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Comments (23)

1. Debby Bodkin says:
   September 15, 2007 17:24

   One has to wonder who is assisting Ryan Lilygren and the Diocese of Orange in publishing rebuttals to media reports about failed representations in the Covenant With the Faithful, publicly announced by Bishop Tod Brown in January 2004.

   Based on personal experiences and written documentation in my possession, the Diocese of Orange, its HR Director, General Counsel and many politically-connected attorneys representing the Diocese of Orange have no problem violating legal conflict of interest statutes, California labor laws as it relates to employee contracts and privacy laws, denials of due process and equal protection of the law.

   In fact, I have written to Bishop Tod Brown on multiple occasions requesting a policy to report violations of the law committed by supervisory employees of the Diocese and its legal advisors.
   My first letter was sent in 2004 and Bishop Brown hired one of his conflicted attorneys to respond to my letter. What a joke!

   I have written to Bishop Brown requesting corrective action or some type of Whistleblower policy that would protect employees from termination or retaliation if they report a child endangerment issue. To date, no policy has been provided.

   I once sent a personal and confidential email to Bishop Brown's secretary and later learned, that the private email was not kept confidential and shared with so many Diocesan staff, it would be difficult to count how many had privy to someone's private thoughts and request for pastoral assistance.

   After my husband and I were married in November 2001, one of the teachers at Santa Margarita Catholic HS, who also serves as a member of the Administrative Board, told my new stepson and new mother in law defamatory statements about me as a person and mother. This has been reported to Diocese of Orange attorneys and supervisory employees, yet, no corrective action or apology to my stepson or my husband has ever taken place.

   In my opinion and despite the many difficult lessons learned since the clergy sex abuse crisis erupted in 2002, there are so many attorneys and supervisory employees in the Diocese who have earned life long employment because they made a personal choice to protect the Diocese from public scandal, and left precious children and families to survive on their own, without support.

   My advice to Mr. Lilygren: Before printing rebuttals to media reports, you may want to get all your facts straight and ask Bishop Brown to read all of the letters he has received from not only me, but many other concerned Catholics in OC. There is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Lilygren needs to read all the attempts others have made to live their faith and the social justice teachings of the Catholic Church, without success.

   My family and I will keep Mon. Urell in our thoughts and prayers as he obviously has had to carry quite a burden dealing with heinous sex crimes that have destroyed children and families for many years.

   Any compassionate and decent human being would have acute anxiety if they were asked to minister as a person of God... while also being forced to listen to self-serving attorneys and out of control supervisory employees who could care less about the teachings of Jesus Christ and the protections of God's most precious gift to the world, our children.

   Without justice, there will never be peace. Without peace, faith and our country's laws are empty.

2. Mike says:
   September 15, 2007 18:16

   Bodkin is a well-known gadfly. She writes and writes and writes, but says very little. Most of what she writes is incoherent babbling that is easily proven wrong. For instance, she rants about a "whistleblower" policy for those who report abuse. Um, Debbie, you know or should know that those who report abuse, especially mandated reporters, are totally protected from identification or retribution by California law. But Bodkin the Babbler doesn't care about that stuff; gadflies rarely do.

3. Debby Bodkin says:
   September 15, 2007 18:19

   SENT VIA EMAIL, 9/15/07, 6:00 P.M.

   
   September 15, 2007

   Re: Posting on www.rcbo.org-Clarification of
   Media Reports

   Dear Mr. Lilygren:

   As the Media representative for the Diocese of Orange, I feel it is important that you uphold the rules of honest journalism and reporting. It is also important to note that you have an ethical duty to do the right thing, investigate any rebutals to media reports you are forced to print on the www.rcbo.org website and keep OC Catholics well informed, with truths, not PR smear tactics.

   The media reports that have emerged recently regarding failed representations of Bishop Brown's Covenant With the Faithful, are guaranteed freedoms that many Americans have lost their lives to protect. Thanks to the courage of ethical journalists, the public's right to be fullly informed has also been protected, especially as it relates to the practices within the Diocese of Orange. In response to Gustavo Arellano's recent posting on the www.ocweekly.com website, please be advised that each and every statement made by me can be supported with written documentation. If at any time you would like to review any supporting documentation, please let me know and I will provide you with copies.

   I bring this matter to your attention to alert you to the many traps within the Diocese of Orange that have forced many of the faithful to abandon the social justice teachings of the Catholic Church and the rules of decency, to protect their employment status with the Diocese of Orange. Sadly, those that have abandoned the laws of human decency have also failed to protect God's most precious gift to the world, our children.
   
   No human being should be forced to sell their souls publicly to protect a religious institution, not a media representative, priest, nun, attorney or lay person. Afterall, the Diocese of Orange has proven time and time again that truths and justice are reserved for them only, with a total disregard to the guaranteed freedoms of those who make a personal choice to speak out.

   And, no employee of the Diocese of Orange and/or any religious institution should be asked to abandon their guaranteed civil rights and freedoms of speech, press and opinion, to keep their jobs, personal and professional reputations, without defamation attacks from the politically connected leaders of any religious group.

   Too many good and decent human beings have been forced to defend the Catholic Church for the heinous sex crimes committed against the most vulnerable in our society and without honest reporting, history is destined to repeat itself. We can no longer fail to protect those who cannot protect themselves.
   
   As an advocate for clergy abuse victims, their families and employees who have repeatedly been fired and punished in the workplace for speaking out to protect children or abide to the laws of the land, I am offended that you made a personal choice to attack attorneys representing victims of clergy sex abuse crimes. What do you expect victims of sex crimes committed by employees supervised by the Diocese of Orange to do? In order to heal and move on with their lives, they must have a voice to seek justice and attorneys provide them a voice after years of suffering in shame and silence.

   Please do not embarass OC Catholics by defending an institution who has refused to take corrective actions in the interest of justice and the protections of children, adults, employees and families. Best regards.

   Debby Bodkin

   cc: christine.hanley@latimes.com, garellano@ocweekly.com,
   rscottmoxley@ocweekly.com, rsrisavasdi@ocregister.com, sgreenhut@ocregister.com, fmickadeit@ocregister.com
   

4. Debby Bodkin says:
   September 15, 2007 18:37

   Response to "Mike":

   There is NO policy existent in the Diocese of Orange that allows an employee or lay person to report serious violations of the law, committed by high priced attorneys who fees are paid by the Diocese of Orange and/or supervisory employees of schools and churches, who have repeatedly protected the Diocese of Orange by committing perjury in a court of law or to a law enforcement agency.

   If you would like written proof of my statements, please feel free to email at bodkind@hotmail.com. I will be happy to provide written documentation supporting my statements.

   Lastly, your comments would be more credible if you had the decency and courage to sign your name. Best regards.

5. Mike says:
   September 15, 2007 18:37

   Bodkin the Babbler strikes again. She's caught in her own gadfly trap, and tries to get out if it by throwing a few hundred more words at her mistake. Deb: CA law prevents the revelation of the identity of one who reports suspected neglect or abuse of a child. Period, done. You can babble - and history shows you will - but you cannot hide the truth.

6. Debby Bodkin says:
   September 16, 2007 13:07

   Response to Mike....

   Could you be one of the attorneys representing religious institutions and law enforcement agencies simultaneously in OC?

   One of those attorneys who collects one fee but protects two clients with adverse interests in litigation?

   Maybe you are one of the attorneys or corrupt employees who receive life-long employment and rewards for falsely reporting child abuse against one of your litigation opponents or a citizen who still believes that guaranteed freedom of speech, press and opinion, still exists in the U.S., to discredit anyone who dares to take one of your corrupt clients to task in a court of law?

   Mike, it looks like you are well informed about California's abuse reporting laws and have convinced many others that their reports will remain safe from public disclosure.

   It all makes sense now, while you and the other members of your corrupt legal team, representing religious institutions and law enforcement agencies simultaneously, discredit one litigation opponent after another, you continue to reward those who make false child abuse reports to county agencies, convincing them that no one will ever know who made the report.

   WOW, thank you Mike for sharing you expertise and knowledge of the guaranteed secrecy of the identity of those making child abuse reports.

   You have provided the last piece of a very complex legal conspiracy puzzle that is somehow legal because you and/or your corrupt attorneys can "information" share during litigation, and no one will ever know if a false report was made or not. You and your corrupt legal team have full rein to discredit any one of your litigation opponents in a court of law, and you can do it all legally. Now it all makes sense why no government agency dares to file a government enforcement action to clean up your illegal business and employment practices in the Diocese of Orange.

   One legal fee to kill two litigation opponents in a court of law. This is a brilliant, well thought out legal conspiracy that has succeeded in building the financial and retirement portfolios of attorneys that can never really practice law in a real court, because they would fail over and over.

   Mike, thank you again for sharing your expertise about California's child abuse and neglect reporting laws. I never knew that false reports to child abuse and neglect authorities, even if they were intentionally fraudulent, were still protected from disclosure.

   It now makes sense why so many employees that were at one time administrators at Mater Dei HS and failed to protect precious children from sexual predators supervised by Diocese of Orange attorneys were transferred to Santa Margarita Catholic HS to continue failing to protect children from sex abuse and school zone violence. This also explains why the Diocese of Orange General Counsel was the HR Director with dirty deep secrets and then was promoted to General Counsel, despite committing violations of the law involving conflicts of interest, perjury in a court of law and conspiracies to retaliate against employees who protect children and exercise freedom of speech, press and opinion.

   CONGRATULATIONS to you and your corrupt attorneys who have intentionally represented religious institutions and government agencies with adverse legal interests, knowing that child abuse reports can be made whether they are true or false, and no one will ever know who made the child report abuse.

   Congratulations to Bishop Tod Brown for publicly sharing Covenant With the Faithful, knowing all along that his corrupt legal advisors had the ability to protect any false representations, by discrediting any opponent of the Diocese in a court of law, with a simple fraudulent child abuse or neglect report, guaranteed to remain secret forever, and the person make the report is guaranteed secrecy. It all makes sense now.

   Thank you to the OC Weekly for allowing this open dialog and posting discussion. Without Mike's expertise on child abuse and reporting laws, the normal person would never understand why so many clergy sex abuse victims and employees who have protected children, have had their careers, personal and professional reputations and careers ruined, left without legal resources.

   Mike... Your knowledge and expertise have opened a new window of discovery. Please keep assuring those who are instructed to intentionally make false child neglect and abuse reports to government agencies, now employed for life with the Diocese of Orange, with intent to secure lifetime employment with the Diocese and to assist the Diocese of Orange in covering up failures to protect children from heinous sex crimes, court damages, public scandals and multiple violations of the law, that their dirty secrets and conspiracy crimes are still secret. For now, anyway.

   Mike, your postings have provided such new insight to OC Catholics. I am going to cc this posting to Ryan Lilygreen and the Bishops of the Diocese of Orange, so they too can reward the corrupt attorneys and employees who have destroyed the lives of children and families for decades..... all because they can!

   Best regards.

7. Mike says:
   September 16, 2007 14:12

   Bodkin the Babbler: nice, long babble that time. Nope, not any of the people you described. There are more than 40 categories of people in this state who are mandated reporters. Teachers, therapists, etc., must report suspected neglect or abuse DIRECTLY to Child Protective Services or to Law Enforcement. All are trained in how to report, also required by law. I could be any of tens of thousands of public or private school teachers in CA. Under the law, a reporter does not have to inform his or her employer/superior of a report he or she made of suspected abuse. Also, if say, the parents of a child who was the subject of a report were to demand to know the identity of the reporter, the police would be required to shield the reporter's identity. It doesn't take special brains to read the law, Deb, just a brain. Yours appears to be wrapped so tightly around the construction of elaborate conspiracy theories and what-not that you just can't seem to grasp the reality of the matter. Can't wait for your next 1,000 words of nothing. Pretty entertaining.

8. jeffrey dunn says:
   September 16, 2007 17:04

   To our esteemed fount of wisdom,it takes real
   "courage" mike to diss Debby Bodkin,she knows
   from her own personal experience what it takes
   to do the right thing.I have dealing with her
   on the internet for the last 4.5 years,she
   has more eithics faith and courage than I
   have ever seen in my life.My name is jeffrey
   dunn from winnipeg manitoba canada,I have
   been a trade union activist for 36 years
   I'd match her track record against yours
   anyday. jeff dunn

9. Debby Bodkin says:
   September 16, 2007 17:59

   Hi Mike... "Bodkin the Babbler" sure beats the other names I have been called, especially since I made a personal choice, to walk a life path that includes exercise of free speech, press and opinion.

   Mike, you are absolutely correct in your statements. It does not take special brains to read the law and the letter of the law is black and white.

   However, it does take an honest, ethical and conflict free attorney at law to uphold the INTENT of the law. And, I doubt seriously if the legislature's intent for mandated child neglect and abuse laws was to allow politically connected religious institutions free opportunities to discredit their adversaries in a court of law, to minimize litigation damages or public scandals.

   In fact, I need to send Ryan Lilygren from the Diocese of Orange another message regarding the business and employment practices of the Diocese of Orange. The Diocese of Orange business and employment practices definitely do not include training sessions for its employees and mandated reporters that includes how to abide to the intent of mandated reporting laws, without losing jobs, benefits and credibility.

   It is obvious that there are more employees in the Diocese of Orange that have FAILED to protect children from sex crimes and school zone violence, than there are employees who placed the protections of children first and insisted fair administration of justice, without interference, and lost their employment status, personal and professional reputations.

   Do you think supervisory employees in the Diocese of Orange are trained how to report fraudulent child abuse and neglect to government agencies to punish those parents, students and employees who make a personal choice to exercise guaranteed freedoms that may expose the Diocese of Orange to lawsuit damages or public scandals?

   Thanks again for your insight. I am trying very hard not to go over 1,000 words of babbling.

   Bodkin the Babbler

10. Debby Bodkin says:
    September 16, 2007 18:14

    Via Email
    September 16, 2007
    
    Ryan Lilygreen
    Diocese of Orange
    
    Dear Ryan:
    
    As a follow up to my two previous emails sent on September 15 and 16, 2007, please take note of insight that was shared by a blogger on the www.ocweekly.com's website, "Mike". It is important to confirm whether the Diocese of Orange trains its clergy and supervisory employees how to meet mandated reporting laws with integrity and true intent, to ensure that all children are protected from any type of endangerment.
    
    Based on my personal experiences, there are multiple attorneys at law representing the Diocese of Orange, the LA Archdiocese and the OC Sheriff's Department. These types of legal conflicts of interest may also be a violation of obstructions of justice laws especially if supervisory employees in the Diocese of Orange are rewarded for making fraudulent reports to law enforcement agencies, to discredit or punish a parent, student or employee for protecting a child and/or exercising one of their guaranteed freedoms that all Americans value.
    
    Mandated child neglect and abuse laws should be followed by the letter; however, attorneys representing the Diocese may have reason to look good in the eyes of the Bishops of Orange, thereby encouraging clients to assist in litigation efforts by filing fraudulent reports to social services, knowing that whether the reports are true or false, no one will ever be held accountable.
    
    Please confirm that proper policies and procedures are in place within the Diocese of Orange so employees and mandated reporters are trained how to protect children, without participating in a legal conspiracy or other violations of the law, orchestrated by self-serving and conflicted attorneys at law.
    
    Thank you for your consideration.
    
    Debby Bodkin
    

11. Mike says:
    September 17, 2007 07:48

    Deb, Deb, Deb. Ok, let's see if you can follow this. I'll go slow. A mandated reporter is shielded by law. The law requires the reporter to report DIRECTLY to Child Protective Services or Law Enforcement. The reporter IS NOT REQUIRED to inform his or her superior or employer of the report. And, by law, the reporter's identity is never revealed.
    So, then, how would the Diocese of Orange -- or any other agency whose employees are mandated reporters -- know that a mandated report has been made or by whom it was made? Duh, Duh, Duh. You're still, well, babbling. Babbling, btw, is typically associated with non-sensical ramblings.

12. Gustavo Arellano says:
    September 17, 2007 09:46

    Mike: For someone who started this flaming war by deriding Debby as a gadfly, you sure have done everything possible to make the casual observer think the same of you. No more bad-mouthing each other: it's getting boring. Stick to the arguments at hand, which was...what was it again?

13. Mike says:
    September 17, 2007 10:33

    For such a crack investigative expert reporter on the church as you, this should be easy to follow. But then again, if you can't tell the difference between a vicar for clergy and a chancellor, perhaps one shoudn't be too surprised at your befuddlement here.

14. Gustavo Arellano says:
    September 17, 2007 10:35

    There, that's better. Direct your gadfly-ness at me, not others!

15. Victoria Martin says:
    September 17, 2007 21:14

    I have a question for you Mike. I know Debby Bodkin has, and continues to work tirelessly for the protection of children in all areas of society. What are you doing to protect children from the nightmare of physical, verbal and sexual abuse Mike? OR DO YOU JUST BABBLE? Old saying my Grandma taught me,
    DON*T TALK IT!!! WALK IT!!!!!!!

16. Michael McManus says:
    September 18, 2007 00:58

    Victoria I was thinking the same thing, A question for Mike, If the hierarchy had listened to To a Priest call Doyle 22 years ago, You would have had honesty in the church, You remind me of a father who belted his child when the child told him the priest was abusing him,

17. Russ Bianchi says:
    September 18, 2007 05:25

    For daily vetted coverage of the ongoing global criminal cover up by the miters, red hats and NCCB domestically, and Holy See (Blind?) Curia abroad, we recommend:

    www.bishop-accountability.or/abusetracker

    Until the likes of Brown, Mahony, Brom, Barnes, Rivera, Steibock, Weigland, Walsh, George, Law, O'Malley, Egan, etc., are removed from office, like predophile founder of the Legionnaires of Christ Marciel, canonically censored, place under house arrest, in a remote, bad food, cold, hard labor monastery for LIFE, or if they refuse, swiftly and irrevocably excommunicated, laity should not be donating any monies to any fund, or cause, these criminals can get their hands on!

    After all, there are less than 3,500 miters and red hats in Christ's Church on this Earth, and over 1.1 Billion laity paying 100% of ALL the bills.

    The era of laity pray, pay, and obey, is long ago DEAD, and not going to be 'resurrected'!

    No Bishop Accountability? No Laity Monies!

    Russ Bianchi
    Lay Member Of The Diocese of Monterey, CA
    russ@adepthq.com

18. Mark Gauer says:
    September 18, 2007 09:15

    Mike sounds like Tod Tambergs brother. Hey Mike if your looking for a job you sound like you would be a perfect candidate for Bishop!!

19. jeff dunn says:
    September 18, 2007 16:06

    Mike, instead of dissing your critics, have the
    guts to put your last name on this site, it
    is "brave" to trash people's reputation behind
    a veil of secrecy, and destroy their good
    name, but do you have the "courage" to do
    right thing. Mike, I am not out to bust your
    chops, but have the courage of your
    convictions. otherwise stay off this site.
    jeff dunn

20. JEFF DUNN says:
    September 18, 2007 20:08

    TO VICTORIA MARTIN,THANK YOU FOR THAT INSIGHT,
    I HAVE NOT HEARD THAT EXPRESSION. JEFF DUNN

21. Victoria Martin says:
    September 18, 2007 22:22

    Well, we seem to have lost Mike. (If that IS his real name). But I heartily congratulate the Victims/Survivors, and their Supporters, who took on the most wealthy and powerful religious entity on the face of the earth (The Roman Catholic Church) and made its leaders change their policies. Because, for the first time in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, its Children are being protected. And it was/is due to the magnificent courage and unity of the The Victims who brought these changes about.
    And one last word to Mike. You seem to have enjoyed making sport of this serious subject of the Clergy Sexual Victimization. A sexually butchered child is no laughing matter, Mike. And since you seem to be ignorant of the realities of these Crimes against the most Innocent and Precious of all GODs Creations, may I suggest you invite some Victims/Survivors to your parish and let them tell the Faithful precisely what perversions were perpetrated upon their bodies, minds and spirits, by the anointed, yet fallen of the RCC.

22. jeffrey dunn says:
    October 9, 2007 19:09

    Victoria,that was well said,we seem to have some
    very gutsy and courageous moms on this site who
    who are not afraid to tell it like it is. jeffrey
    dunn

23. jeffrey dunn says:
    October 9, 2007 19:17

    To the users of this space,free speech is an
    legal right,don't lose it to bullies
    or people who cannot leave their last names.
    jeffrey dunn