GUAM
KUAM
by Sabrina Salas Matanane
Guam – Archbishop Anthony Apuron responds to a letter written by five Catholic priests calling on him to clarify statements he made in a July 29th press release regarding his reasons for the removal of Monsignor James Benavente.
According to Father Adrian Cristobal Archbishop Anthony Apuron had and still has every intention of meeting with Fathers Tom McGrath, Jeff San Nicolas, Mike Crisostomo, Patrick Castro and Gus Gumataotao. The five priests as we reported wrote a letter to the archbishop dated August 4th. They were seeking clarification on his statement in his July 29th press release explaining his decision to remove Monsignor James Benavente from his positions as rector of the Archdiocese of Agana and director of the Catholic Cemeteries. The basis for his removal? Allegations of financial mismanagement. In the statement the archbishop wrote, “I informed the Presbyteral Council, the College of Consultors and the Archdiocesan Finance Council about this situation and they expressed their support.”
The five priests are part of that Presbyteral Council and in their letter to the archbishop said they disagree with his statement and it’s connection with his decision to remove Monsignor James. As we reported they referred to a meeting they had with the archbishop on July 25th during which he presented the financial situation of the Archdiocese of Agana. The priests state the archbishop made no mention of his intent to remove Monsignor James and that they were not consulted on the matter. They also stated they had no opportunity to discuss or raise objection to his removal and that at no point during these proceedings was a vote or question on the matter placed on the table for discussion to come to the conclusion of our “expressed support of your decision to remove him”.
According to Father Cristobal however, he tells KUAM today that the archbishop explained in detail the serious situation that the archdiocese found itself to the Presybteral Council during that july 25th meeting and he told the council clearly that he was going to take action.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.