GUAM
Pacific News Center
Written by Janela Carrera
The Concerned Catholics of Guam, meanwhile, says Archbishop Hon’s message that the bill would destroy the church is nothing more than “fear mongering.”
Guam – There are differing opinions from experts on bill 326, a measure that seeks to lift the statute of limitations indefinitely and retroactively for pursuing civil claims on child sex abuse.
Former Attorney General Doug Moylan says the measure may not hold up if challenged in court while Concerned Catholics of Guam President Dave Sablan says other dioceses that have had to file bankruptcy as a result of similar legislation have bounced back.
Bill 326 seemed to breeze through the legislature smoothly. People testified in its favor and the measure passed unanimously last week during session. But now, at the eleventh hour, there is a push for the bill to vetoed by the governor. At the helm of that petition is Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, the temporary administrator of the Archdiocese of Agana.
“In my opinion, this is fear mongering of the part of Archbishop Hon. Does he really look at us as being influenced by all this fear mongering that we’re just gonna blindly go and sign this petition after we supported the bill in the legislature. So it’s an insult to us for him to ask us to do this,” says Sablan.
Sablan says Archbishop Hon’s letter did nothing to address the concerns of catholics on Guam and in fact did the opposite.
“So is this really a lot of double speak? Is it really something he really is going to do because between when he said it and when the action is gonna take place, nothing much has happened,” he notes.
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