GUAM
Pacific Daily News
Haidee V Eugenio , heugenio@guampdn.com March 24, 2017 | Updated 2 hours ago
The Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica, in Hagåtña, incurred $1.9 million in new debt during the past two and a half years, and it is having difficulty paying it back, church leaders said during a press conference Friday, announcing a plan to help stabilize its finances.
Weekly collections at the cathedral of about $10,000 dropped to as little as $4,000 because of ongoing controversy, they said.
The cathedral is now under an internal receivership, which has taken over its financial management and operations to help pay off its debt and meet its monthly obligations.
Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes, in consultation with his presbyteral council and the Archdiocesan Finance Council, said he placed the cathedral under temporary receivership as a last resort.
The Archdiocese of Agana currently faces the possibility of paying at least $155 million in damages in 33 clergy sex abuse lawsuits filed in local and federal court. The cases have not gone to trial, and the church has not yet filed a response to any of the lawsuits.
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