GUAM
Pacific Daily News
October 27, 2017
by Haidee V Eugenio
[Note: Includes video interview]
Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes, who marks his first year on Guam, said one of his challenges has been addressing the loss of trust in the church and island clergy.
Pope Francis appointed Byrnes, 59, on Oct. 31, 2016, giving him the rights to succeed Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron should Apuron resign, retire or is removed.
Apuron is undergoing a Vatican canonical trial and is accused of sexually abusing or raping four altar boys in the 1970s when he was the parish priest in Agat.
Byrnes said the most challenging reality for him is dealing with child sexual abuse on Guam, allegedly committed by the clergy decades ago, and restoring people’s faith in the Catholic church and its leaders.
Byrnes said no current member of the clergy on Guam has been accused of abuse, and, should that happen, the Archdiocese of Agana is better equipped to deal with the matter because of new and revised policies to protect the young. Among other things, an independent panel, and not the archbishop, will decide how to proceed with accusations.
There are now 140 Guam clergy sex abuse lawsuits filed in local and federal court, with the latest one filed on Oct. 27.
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