GUAM
Pacific Daily News
[with video]
Haidee V Eugenio, Pacific Daily News September 23, 2016
Gov. Eddie Calvo is weighing the concerns of the Catholic church and the community as he decides what to do with a bill that would allow victims of child sexual abuse to sue their abusers, according to the governor’s office.
Today is the governor’s last day to sign or veto Bill 326-33, or the bill lapses into law without his signature. Senators on Sept. 12 approved the bill 13-0. If it becomes law, it could make the Catholic church on Guam open to lawsuits by those who, in recent months, have publicly accused priests of raping or molesting them.
The Archdiocese of Agana has stated its opposition to the bill, arguing lawsuits could financially cripple the local church. It submitted thousands of signatures to the governor, urging him to veto the measure.
The governor’s director of communications Oyaol Ngirairikl said, “(Calvo is) still contemplating. He’s still going over some of the information that we’ve researched for him. He’s looking at it very carefully because he wants to make the best decision. I think he’s firm in making a decision before the end of the day.”
At around noon Thursday, a press conference was held at the governor’s complex by one of the alleged sexual abuse victims of Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron. The accuser once again for the governor to sign the bill.
“This is not about money or destroying the church. This is about the church taking responsibility. Actual responsibility. True and honest responsibility,” said Roland L. Sondia, who in June publicly accused Apuron of molesting him when Sondia was a 15-year-old altar boy in Agat in the 1970s. “No more talking. No more stalling and hiding and scaring and confusing the public and the Catholic faithful. No more excuses.”
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