GUAM
Pacific News Center
Written by Janela Carrera
Catholic insider Tim Rohr says he was called to a meeting back in 2010 in which he was asked to read a statement that would discredit individuals who were trying to uncover sexual abuse within the Church.
Guam – The accusations continue for the Archdiocese of Agana. They are now being accused of covering up sexual abuse at the church and trying to discredit those who attempted to uncover it.
The allegations resurfaced today as a result of a press release issued by SNAP or the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. In it, SNAP Director David Clohessy brings to light a meeting that took place back in 2010 in which Catholic insider Tim Rohr was allegedly asked to cover up sexual abuse allegations. We spoke with Rohr about this meeting.
“They called me. They gave me the statement to read. I just simply asked, ‘Well why are we doing this? What do we have to hide? Why don’t we just call their bluff and just say come in look we don’t have anything to hide?’ So it was at that point that I learned that there was something to hide because everybody stopped and kinda stared at each other at the meeting,” Rohr explains.
At the time, Rohr says he was unaware that there were allegations of sexual abuse within the Church. He says the members of the Church leadership had called upon him because at the time he was actively involved in defending the Archdiocese. The Archdiocese, Rohr says, specifically wanted Rohr to go after SNAP representative Joelle Casteix, who was visiting Guam in April 2010 to encourage victims to come forward; and Vice Speaker BJ Cruz, who back in 2010 was working on legislation to lift a statute of limitations on reporting sexual abuse at the church.
“They were asking me to go out there and try to discredit those guys that were trying to bring this to light,” Rohr says. …
UPDATE: The Archdiocese of Agana did not return our calls or messages for comment as of news time. They, did, however, respond via email later this evening. Chancellor Father Adrian Cristobal only stated that “The Archdiocese of Agana declines commenting on internet posts by Mr. Rohr.”
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.