‘apuron Was Asked for Financial Statement in 2012’
Marianas Variety
A LETTER from the former Apostolic Delegate for the Pacific, Archbishop Charles Balvo, to Guam Archbishop Anthony Apuron dated March 7, 2012, requested that a financial report be turned in to him as is the requirement for every diocese. Balvo wrote to Apuron that he had not received a financial statement from the Archdiocese of Agana since 2007 and up to the time he wrote the letter in 2012. Further, Balvo pointed out that every diocese is required to have a finance council and that consent of the finance council is required for acts of “alienation.” In 2012, former finance council member Richard Untalan wrote to Balvo with his concerns about an alienation or assignment of the Yona property upon which the Redemptoris Mater seminary is built. Untalan wrote that he and three other council members agreed that they were terminated by Apuron because they voted against transferring the title of that land, a vote which was not supported by Apuron. In his letter to the Guam archbishop, Balvo wrote that consent is required from the finance council and the college of consultors. “If these do not give their consent, the diocesan bishop is not free to do as he pleases,” Balvo wrote. Calls to the archbishop’s spokesman have not been returned. Copies of the letter were sent to the media yesterday, hours after finance professionals called a news conference to refute Apuron’s claims of financial mismanagement against Monsignor James Benavente. Puzzle Balvo’s letter is one more piece to the puzzle that has been unfolding over the last two weeks. Benavente was removed as the rector of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagatna on July 25. Four days later, Apuron released a statement that said a change in administration was necessary after a financial review unveiled financial mismanagement. Two days after that, on July 31, Apuron released another statement detailing five discrepancies against the Cathedral-Basilica and the Catholic Cemeteries, both entities that were under the purview of Benavente. Benavente then sent a letter yesterday addressing each discrepancy Apuron noted and disputed each claim. Benavente wrote that four of the five problems Apuron listed were resolved before May 21 and Benavente was in the process of rectifying the final item but was removed from his position and the documents were confiscated by the new rector, Monsignor David Quitugua. Five finance professionals also disputed Apuron’s claim of financial mismanagement during a news conference yesterday. Since he was removed as rector, Benavente has been reassigned to work as parochial vicar at the St. Anthony Catholic School.
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