Protests against Apuron, archdiocese to continue

By Louella Losinio
Guam Daily Post
July 3, 2016

http://www.postguam.com/news/local/protests-against-apuron-archdiocese-to-continue/article_a937d17e-4105-11e6-b778-ab67367f50ad.html

DIVIDED: Protesters say they will continue with their mass actions until the Archdiocese of Agana has formally addressed the issues which, they say, have divided the church on Guam. Photo by Louella Losinio

Members of the Concerned Catholics of Guam said they will continue protesting until the Archdiocese of Agana has formally addressed the issues which, they say, have divided the church on Guam.

Nearly a month has passed since the arrival of Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai as apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Agana, but protests by members of the groups Concerned Catholics of Guam (CCOG), Laity Forward Movement (LFM) and Silent No More have continued in front of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica in Hagåtña on Sunday mornings.

“Hon is calling for unity in the church but how can we have unity when we all have this dissension in the church. We are separated. There is a division. We have to address the issues first before we'll have unity,” said Lou Klitzkie, a member of Laity Forward.

Klitzkie referred to the decisions made by Apuron in the past, which the group, together with Concerned Catholics, had publicly opposed such as the removal of Rev. Paul Gofigan and Monsignor James Benavente from their positions as pastor of Santa Barbara and as rector of the cathedral, respectively.

At the time of Benavente’s removal, Apuron said in a statement that a financial review showed that the entities under Benavente showed poor financial accounting, prompting the archbishop to make the change in administration.

Public mistreatment

Klitzkie said, “The groups and individual members of the church which protested yesterday are sympathetic to the cause.” She said they want a formal apology for the public mistreatment of Gofigan and Benavente.

Rosa Cruz Santos, another Concerned Catholic, said “it hurts so bad to see the church so divided.”

Santos said there has been no explanation for the removal of Gofigan and Benavente. “I don’t think that they were given the chance to correct whatever it was that they (the archdiocese) said they did. They received unfair treatment from the archdiocese. It has remained unaddressed by the new apostolic administrator,” she added.

Apuron was also embroiled in issues over legal control of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Yona, which Concerned Catholics said should be controlled by the archdiocese.

Now with the surfacing of allegations of sexual abuse against Apuron, Klitzkie said the groups are questioning the archdiocese’s continued inaction.

The groups are going to continue to picket every Sunday – whether to push for the defrocking of Apuron or to protest Hon’s failure to address those issues, according to Klitzkie.

Appointees

Hon Tai last week named new appointees to two of the Archdiocese of Agana's top leadership roles.

Hon named Rev. Father Jeffrey San Nicolas as delegate of the administrator, according to a media release from the Chancery office. In this role, San Nicholas will assume responsibilities similar to those of the vicar general and moderator of the Curia. Rev. Father Jose Antonio “Lito” Abad has been appointed chancellor.

San Nicholas replaced Monsignor David C. Quitugua, who formerly serving as vicar general, while Abad replaced Rev. Father Adrian L.F. Cristobal.

According to a release announcing the appointments: "These appointments were made after the apostolic administrator had spoken personally with all of the clergy on the island and many other members of this local church. It was the result of the weekly meetings of the Presbyteral Council of the Archdiocese and must be seen as a collegial effort for the purpose of promoting unity and stability in the local Church."

On Saturday night, the appointees had their public profession of faith and oath of fidelity during a prayer meeting for unity at the cathedral.

No assurance

Jose Martinez, a member of Concerned Catholics who was at the prayer meeting, said statements made by Hon during the prayer meeting did not assure the congregation of prompt action from the archdiocese.

“He’s not going to move fast and we’ll have to move at his pace, which I found ironic because Pope Francis has been saying all this time to move with some urgency and zero tolerance. For me this is not about speed it is about inaction. He could be here for three or five months but there are specific things that should have been done, if he is here to promote unity,” Martinez added.

On the issue of sexual abuse, he said, “As a clergy and pastor, if there is a person that comes to you and alleges abuse, the first thing that you should do is to not go into the defensive. Whether or not you know that it is true or not, you have to pastor them.”