Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action ~ 1John 3:18
I am here today to ask that you deny Monsignor John Urell a position on the Orange County Human Rights Commission.
As a Catholic woman, a graduate of Mater Dei High School, a mother of three and a grandmother, the last four years of revelations about the actions of the Catholic Church, have forced me to question those whom I had been conditioned to trust.
In preparation for this meeting, I perused the human rights commission website. On it I found a provocative quote attributed to Leonard Hirsch: "Pay attention to the question you need to ask, not the answers you want to hear."
No matter how you wish things were different, today you have an obligation to question the character of Monsignor John Urell.
Before you make your decision about Monsignor Urell, ask him what he has done to track the predator priests who are not monitored by Megan's Law because they were protected by the Church until criminal prosecution became impossible. Ask him what he has done to protect children and families.
The internal documents the Diocese of Orange was forced to release due to the requirements of the 2005 settlement of nearly 100 abuse cases, prove that Monsignor Urell personally knew about and participated in cases in which the diocese knew about credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors and left the accused priest in ministry. These documents clearly show that Monsignor Urell, like his superiors, protected sexual predators, not children.
http://www.bishop-accountablity.org/news/2005_05_18_Lobdell_OrangeDiocese.htm
I'm here to ask you to listen to the courageous victim/survivors of clergy abuse and heed their warnings. Please question the character of anyone who would protect predators and an institution, at the cost of children's innocence.
Repectfully,
Mary Pitcher