His Mission Is to Build Consensus and Churches

The moment was a small one, noticed by no one but the most liturgically savvy. Of course, the priests in the audience picked up on the nuance right away.

Tod D. Brown, at his installation as Roman Catholic bishop of Orange nearly three years ago, had used a new prayer during the tradition-laden Mass.

“I think he chose that purposely to signal a new openness to change,” said Father John McAndrew of St. Angela Merici Church in Brea, about the service.

Brown, 64, laughed gently when told of his priest’s interpretation: “Honestly, I just happened to like that prayer.”

Intentional or not, the new wrinkle in the Catholic liturgy foreshadowed bolder changes that would mark Brown’s first months as chief pastor to the county’s 1 million church members. The series of swift decisions, which include the announcement today to build a cathedral in Santa Ana, are geared at making the church more responsive to its growth and diversity.

The soft-spoken bishop has appointed Latinos and women to key diocesan positions. He has approved the construction of six parishes and multimillion-dollar expansions for older churches, many in impoverished areas. He gave one of the new parishes a Vietnamese name, Our Lady of La Vang, a first for a Catholic Church in Southern California. And for the first time in more than 15 years, he has made information about the church’s finances publicly available.

The populist moves have given Brown an extended honeymoon as the county’s new bishop, earning him the reputation as a pastor who cares for “the least among us,” even while he proposes the construction of a new cathedral. Major criticisms of Brown’s performance are difficult to find.

“Give him a while to make enemies,” said Father Enrique J. Sera with a laugh. Sera’s from Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Santa Ana.

During a 25th-anniversary ceremony today at 9:30 a.m. at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange, Brown will unveil plans for a new cathedral and a capital fund-raising campaign that could bring in more than $100 million.

“Probably my toughest decision as bishop is to move forward with this capital campaign,” Brown said. “It’s very challenging and will demand an awful lot of work.”

The funds will be used to build the cathedral, its price tag still undetermined; to buy land for new parishes; to pay for needed schools and churches; and to provide housing for retired priests.

A Different Style, a Different Focus

Diocese workers have experienced a kind of cultural whiplash since Brown took over for retired Bishop Norman F. McFarland, who spent 11 years in the position. The two bishops, who have become friends, have opposite management styles that mirror changes in the Catholic Church.

McFarland--a bear of a man who can be blustery and intimidating--was an old-school, hands-on manager who took pride in answering his own phone. During his tenure as bishop of Orange, he built the diocese into a financial powerhouse with $150 million in net assets.

But during that time, the church also spent little on new parishes, even while the number of Catholics in the county soared.

The bright side: When Brown arrived in the county from Boise, Idaho, where he had served as bishop for a decade, he was handed the keys to a well-oiled financial machine that last year generated $21.5 million in net income.

Brown’s management style is to serve as a consensus builder and delegator, in part because his roles in ecumenical and interreligious movements often take him out of the county.

Brown is different from McFarland in other ways. The new bishop is less intimidating physically, of average size with a round, kind face. Shy by nature, he speaks quietly and, at times, self-consciously. He is known for his intellect and gentle sense of humor.

“He has an excellent sense of proportion of himself--and a sense of humor about himself,” said Bishop George Niederauer of Salt Lake City, a friend and former classmate. “He’s a humble man.”

One priest described his colleagues as “deer caught in the headlights” until they adjusted to Brown’s ways. And Father Arthur A. Holquin, head of the bishop’s advisory group, the Council of Priests, said, “It took a while to shift gears.”

Most priests have welcomed the change.

“He’s including all of us in the process, which is very comforting and energizing,” Father Roy Kim of St. Thomas Korean Catholic Center of Anaheim said. “It’s his diocese, but we’re in the field and in the trenches.”

Brown also has given positions of authority to women--two sisters serve on his six-member executive committee--and to laity. Frank Chavez, director of diocesan deacons, said the change is “kind of scary, but at the same time, it’s so affirming.”

Both bishops’ management styles ultimately have benefited the diocese, Brown said.

“In many ways I think we complement one another,” Brown said. “He had his style, and now I’m able to build on that.”

Attending to Poor While Awaiting a New Church

Perhaps no priest has felt the change more than Father Bill Barman, pastor of tiny Our Lady of Lourdes in Santa Ana, the county’s poorest parish. He holds seven Masses each weekend to accommodate the crowds, which pack the aisles during services.

Barman said he went to McFarland “eight, nine, 10 times” to plead for a building adequate for the parish’s worshipers.

Each time, Barman said, the answer was no.

“I could not tell you the pain I felt as a pastor,” the priest said. “He wasn’t a bad guy. He wasn’t ill-willed. His job was to be an accountant.”

When Brown arrived in Orange County, Barman was the second person to visit his office. wasThree months later, the parish was in escrow on a piece of land that will be the site of a $9.3-million church. It was the first time the construction of a parish in Orange County was funded primarily by the diocese.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, we’ve got help,’ ” Barman said. “He’s got a very strong commitment to the inner city.”

Brown also has forgiven nearly $1 million in debts owed the diocese by impoverished churches.

The bishop’s attentiveness to the poor and to the community’s diverse communities has so far helped deflect criticism about spending large sums on a new cathedral.

Latinos make up nearly half of the county’s Catholic population; 40,000 Vietnamese Americans belong to the church; and Mass is celebrated in 24 languages.

Brown appointed hometown hero Jaime Soto, who grew up in Stanton, as the diocese’s first Latino auxiliary bishop, an immensely popular decision.

“Oh, the community was thrilled, elated,” Deacon Chavez said. “Not just the Latino community, but the whole Catholic Church. It was a solid, definitive way of affirming who we are as a diocese.”

Top Administrative Post Goes to Woman

The selection of well-respected Sister Katherine Gray as the first woman to serve as chancellor, a top administrative position, was another popular step.

“I knew to be the first woman chancellor was going to be very important,” Gray said. “It was a very visible decision that the bishop made that really heartened people.”

Together, the moves have helped inoculate the bishop from the kind of criticism Cardinal Roger M. Mahony has endured over the $163-million cost of the new downtown Los Angeles cathedral. Mahony has approved an additional $30 million for art and other adornments.

The Orange County cathedral--which will be the bishop’s home church--will be more modest. It’s to be built in Santa Ana.

“We need to care for the poor first, and the poor are getting a parish out of it,” said Leila Smith of the Orange County Catholic Worker, an independent, Santa Ana poverty-relief organization. “I haven’t been disappointed by any of his decisions. He’s got good priorities.”

However, Brown’s new residence in a middle-class Santa Ana neighborhood has generated some complaints. A Christmas party at the $388,000, two-story home raised some eyebrows among priests who live in more modest quarters.

“Some were scandalized by it, but I don’t have a problem with it,” Father Bill Barman said. “That’s what he believes he needs, and he’s given me what I believe I need.”

The diocese bought the home after McFarland asked to live out his retirement in the bishop’s house behind Holy Family Cathedral.

Brown said he views his new home as “an essential part of my ministry.” He entertains frequently there, hosting local and national religious figures.

Vatican Council Role Is Panned, Praised

In recent years, Brown has become a major player in the movements to unite Christian denominations and build bridges with other religions.

In March he became the second American to receive an appointment to a Vatican council that promotes the church’s relationship with other religions. The assignment by Pope John Paul II catapulted Brown into the rarefied air of the Roman Curia, the elite of cardinals and bishops who perform duties in the pope’s name.

Brown was elected by American bishops in 1999 to chair the Catholic Church’s U.S. ecumenical and interreligious affairs committee. He has an office in Washington, D.C.

The appointments have generated criticism among some that Brown is too upwardly mobile and doesn’t spend enough time in the county.

“There are some who call him ambitious, but I haven’t seen that,” McAndrew said.

On the local level, the bishop has forged ties with the Muslim and Jewish communities, visiting Orange County mosques and temples. He also has friendships with leaders of the Southern California Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox churches.

“As a result of his leadership, I’ve had a lot of contact with the Catholic community,” said Rabbi Shelton J. Donnell of Temple Beth Sholom in Santa Ana. “The level of dialogue is wonderful, and the cooperation between the Catholic and Jewish communities in Orange County is a tribute to his leadership.”

Despite his purported ambitions, Brown said he plans on spending the next 11 years as bishop of Orange, carrying out the vision for the diocese he’ll detail today.

“I think the bishop is what we need,” McAndrew said. “We’re just beginning to make headway on things that have been [on] hold. It will take a little time.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Growing Diocese

In the past 25 years, the Catholic population in the Diocese of Orange has tripled to 1 million. A large building program is under way that will result in a new cathedral and six new churches and the expansion of many others.

*

New Churches

A. Santa Ana cathedral and parish church

B. Irvine church (name to be determined)

C. Corpus Christi Church in Aliso Viejo

D. Our Lady of La Vang in Santa Ana (merges with Our Lady of Lourdes)

E. Santa Clara de Assisi in Yorba Linda

F. Ladera Ranch (name to be determined)

*

Parish Expansions

1. St. Boniface Church

2. San Antonio Church

3. Holy Spirit Church

4. St. Philip Benizi Church

5. St. Callistus Church

6. St. Vincent de Paul Church

7. St. John Neumann Church

8. St. Catherine of Siena Church

9. St. Nicholas Church

10. La Purisima Church

11. St. Norbert Church

12. St. Joseph Church

13. San Francisco Solano Church

14. Mission San Juan Capistrano

15. Immaculate Heart of Mary Church

*

School construction

* Junipero Serra Elementary School in Rancho Santa Margarita -- $8.2 million

* Mater Dei High School (renovation) -- $13.5 million

* St. Barbara (renovation) -- $2.1 million

* St. Edward (renovation) -- $3.4 million

*

* Number of priests

1976: 242

2001: 284

*

* Number of Catholics

1976: 333,860

2001: 1,044,191

*

* Lay people per priest

1976: 1,379

2001: 3,677

*

* Catholic institutions

1976: 43 parishes, 8 mission stations, 35 elementary schools, 6 high schools, 2 hospitals (St. Joseph Hospital in Orange and St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton).

2001: 55 parishes, 3 mission stations, 4 pastoral ethnic centers, 38 elementary schools, 6 high schools, 3 hospitals (including Mission Community Regional Hospital in Mission Viejo)

*

* Performed in the last 25 years:

344,075 baptisms, 75,506 marriages and 58,547 funerals

*

Source: Diocese of Orange