LOS ANGELES (CA)
Ventura County Star
October 8, 2018
By Tom Kisken
Tom Emens was a Catholic grade-schooler when the priest first dropped in at his parents’ home.
The new retiree with the charming smile and a love for Louis L’Amour novels served as a priest in the Chicago area for nearly 40 years. He came to Anaheim to retire and move in with his sister, sleeping in what Emens thinks may have been a converted garage and still serving Mass at St. Anthony Claret Catholic Church.
He came to the door to introduce himself as he did with many neighbors. It was his title that resonated for Emens’ parents, longtime parishioners at St. Anthony Claret.
He wasn’t just a priest. He was a monsignor.
“He was kind of a celebrity,” said Emens, now 50 and a multimedia coordinator at CSU Channel Islands in Camarillo. “He saw us a lot.”
He came to family birthdays and confirmations. Often, he showed up at the house unannounced.
Emens, the second youngest of seven children, remembers being invited by the monsignor for swims in a neighbor’s pool, reading sessions and lessons in faith.
At the time, to a 10-year-old, it seemed normal. Forty years later, Emens sat in a courtyard outside CSU Channel Islands, explaining the lawsuit that pushed him into a national spotlight and is aimed at helping figure out why and how it all happened.
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