Archdiocese to Beef up Finance Council, Prepares for Possible Lawsuits
By Haidee V Eugenio
Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai announced Monday that the church is reconstituting the Archdiocesan Finance Council to help the church reposition its assets, including a multimillion-dollar property in Yona, in anticipation of lawsuits by victims of clergy abuse on Guam. Gov. Eddie Calvo on Sept. 23 signed a law that lifts the statute of limitations to allow victims of child sexual abuse to sue their abusers as well as anyone who helped them and the institutions with which they are affiliated. The church, before the bill was signed, lobbied against it, stating it could open up the church to financially crippling lawsuits. Several former Agat altar boys have accused Archbishop Anthony Apuron of sexually abusing them in the 1970s, when he was parish priest. The archdiocese will appoint at least four other members of the Archdiocesan Finance Council, which only has three members at this time, said the Rev. Jeff San Nicolas, Hon’s delegate. The three current members are Sonny Ada, Danny Quichocho and John Weisenberger, San Nicolas said. San Nicolas said the archdiocese is looking to bring more people on board with the right talent, skills and experience. One of the options, according to San Nicolas, is to enlist former members of the Archdiocesan Finance Council who were terminated by Apuron in January 2012. Among those terminated was former Archdiocesan Finance Council president Richard Untalan, who said a few weeks ago that Apuron went behind the council’s back in 2011 when the archbishop, with help from other people involved with the Neocatechumenal Way, secretly recorded a deed, transferring the church property in Yona to the Redemptoris Mater Seminary. “These are very complicated issues and we’re ready to do whatever measures to make sure that the archdiocese has full possession of the land,” San Nicolas said. A deed of restriction, signed by Apuron, allows the property to be used as seminary indefinitely. Hon has said the pope instructed Apuron to remove the deed restriction, but he has not. Hon, who was sent by the Vatican to temporarily oversee the Catholic church on Guam, authorized San Nicolas to reconstitute the Archdiocesan Finance Council in order to reposition the patrimony of the church to cope with challenges facing the archdiocese, including but not limited to, the return of the Yona property upon which the Redemptoris Mater Seminary is now located. Hon said with the Catholic faithful’s help, the archdiocese can survive and recover from immense challenges and in particular, provide justice and some measure of closure. Former altar boys have come forward since May to accuse Apuron and other priests of sexually abusing them decades ago on Guam. Apuron has not been charged with any crime. Hon said he has also invited Attorney Ed Terlaje, the archdiocesan legal counsel for over 30 years, to work with the Archdiocesan Finance Council to meet the challenges. Hon also appointed Monsignor James Benavente as delegate of the apostolic administrator for church patrimony, effective Oct. 1, to coordinate and to take all steps necessary to meet these same challenges. This comes a few days after Hon appointed Benavente as pastor of Saint Anthony and Saint Victor Church in Tamuning, and cleared him of all financial mismanagement allegations lodged by Apuron in 2014. “Again, I want to acknowledge the pain and suffering of all survivors of child sex abuse by our clergy and to say that it is our earnest and heartfelt desire that we be reconciled with all of them in the love and peace of Christ,” Hon said in a message read by San Nicolas during a news conference Monday afternoon. “Prayer is the real strength for unity and peace. In this month, let us pray more fervently and frequently the holy rosary, as we move forward in reconciling and unifying our Church.” 9 appointments In addition to naming Benavente as the new pastor of Saint Anthony and Saint Victor Church in Tamuning, Hon also appointed eight other priests to positions in village parishes or within the archdiocese, effective Sept. 30. They include: The Rev. Monsignor Brigido U. Arroyo, pastor emeritus of St. Anthony and St. Victor Church in Tamuning; The Rev. Adrian L.F. Cristobal, pastor of San Dionisio Church in Umatac; The Rev. Julius B. Akinyemi, pastor of San Dimas and Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Merizo; The Rev. Joel de los Reyes, parochial administrator of San Vicente Ferrer Church in Barrigada; The Rev. Carlos S. Vila, parochial administrator of Nuestra Senora de la Paz y Buen Viaje in Chalan Pago; The Rev. Edivaldo Da Silva-Oliveira, Catholic chaplain of Department of Youth Affairs and Department of Corrections in Mangilao; The Rev. Paul Gofigan, delegate of the Apostolic Administrator for Clergy; and The Rev. Richard Kidd, director of Vocation and Permanent Diaconate Program.
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