Blogger Says Vatican Cleaning up House

By Krystal Paco
KUAM
June 8, 2016

http://www.kuam.com/story/32170446/2016/06/Wednesday/blogger-says-vatican-cleaning-up-house

[with video]


While Archbishop Anthony Apuron claims it was he who asked the Vatican for a temporary replacement, one local critic disagrees. Self-proclaimed watchdog and blogger Tim Rohr says the recent appointment of an apostolic administrator for the Guam archdiocese means the Vatican is cleaning up house.

In a video message from Rome on Tuesday, Archbishop Apuron says he called on the Vatican for a temporary replacement so an investigation into molestation allegations could proceed. But Rohr says that's all an act. For the last three years, Tohr has documented the local Catholic church controversies in his blog, JungleWatch. Just last year, Guam's newly-appointed apostolic administrator, Archbishop Savio Tai Fai Hon, visited Guam with others as part of an apostolic visit.

According to Rohr, they were investigating Apuron then. Hon's return to the island, Rohr says, could be a cue their investigation is complete. He told KUAM News, "The fact that Archbishop Hon has been assigned to Guam as an apostolic administrator tells us that the results of the investigation, which they began in January 2015, have determined that Archbishop Apuron is incapable of performing his duties as bishop of this diocese. And Pope Francis saw the need to assign someone who would run the diocese."

According to code of Canon Law, apostolic administrators are appointed due to "special and particularly grave reasons." In Guam's case, Apuron has been publicly accused four times of molestation - three of the alleged victims were altar boys at Mount Carmel Church in Agat, where Apuron was a priest. The archbishop has vehemently denied any allegations of sex abuse and has claimed he is the victim of a malicious smear campaign and conspiracy to remove him after uncovering discrepancies with the church's finances.

Rohr tells KUAM that it's the Vatican, not Apuron, doing the housecleaning now. "We believe it will result in a new bishop," the blogger projected. It's impossible, even if the sexual allegations against him are proven false, the fact that he so badly botched the response to that."

All of this follows an announcement made by Pope Francis over the weekend - that bishops who turned a blind eye to child sex abuse allegations would be removed. KUAM News has confirmed Archbishop Hon arrived to Guam on Wednesday morning and is scheduled to meet with local priests and religious leaders on Thursday.