GUAM
Pacific News Center
Guam- The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests [SNAP] has issued a statement backing Guam Archbishop Anthony Apuron’s decision to dismiss Father Pual Gofigan as the Pastor of Dededo’s Santa Barbara Church.
David Clohessy, the St. Louis Director of SNAP, urges the Archbishop to stand by his decision to fire Father Gofigan. [see SNAP statement below]
Clohessy calls it “outrageous that any individual would rather put his career before the safety of children, let alone a man who is supposed to be considered as a community representative and leader.” And he also urges the parishioners of the Dededo Church to “speak out against Gofigan’s choice to endanger the safety of their children.”
The SNAP statement incorrectly asserts that Father Gofigan failed to fire the convicted sex offender from his maintenance position at the church. Father Gofigan says he did fire the man 3 years ago, as instructed by the Archbishop. However, the Archdiocese has charged that Father Gofigan allowed the man’s association with the Church to continue in a volunteer capacity.
In a July 16th letter to Father Gofigan, Archbishop Apuron demanded the priest’s immediate resignation accuses him of disobeying his orders to dismiss the man writing “you have in effect caused grave harm to the parish by allowing such an individual with a publicly known sex-offense record to work in the Church thus exposing him to your parishioners, especially the youth.”
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