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Defrocking of Apuron urged
By John O'connor
More than two weeks have passed since the arrival of Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Agana, but protests have continued in front of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica in Hagåtña despite Archbishop Anthony Apuron having been removed from local church matters amid sexual abuse allegations against him. For months, the Concerned Catholics of Guam have protested at the cathedral, demanding that Apuron resign from his position as archbishop. But yesterday morning, that message had changed, and more than a dozen protestors holding signs stated plainly in red letters that they are now calling for Apuron's laicization from the church. Laicization, or defrocking, is the removal of a bishop, deacon or priest from his status as a member of the clergy. Jose Martinez, a member of CCOG, said the credibility of the church and confidence in its leadership has been damaged by Apuron's actions. Mockery "The allegations are serious enough that he should have stepped down a long time ago," Martinez said. "It's getting to the point where it's almost a mockery to be hidden so far away and not address any of the situations going in the church." Apuron's last official communication to the people of Guam was a video message sent from Rome in which he stated that the pope had granted his request for an apostolic administrator, sede plena, meaning Hon would be in charge of pastoral duties while Apuron remained archbishop of the archdiocese. On June 22, Hon announced the formation of four ad hoc committees that will oversee various matters within the church. The committees are scenario of the archdiocese, which will report on the situation of the church; ongoing formation, which will plan for the formation of the clergy; proposal for repositioning of priests, which will suggest the repositioning of all clergy officials; and seminary visitation, which will visit major seminaries and asses their status. Within the committee of the scenario of the archdiocese is the Rev. Adrian Cristobal and Monsignor David Quitigua, the chancellor and vicar general of the archdiocese, respectively. Martinez called the appointments "curious" as he believes the problems within the church extend beyond Apuron and lay on the shoulders of its highest ranking officials. He said Apuron's removal would not sufficiently address people's concerns and the removal of certain officials within the clergy would also be necessary. "This isn't just one person who has damaged the island. It's been systemic for over 10 years," Martinez said. "There's been a number of those at the leadership who have been a part of it. When you have a total failure of leadership, you have to start at the beginning to have a clean slate." No communication Moreover, Martinez said there is a sense of abandonment within some in the community as they feel there is little urgency in Hon's actions to address the sexual abuse allegations against Apuron. There has been no contact between Hon's office and the alleged victims, he said. Doris Concepcion is the mother of one of the alleged victims, Joseph Quinata, who died 11 years ago. Concepcion joined the protesters on Sunday and affirmed Martinez's statement that there has been no direct communication between Hon and the alleged victims. "Nobody has approached us at all, nobody," Concepcion said. "I'm really hurt and very disappointed because nobody has reached out to any of us." "That's the one thing we've all been waiting for," said Roland Sondia, the latest individual to accuse Apuron of sexual abuse. Including Sondia and Concepcion, there have been four accusations against Apuron since Roy Quintanilla came forward in May. Walter Denton, who came forward in early June, described how he was allegedly sodomized by Apuron. Denton was 13 at the time. He is now 52. "We would like (Apuron) to acknowledge and admit what he had done to us," Sondia said. Concepcion also wished to confront Apuron about his denial of her accusations. The archbishop has denied accusations from Quintanilla and Concepcion but has been silent since those of Denton and Sondia. Concepcion said that years ago, Apuron would ask her and other parents to cook meals for the boys he had sleeping over. She said at the time, she also believed Apuron whenever he complained of her son misbehaving and punished him for it without asking her son for an explanation, actions she now regrets. "I was literally feeding my son and the rest of the boys to the monster," Concepcion said. "I'm so angry and I want to meet him ... I want to meet (Apuron) face to face, I have nothing to hide ... and I dare (him) to say anything different." As for Hon, Concepcion said her opinion of the apostolic administrator was similar to Apuron, as she said she believes he has done very little to hear the alleged victims. "I'm dumbfounded, really ... I'm extremely hurt," she said. Without prejudice A few hours after the protest at the cathedral, the archdiocese released a statement from Hon. "I would like to reassure the faithful and all people of goodwill that the church has taken into serious consideration the allegations made against (Apuron) in recent months by Mr. Walter Denton, Mrs. Doris Concepcion, Mr. Roy Quintanilla, and Mr. Paul Lizama Sondia, and that all of the relevant documentation received by the church related to these allegations has been duly sent to the Holy See, which has final authority in cases related to bishops," the release stated. "I would further like to assure everyone that I have recognized the issues raised by all those concerned and, being deeply moved by the way they expressed themselves, am earnestly praying for them, without prejudice to both the alleged victims and the accused, and ask for the prayers and support of the entire church community." Contact: john@postguam.com
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