Guam’s archbishop, Anthony Apuron, appeals Vatican verdict on sex-abuse charges
November 13, 2018 · By Haidee Eugenio, Pacific Daily News for www.usatoday.com
In this Nov. 2014 file photo, Archbishop Anthony Apuron stands in front of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica in Hagatna, Guam.
(Photo: Grace Garces Bordallo, AP)
The pope appointed Byrnes as coadjutor archbishop in October 2016, with full rights to become the permanent archbishop if Apuron retired, resigned or was removed. Byrnes is seeking further clarification from Rome on details of the appeal, including when a decision will be made and Apuron’s specific grounds for his appeal.
“It has been very detrimental to the (Catholic) Church on Guam to have this hanging over our heads for so long. We need final closure,” Byrnes said.
An estimated 85% of the island’s 165,000 residents are Roman Catholic, according to the CIA World Factbook.
In a March statement, the Vatican said an appeal would suspend Apuron’s penalties until a final resolution, so Apuron will continue to have the title of archbishop for now, Diaz said.
“Because an appeal has indeed been filed, … he would maintain his title as an archbishop, but as before, would not be have the administrative and pastoral authority over our archdiocese,” the spokesman said.
The Vatican stripped Apuron of his administrative powers in June 2016 and will not restore them during the appeal.
In June 2016, the pope sent Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai to Guam temporarily to oversee the archdiocese until Byrnes was appointed four months later. Within hours of the Vatican’s March announcement of a guilty verdict in Apuron’s canonical trial, Apuron’s civil lawyer issued a statement that Apuron would appeal the ruling.
The archdiocese had not been able to confirm immediately whether the appeal had been filed.
In addition to allegations from the four altar boys and their families, Apuron’s nephew said in January 2018 that Apuron raped him when Apuron was an archbishop in the early 1990s. Five civil lawsuits have been filed against Apuron in connection with the alleged rape and sexual abuse.
More than 170 Guam clergy sex abuse lawsuits have been filed in local and federal courts since 2016 against the Archdiocese of Agaña, priests, other clergy and others associated with the Catholic Church. The parties are pursuing mediation to try to settle the cases out of court.
