Elia Powers
Edward Becker was still early in his six-year seminary residency when
the Catholic priest sex-abuse scandal became an international news
story.
A former attorney, Becker said he had looked forward to escaping a
career where controversy was a way of life.
"When the scandal broke, I thought to myself, 'Man, I just can't
win,'" said Becker, a Costa Mesa resident and a St. Joachim Roman
Catholic Church member.
Becker said that during his years of studying for the priesthood,
the priest scandal was front and center, affecting how he and many of
his peers viewed the church.
But as far as he knows, the controversy didn't lead to any
defections in his seminary. In fact, he said, it had a unifying
effect.
"All of us entering the priesthood, it's a sign to the outside
world that the church isn't dying, that we are going to come out
stronger than ever," Becker said.
June 11, he joined six other men, all of whom were sponsored by
the Diocese of Orange, at a priest ordainment ceremony held at St.
Columban Church in Garden Grove.
Bishop Tod Brown presided over the ceremony.
Becker found out last month that he was assigned to become a
parochial vicar at St. Pius V Church, a 5,000-family congregation in
Buena Park. His duties begin July 1.
Ordination ceremonies are held every year, but this one was
unique, said Father Joe Fenton, a spokesperson for the Diocese of
Orange.
"We've never, in recent memory, had a class this large," Fenton
said. "Sometimes we hold ceremonies for individuals. Next year, we
have three people. I'm pretty sure we won't see a number this large
for some time."
The ordination class includes four ministers of Vietnamese decent,
including Thai Minh Trinh, who next month begins as parochial vicar
at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in Newport Beach.
Trinh, 32, was born in Saigon and graduated from UC Irvine in
1998. He was set to enter dental school when he decided instead to
take a break.
"There was a battle inside of me, a struggle to see what's next
for my future," Trinh said. "I felt a strong call to go in this
direction and serve the people of God."
Trinh said he recently visited with the Our Lady Queen of Angels
staff. He said learning about the community is his first priority.
"I feel the challenge of being a missionary -- sent to a whole new
area without knowing the subculture," he said.
Becker, 39, said he is ready to acclimate himself to a new
congregation.
"Now that I'm finished [with seminary training] and almost 40, it
feels very right and very good," he said.
