Orange County Bishop Tod Brown to Face Contempt Charges
Bishop Tod Brown may be the first Catholic bishop to be thrown in jail as a result of the priest sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church since 2002. Brown's situation is somewhat different in that it comes after the Diocese of Orange County settled sex abuse claims for almost $7,000,000. However, it was Brown's actions during litigation that landed him in legal hot water. Brown sent Monsignor John Urell to a treatment facility in Canada after he suffered an apparent breakdown during a deposition regarding the sexual abuse cases. Plaintiff's attorneys had expected the contempt of court charge to be dropped since the case settled but diocesan attorney Peter Callahan insisted the hearing move forward in an attempt to clear the bishop's name. The contempt charge asserts that Urell was sent to the treatment facility in order to hide evidence of how the Diocese handled abuse allegations. Urell had been the chancellor of the Diocese and was in charge of hearing and investigating charges of abuse.