to speak out about the horrors that were forced on them. And FABIOLE, YOUR Adored Catholic Clergy forced young Catholic Children into acts so heinous and perverted that most men would hesitate to request such things from professional prostitutes. (For proof of that, you only have to read the file of Father Siegfried Wadera). So, if you want to admit that the anointed/ordained of our church are just as evil and perverted as your average child molester, go ahead. I however, cannot not agree; because, with GOD on their lips Roman Catholic Clergy, Sexually, Spiritually, Emotionally and Physically Butchered the Children of Our Church, myself included.

Fabiole probably graduated from Mater Dei. Dumbshit.

Victoria. WTF are you talking about? You probably aren't even Catholic. You must've dropped a week's worth of acid within 2 days, and then came back from a trip with memories of a catholic childhood. And if you are catholic, some jacked up school taught you the eucharist.

Dear Bard, I can prove I am a Catholic becasue I write so well. I was taught by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. THE Most Esteemed Women Scholars of Our Church. I certainly didn't have to resort to foul language and insults to make my point; those who use the language of the gutter wallow happily in same all their lives. May you remain where you are.

Victoria. You insist that you do not resort to foul language and insults to make a point. Certainly, you jest. Per your above post, "YOUR Adored Catholic Clergy forced young Catholic Children into acts so heinous and perverted that most men would hesitate to request such things from professional prostitutes," and "[T]he anointed/ordained of our church are just as evil and perverted as your average child molester," before you so articulately concluded with "[B]ecause, with GOD on their lips Roman Catholic Clergy, Sexually, Spiritually, Emotionally and Physically Butchered the Children of Our Church, myself included."

You claim the nuns taught you to write well. In that regard, I have no objection because your writing skills shine through and through in your posts so wonderfully. So, I salute your instructors on a job well done, as their is no doubt that they are due such a compliment. It is only a pity that your nuns did not follow through with teaching you about honesty and introspection. For if they had, then your follies would not have easily betrayed themselves to my eyes in so few words. As of for my location, why, I am bumping elbows with you even as I type.

Yes, Bard, You are what is known as a Clergy Dependant, Clergy Worshipping Cathaholic. You worship the male clergy as if they were gods; instead of as the anointed representatives of our Crucified Lord. HE promised to make his apostles, "Fishers of Men"; not rapers of children. I do speak the truth Bard, because I have lived the nightmare and so, to myself, and my other brothers and sisters in suffering who've been raped and/or sodomized, only the TRUTH will, and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH will do. The Catholic Lowrarchy have perpetrated hundreds of years of dirty little secrets. making th bishops and popes, no better than PIMPS. BTW Bard, have you ever read the Dallas Charter, or the John Jay Study? What are you doing to protect the children of this world from any/all forms of victimization? It is not for nothing that St. PiusX dellivered that now famous and oft' quoted remark, "The smoke of satan has been allowed to enter the church". Also, BTW, Bard I succeeded in making you clean up your language. Hopefully, I have helped to pull you out of the gutter.....Just A Little.

Thank you for exposing the filth in the diocese of Fresno. Yes, John Steinbock is the bishop and cover for his homosexuals workign under him. A few years ago we had a priet cruising the internet for sex, today his is the director of liturgy in the diocese....go figure

Bard: Victoria is a valued commentator who will know more about the depravities of the Catholic Church than you can ever hope to even try to know.

Thanks, Gustavo. But with people like Bard, we are wasting our time and the wear on our computer keys.

"It is as if from some mysterious crack, no, it is not mysterious, from some crack the smoke of satan has entered the temple of God." Yes, Victoria, I am familiar with that quote. It was actually Pope Paul VI who used it to express his disapproval of the state of affairs after Vatican II when everything in the Church turned upside down and the liturgy went downhill. But that is an entire history this board isn't up for. I never said everything was perfect or free from criticism. I just dont appreciate blanket statements about individuals or people that show the true ignorance of the perpetrator's mentality. Like when you state, "You worship the male clergy as if they were gods; instead of as the anointed representatives of our Crucified Lord." Where did that come from? How do you know what other people worship, and how can you justly enter into a debate with someone when you have pretermined certain aspects of their lives you cannot possibly have any knowledge of? I find your quotes like the one above humorous and entertaining once I get past the disgust. Wnen you post comments like that, it casts a long shadow of doubt on all your other posts regardless of their accuracy.

Nope, Bard., Wrong Again. Pope Paul VI was quoting Saint Pius X. (Word has it that Saint Pius X was quoting the Divine Words of Blessed Mother.) Once again you show how little you know about the faith you espouse. The only part of your last post that makes any sense is when you use my quotes. I would surmise that you are one of those cathaholics who drive around with a Rosary hanging from the rear view mirror; however, I am certain you never actually say the Rosary. Am I Right? Finally, I could care less what you do, or do not, appreciate. And I do not make, "blanket statement", having been under the blanket with a pervert priest, the truth and nothing less will do for me. There have been too many lies, too many dirty little secrets. Sorry if the truth hurts, Bard. Go In Peace. Try saying that Rosary. It will do you a world of good.

Victoria. From where in the heck are you pulling your information out of. Your magic bag of 'Yes, I Really Am Right?' Pope Paul VI made the smoke reference during an address celebrating the IX anniversary of his coronation in the summer of '72. Here is the address to a webpage describing the homily with the smoke quote included. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/homilies/1972/documents/hf_p-vi_hom_19720629_it.html. (Good luck if you dont know Italian.) I always come to the playing table with a full deck of cards. I don't know how you got around to bringing Saint Pius into the picture as there is no link between him and the quote mentioned in the entire document. I think it was Saint Pius’ strong stance against Modernism that has you so confused. Or, maybe its just your faulty reasoning. I am not here espousing anything. But when I see people I know personally being unfairly lambasted by others who are full of it, I make the effort to kindly inform the offenders that they are full of it. I learned all Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary at the same time I was learning to read. I am surprised to see you encouraging others to say it with all the hatred you have inside you. I’d encourage you to say it only after you visited a priest for confession. That is if you are still Catholic. From what I recall, you should only pray the Rosary if you are in a state of grace, or you shouldn’t pray it at all.

Bard: So who do you know who is "personally being unfairly lambasted by others who are full of it"? Names!

One Last Time: Pope Paul VI may have talked about the, "smoke of satan", but it was NOT his original thought. Saint Pius X said it. That quote was also used in the National Review Board in their report to the USCCB, about the sexual violations of children and young people by the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. (I did ask if you had read that report; as well as the Dallas Charter) Sorry if you think I am lambasting your friends, Bard. Also, you may know the names of the Blessed Mysteries of the Rosary, but do you make use of them? And why do you assume there is "Hatred In My Heart"? And why do you think I am, "lambasting" your friends? "I have nothing but pity for you and cathaholics like you. Once again you feel that a "Priest" is the answer to all your troubles. If I seek out a priest for any Sacrament, I must have knowledge of his activities and his history. You see, I do not accept a man as a TRUE priest until I am sure of him. (Sheeps Clothing And All That). And, "From what I recall you say, one should only pray the Rosary while in a state of Grace? Nonsense, Our Lord and HIS Blessed Mother are always ready to hear the Prayers of THEIR Suffering Children. OH, Bard., you have so much to learn; but it will be the knowledge that comes with age and experience. Once Again, Go In Peace.

Yeah, Victoria. Thanks for confirming what I mentioned in my initial post, though I knew it all along. And you took the bait so easily. You aren't Catholic. You like to pretend you are catholic so you can add credence to whatever gripe it is you have against the church as a whole, but your faith, at best, is on par with the Apostle Thomas. And your knowledge of the Catechism must be just as pitiful. You can drive into the Mojave and start your little cult, now. I am sure a pitcher of Kool-Aid will be waiting for you and your wee followers once you get there.

Gustavo. You read my message wrong, so I'll rephrase it for you. Victoria is unfairly attacking people I know on a personal level, which means these are people whose character I can personally attest to. On the contrary, if Victoria would actually list names or reference specific people AND cite proof of her accusations, I would have nothing to blog with her about. But all she does is cast a wide net of blame, and that is why I called her out. If you were to believe everything she posts, you would think that all the pastors and all the nuns in Orange County take part in a child sex slave ring, and that all people who practice catholicism support this ring. That is false. I know plenty of people, myself included, who have gone through the catholic education system and have never been violated or abused by a priest, nun, brother, or teacher. That is why I take exception with many of the things she says. If I were to refer to entire groups with the same derogatory sense that she uses when refering to catholics, I'd be branded as a racist and bigot. Normally, I ignore bigots, but Victoria's bigotry compelled me to respond. I am not saying or insinuating that she is lying when she states that she was violated by a priest. If that is true, and I have no reason to doubt it is true, then it is sad and she deserves to be angry. But why is she directing her anger at innocent parties? Victoria is, in essence, no different than the white woman who, after being raped by two black guys, does everything within her power to make sure black people dont move into her neighborhood. It is an understandable course of action, but still the wrong course of action to take.

Well, Bard, I keep waiting to find out who these people you say I've supposedly, "lambasted" are. And I've never said I thought every priest and nun in Orange County (or anywhere else for that matter) was molesting children. I have many Roman Catholic Nuns and Priests (Two of them bishops); along with many loving and spiritual lay Catholics, whom I am proud to call my friends.
You are so angry, Bard., which proves you are not secure in your beliefs. Who are you trying to convince....Me?.....Or Yourself? ANOTHER QUOTE; This time from (THE BARD) Bill Shakespeare, "Me thinks thou dust protest too much".
But, if it means that much to you, keep on worshipping the false divinity of the Roman Catholic Clergy. Fall on your knees. Kiss their hands and feet, if that's what makes you happy. As for me, I will continue to Worship, Pray To, Love and Obey Our Loving Lord, Jesus Christ. And I will continue to Honor and Love HIS Sweet, Beautiful Blessed Mother.
Well, Bard, I have to get to sleep now. 'Have to get up early. Take Care of Yourself. Go In Peace.

Bard: Unless a Catholic has damned their bishop from the rafters for the sex abuse scandal, and the priesthood for staying silence in the face of so much putridness spilling from the altars, they are guilty of silence, a crime about as bad as the actual molestations that have occurred. Look through my previous posts for the one where I talk about your type. Interesting in all this is that you've gone after a victim without bothering to address the point of this post—sounds like a pedo-apologist to me! In that case, you are a typical Catholic, and that's just sad.

Gustavo, you really should reread all my posts. Never once did I attack Victoria for claiming to be a victim of priest abuse, nor did I ever accuse her of making up her accusation. I went after her for talking nonsense and not having the hardware to back it up. Anyone can pull the victim card, but that card is not big enough to hide behind nor is it carte blanche for anyone to start going off on others without worrying about accountability. You will also realize that I never defended or excused the actions of the guilty parties. I never told anyone that they should shut up about priest molestations because they do not know what they are talking about, or that they are going to hell for attacking the Church. If there are other molesters out there, then they should have their day in court. I don’t know how you got the impression that I was acting as an apologist. You say that the silence of the priesthood is as damning as the act, but where is the evidence that so and so priest knew what so and so priest was doing. I can’t go to my pastor and decry him for not reporting to authorities what his fellows were doing to children when I have no proof that he knew what was happening by such and such date. You border along the terrain of speculation, and that is dangerous ground to cover. Let the evidence speak for itself, and those who are implicated by the evidence will be implicated by the evidence.

Gustavo, I can jump on the web tomorrow and start my own blog about how illegals are bringing down the quality of life in certain areas of Orange County. And I wont start with the “These people are destroying our language and ruining our culture,” BS either. I’ll just stick to the facts. Like the fact that I don’t like when dumbass Mexicans move onto my street 8 men per 2 bedroom house, and they all pay rent to a Mexican landlord who doesn’t even live in the neighborhood. And all these guys are ten cent mechanics, so they have the curbed lined up from end to end with cars they work on year-round because they know nothing about automotive repair, which means I have no place to park my car on my own street during any given night of the week. I also don’t like when these illegals piss in the bushes across the street, or sleep during the day on the grassy fields owned by local businesses, or litter all the front lawns with the grocery carts they stole from the market. These lawns that are yellowed and browned over because the Mexicans don’t care about watering their own grass. Illegals sure know what to do when it comes to driving down the neighborhood’s real estate value. Nor do I appreciate being waken up at 4 in the morning by crowing roosters or having chickens flying over the back fence and landing in my yard. Or how about my lack of security in knowing that local trauma wards and emergency rooms are operating on the brink of closure due to the influx of uninsured illegals flocking to them for medical treatment. Its bad enough we have to deal with our own unemployed and uninsured. Why should we be bothering with another nation’s? Then, I will gleefully post something like, “I hope President Obama takes the time and resources to collect all these dirty illegal immigrants and throw them into a green paddy wagon so they can be taken out of our country and back to whatever damn country they crawled here from.” And I will immediately obtain a following of choir members eager to be preached to. These immigrant bashers will salivate over every one of my posts, so I will keep them satisfied. I will then talk about the many times I’ve been ‘victimized’ by Mexicans. Like recently when I saw the janitors at my gym bash their car door into mine, then stare at me astonishingly while driving away just as I got near enough to asses the damage. And, later, after I got my over $500 dollar estimate for repair and confronted the culprits, all I got at first was “I don’t speak English,” and when that wouldn’t do, I got “We didn’t do that. The damage was already there way before.” No, fool. I saw your wife damage my car in front of my very eyes. Here is where I would write, “If these damn immigrants didn’t respect our sovereignty and our laws when they invaded our land, what makes us think they will respect our private property now that they are here? How can we expect these people to take responsibility for their illegal actions when everything they do here is illegal?” My followers will nod in approval because I am sure they’ve all had similar experiences.

Next, I would comment about the immigrant lovers and why they feel it is necessary to give a group of people something that does not belong to them or a priority they do not deserve. I will surmise that people who support open or lax borders either have family members that came here illegally, are, themselves, illegal, or live so far away from the illegals that they do not understand the hardships of having Mexicans as neighbors. Either way, these people are sorely out of touch with reality.

Finally, I will comment on the failings of the past administration to secure our borders and put an end to the immigration run amok before the new administration could take control. These guys were able to enact the Patriot Act to keep Grandma Jones held up in line at LAX for 3 hours to make sure she didn’t have a 1 Fl OZ of perfume hidden in her carry on luggage, yet they couldn’t stop a Mexican on a donkey from crossing an entire desert or floating across a river. I would also blog about the current lame ass administration that came up with a pseudo immigration policy at the last minute just to look like it had a vision on the issue. Yet members of our new administration were suspiciously ‘silent’ back when the Democrats were killing immigration reform bills that were intended to aid the illegals. Who cared about poor immigrants back then? Senator Obama even endorsed an amendment weakening the guest worker program, a cause so ardently supported by immigrant champions, yet when the time came to garner the brown vote and look chic by appearing to be pro-Latino, Obama did an about-face, and the retarded Hispanics fell for it hook, line, and sinker by voting over 2/3’s against the man who was probably the staunchest ally to immigrant rights in all of congress. Over half of those polled even stated that Obama was the friendlier candidate to immigrants, so go figure.

All the while, Gustavo, I would be backing up my claims and citing my information so everyone will know I am not throwing out wild accusations. I would be shooting from my hip and remaining true to the facts. What do you think the response would be, Gustavo? Think about it. Will people reading my blog say, “Wow, this guy sure talks a lot of shit on Mexicans, but his facts all pan out, he isn’t bullshitting, and he certainly knows what he is talking about. We have nothing to nail him on.” Yeah, right. There would be an onslaught of immigrant rights groups waiting to knock my server out. Yet, the naysayers always cough up the same trite explanations every time you try to engage them like, “You’re racist,” or “You just don’t like dark people,” or “Why should they go anywhere? Mexicans were here first.” It’s always the same old song they sing. But never ever will these people address the core issue that people doing illegal actions should be stopped from continuing their illegal actions. I would even write that specifically in my blog, “Just as it is wrong for priests to touch minors in inappropriate places, it is also wrong for foreigners to enter our country illegally when there is a line full of villagers spanning halfway around the globe waiting to do the same thing, only legally.” The naysayers wont even allow you to follow their logic for them. Like telling them, “Okay, if we allow these people in, then we must allow everybody in, so open those floodgates.” They don’t like hearing that because they know they wont like it when an onslaught of Chinamen, Koreans, Japs, Arabs, and Russians who speak neither English nor Spanish start driving them out of their cozy neighborhoods.

But, no, Gustavo. I wont start such a blog, nor will I contribute to anyone else’s blog that espouses such harsh views on immigrants because its hogwash. I just wanted to demonstrate how one can be right with the facts but not on the argument. Even though I know I have accuracy and the truth on my side, I cannot honestly state that I am taking the correct position or justly disparaging an entire group of people because the evidence gives me permission to do so. I know the difference between being right and speaking right. I hope you, or at least your posters, will learn the same.

Cool, so not just are you blind to the joke that is the DIocese of Orange, you have a problem with Mexicans, too! O happy day! Only for the following line will I respond:

"You say that the silence of the priesthood is as damning as the act, but where is the evidence that so and so priest knew what so and so priest was doing."

You must be a new reader to the Weekly, huh? Otherwise you wouldn't ask such an inane question. But you want proof...since I doubt you'd state the name of your personal priest, I'll give you three names: John Urell, Jaime Soto, and Michael Pecharich. With those names, you can tie almost any priest to the knowledge of the sex-abuse scandal. Oh, and has YOUR priest damned Brown? Even if Brown didn't tell him personally about all the abuse and coverup, your priest does read the papers, right?

Gustavo. I am not a supporter of Bishop Brown. I do not approve of the way he manages my diocese, I pray we will be allowed competent leadership in his place, and his handling of the abuse scandal is only one gripe I have against him. Like I said, I am not here making apologies. Funny, how I never once attacked your article, I just found some individuals who needed to get the facts in their posts straightened out, and you think I arrived just to rain on your parade. If you want to play muckraker to the Diocese of Orange, don't let me interfere. Keep going at it, and I hope you expose as many bad guys as possible and rack up as many accolades as will fit on your shoulders. What I won’t accept is you or anyone else believing they have free range to bash the Church as they please and not be culpable to challenges from the offended party. I never called you on that so obviously it was not an issue I had with your blogs, though you do lay it on pretty thick on the subjects of your rants, but that is neither here nor there. Back to my hypothetical blog on how illegals continue to make OC just another crack on the butt of California. I can keep all my blogs clean by nixing the derogatory and demeaning terms describing the illegals. I wouldn’t even describe their ethnicity, just the harm they do to the States and the social and political reasons the U.S. has for removing them from its cities. However, one day a Klans member, or one of the Minute Men, or just some typical dipshit starts blogging on my sight and encouraging me with exclamation marks, and asterisks, and ‘hallelujahs.’ But each of his messages is also littered with phrases like, “Why don’t these freakin wetbacks learn to read English, or get off their lazy asses and stop living off of the back of the American taxpayer, or figure out how to wipe their asses right?” And the whole time I say nothing about this poster until someone logs on who does not like his rhetoric, so they call him on it and challenge him to explain himself. At this time, I butt in and say, “Hey, now. Don’t go after DIPSHIT. He is a good man with common sense who knows what he is talking about. Learn something from these blogs instead of going after the people who post them. At that point I will have made DIPSHIT’s commentary my own commentary, his words my own words, and his hatred my hatred. From this point on, I will no longer be an agent for social change, but rather an agitator for social conflict. All the good I may have hoped to see result from my social commentary will no longer be attainable, due to my efforts, because everything I will do from here on out will only feed the flames and stoke the fire already brewing between two hostile groups.
Victoria had a much larger axe to grind and other agendas against the Catholic Church other than sniffing out the pedophile in her parish. The way she responded to my posts proved that. I don’t care how people feel about my affiliated groups, but if they start talking shit in a public forum, I might get a wild hair up my ass to tell them off. I am not saying you have anything to do with the way she posts, but if you are using your loose screw cyber buddies as attack dogs to do your dirty work, then make sure you keep your dogs away from my legs before they get bit. In my church, we have Bishop Brown’s ‘faithful pledge’ posted on the walls facing the entrance doors written in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese in 48 type font. So, every day when the parishioners leave Mass, they are reminded that the Church is still embedded in the shame of the molestation controversy. So, I don’t know how your theory of Catholics living in a state of denial or an umbrella of ignorance can achieve liftoff. Maybe if the pastor would stand before the pledge and give a 2 hour homily, you’d have reason to perform a back flip. I still don’t know how Soto or the others tie my pastor into the silence controversy you speak of. Even if they were privy to the molestations taking place, why would they share the information with other priests? The conspiracy webs you spin are as compelling as a screenplay for an Oliver Stone flick.
Speaking of Soto, your mentioning of the bishop caught my attention as he is a family friend. I don’t know him, personally, but I trust the integrity of those who vouch for his character. Did he make poor judgments? Did he ever turn right when he should have turned left? Obviously, he did. He vouched for a ‘friend’ he shouldn’t have vouched for. He didn’t actively pursue predatory priests out of his diocese as he should have. So, let’s put him in the same prison cell with the other molesters. I possess a little something known as common sense. And common sense tells me that if the goods on him or the others you mentioned were really out there regarding their aiding and abetting of pedophiles, the feds would have these guys strung up by their collars years ago. We are talking about kids, for heaven’s sake. Your allegations remind me of those who bitch and moan today about Pope Pius acting as an enabler of Hitler’s extermination of the Jews and spread of Nazism in WWII Europe. Yet if anyone bothers to look beneath the surface of unfounded charges, they will see that the pope is accredited with saving over 850,000 Jews from Nazi hands while earning praise from Albert Einstein, an agnostic Jew, and converting the Chief Rabbi of Rome to Catholicism in the process.

But here is another Soto ‘slip up’ I think you missed reporting on. You’ve always been fair to give the bishop props for supporting illegal immigrant rights before you begin criticizing his role in the child molestation fiasco. And that is good of you because it shows you remain consistent on the issues. But what was your position on the controversy surrounding Soto about his refusal to do background checks on illegals volunteering to work with children. The story made national headlines a few years back, so I don’t think it could have passed your attention. I missed your article on the subject, so I am curious to know what your response was when Bishop Soto defied the FBI and refused to do fingerprint background checks on these illegal immigrants to make sure they did not have a pedophile history because he thought the policy would intrude on their privacy and deter them from volunteering. Instead, the bishop just thought it’d be best to follow the honor code system and believe the illegals when they signed a sworn statement indicating they had never been convicted of a sex crime with two references. If you have a link to your take on the subject, please, hook me up. I’d like to know if you thought the bishop was being dangerously naïve at best, or outrageously careless at worst. Or, did you just think the bishop, in this instance, was being cool and all for protecting immigrant privacy and stifling any attempt the authorities might make to simplify the process of tracking down these individuals. After all, molesting kids is something an illegal would never do. Only priests do that. Or, maybe you were silenced at the keyboard that day as you were unable to find your voice amid the din of clashing interests.

Along that same line, why don’t you give Bishop Brown the same praise for supporting homosexuals as you do Soto for supporting illegals? You’re the one who’s all anti-prop 8, que no? Bishop Brown has gone on record as stating he is against intolerance to the gay lifestyle and a vocal supporter of gay rights. Do you recall Prop 22? The original CA initiative that meant for the state to not recognize same-sex marriages. While this was being debated in public, Bishop Brown took the time and effort to send every priest in the diocese a copy of an article written by a priest arguing that homosexuals are capable of loving and committed relationships, thus domestic partnerships should be recognized. And in ’05 the bishop refused to meet the demands of parents and parishioners at St John’s Catholic School that he reverse the school administration’s policy of allowing a gay couple to enroll their adopted children at the school because this policy demonstrated the school’s acceptance of diverse families and alternate lifestyles. This attitude seems to be lockstep with your own, Gustavo. How were you supporting the bishop in his moral stand against the multitude back then? Or is the gay cause one that you only embrace when it gives you the opportunity to bash the next bishop on your list or attack the neocon mindset within the county?

Bard: If you think the $450,000 joke that was the Covenant with the Faithful lets people know of the sex-abuse cover-up that you laugh at but is oh so true, you're a sad person. And you know that Brown broke it, right?

"Allegations"? It's all there. Read my stuff before leaving long comments. I won't answer your red herrings until you ask your family pal Soto why he never reported Eleuterio Ramos to the police. I'll wait here until you report back!

Fine, Gustavo. Let's just take this straight to the source. I'll write the bishop a letter as a concerned parishoner from his former diocese being challenged by an overzealous Church cynic and ask him why he refrained from alerting the authorities as to Ramos' whereabouts. I'll post his response once he gets back to me.

If I'm an "overzealous Church cynic," then I fear to know what God thinks of Soto.