GUAM
Guam Daily Post
Johanna Salinas | Post News Staff
On June 14, the Concerned Catholics of Guam wrote a letter to Pope Francis responding to Archbishop Anthony Apuron’s June 5 decree of banning the group. The letter was sent by Tim Rohr, blogger of Jungle Watch, and was addressed to Pope Francis.
Apuron’s decree titled “Concerning the group so-called ‘Concerned Catholics of Guam’” accused the CCOG of various acts against the church. Apuron labeled them “a prohibited society” for the archdiocese because of their protests against the church hierarchy.
In the CCOG’s letter, Rohr defended the group’s protests. “The Catholic faithful are not obliged to preserve communion with an Ordinary who has violated the trust of the Catholic faithful not just by what is enumerated supra, but by his public threats to take legal action against those who have accused him of sexual molestation rather than provide the duty of care already expressly asked for and required by the Church,” Rohr wrote.
In the letter, Rohr also addressed the ongoing sex abuse allegation made against Apuron. “This Ordinary has violated his own archdiocesan sex abuse policy mandating a duty of care to persons claiming to have suffered sex abuse at the hands of clergy, namely the Ordinary himself; and this Ordinary has threatened all Catholics of this archdiocese with legal action should they publicly join their voices in support of those persons accusing this Ordinary of the sexual molestation of minors,” Rohr wrote.
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