A Roman Catholic priest is suing Bishop Tod Brown, five of his fellow priests and the Diocese of Orange, claiming they have spread lies about him and harmed his reputation.Michael Nguyen, who became a diocesan priest in 2003, alleges his fellow clergy intentionally made negative and false statements "about his incompetence as a Roman Catholic priest, about his mental condition, about his background and about his suitability for the position of an ordained Roman Catholic priest,'' according to the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court.
The alleged falsehoods were published among Nguyen's co-workers, including other priests, and parishioners in Southern California and painted a picture of him "as an incompetent priest, as a priest who neglects his performance … as a priest who has mental health problems and is to be isolated and avoided," according to the lawsuit.
Nguyen, a Vietnamese refugee who moved to the United States in 1981, said he was ordained by Brown on June 7, 2003. He said he was removed from ministry in March 2007 – when he was assigned to St. Joachim's Catholic Church in Costa Mesa. He said he previously served at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Anaheim and St. Joseph Church in Santa Ana.
"I decided to do this because I have been mistreated,'' Nguyen said. "I want to bring this to a just resolution. My main focus is to get my good name back and to return to ministry."
Nguyen declined to say why he was removed from ministry, or how he was mistreated, referring questions to his lawyer, Joel Baruch.
Baruch blamed Brown, saying he personally didn't like Nguyen. "Father Michael is fighting back," Baruch said.
Baruch said he planned to soon file an amended complaint that would detail more of Nguyen's accusations.
Ryan Lilyengren, a diocese spokesman, said the diocese has not yet been served with the complaint, and does not comment on pending litigation.
Besides Brown and the diocese, five priests are defendants, including Vicar General Michael Heher. He also declined to comment, saying that the diocese does not comment on unresolved lawsuits.
Nguyen's lawsuit has been assigned to Superior Court Judge Geoffrey Glass.
Nguyen asks for back wages and unspecified damages, as well as punitive damages from the priests named as defendants.
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(Source: OCR)