GUAM
Pacific Daily News
May 5, 2019
Haidee V Eugenio
Back when no one dared to publicly accuse any Guam priest, much less the archbishop, of sexually abusing a child, former Agat resident John Toves did so in 2014.
It was about 12 years after the Archdiocese of Boston’s sex abuse scandal exposed widespread wrongdoing in the American Roman Catholic Church.
“My aunt referred to my brother as the David who slew Goliath,” Noreen Toves-Phillips, of California, said about her brother John
Toves’ call for justice for his cousin, who he said was sexually abused as a child by former Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron, was met with threats of a lawsuit. Toves sparked hope for others who found their courage to tell their stories. Accusers came forward and said Apuron sexually abused, molested and raped them when they were children.
“I’m sure the victims had been living with the pain of his crime, but because of the nature of that kind of trauma, it is not likely that any of it would have come to light if my brother had not brought forth his accusation and had not fought so hard to hold Apuron accountable for his crimes and his sin,” Toves-Phillips said.
Toves died on April 17 in Foster City, California. He was 54. Toves was laid to rest on April 27 in California.
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