GUAM
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Agana
Mr. Stephen Martinez, on June 1, 2016, released to the media a number of malicious and intentionally false claims against our Archbishop. Regarding these calumnious statements, the archdiocese points out that:
We are facing one allegation – contradicted by other testimonies – and some unsubstantiated rumors of sexual abuse. We are dealing with unproven allegations, not with proven crimes. To insult the archbishop as Mr. Martinez did is not only against any Christian standard, but also below any standard of due process which have to be granted to every person: a man is innocent until proven guilty and the Archbishop has adamantly denied these allegations.
The Archbishop has always taken very seriously any allegations, and even rumors, of sexual abuse and acted on them: this is what he did in the case of Fr. Paul Gofigan, who was removed when he refused to restrict from active and voluntary church activities a registered sex offender and murderer; this is what he did when he limited the faculties of Fr. John Wadeson following the surfacing of an old unproven allegation (subsequently cleared by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles); and, lately, when Fr. Luis Camacho was removed as pastor, and had his ministry limited, when his only accuser was the same Stephen Martinez who was reporting rumors.
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