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	Archdiocese: We Comply with the Law By Dionesis Tamondong Pacific Daily News April 16, 2010 http://www.guampdn.com/article/20100416/NEWS01/4160305 Guam's Catholic church has been complying with a local law that requires the reporting of suspected or alleged child abuse to authorities, said a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Agana. Vice Speaker Benjamin Cruz on Wednesday introduced a bill that amends the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act to specifically require priests and other church officials to report such abuses to police or Child Protective Services. Deacon Jeff Barcinas yesterday said Archbishop Anthony Apuron in 2002 took it upon himself to direct all priests and clergy members to comply with the Reporting Act. "We are already complying with the current law," Barcinas said yesterday. The law lists health professionals, school employees and law enforcement officials among those required to report such cases if they come across them during the course of their practice, though the law applies to anyone who comes into contact with children. Bill 372 would add church officials and employees to that list, from the archbishop and priests to ministers and clerics.Cruz, in a press release Wednesday, said his measure "makes it clear in Guam civil law that clerics cannot claim privileged communications as a basis for failure to make such reports." As a former family court judge, Cruz said he was frustrated by priests' refusal to report alleged abuse because they were prevented by Church rule. The vice speaker is currently off island and couldn't be reached for comment. It's unclear if confessions to a priest would fall under privileged communications. But Barcinas pointed to another section of Guam law, Principles of Evidence under Title 6 of the Guam Code Annotated, that states certain people in positions of confidence cannot be examined as a witness "to matters which are privileged." And among those relationships include certain church officials, Barcinas said. "A clergyman or priest cannot, without the consent of the person making the confession, be examined as to any confession made to him in his professional character in the course of discipline enjoined by the church to which he belongs," the law states. The church refers to this confidence as the seal of confession. "If a priest was ever caught to break the seal of confession, that priest could lose his ministry because that's taken very seriously," Barcinas said. "That's sacred." Barcinas said the church wouldn't comment on whether it's for or against Bill 372. "I can only say what we've done in regards to this matter, and we have been complying with the law," he said. In October, Cruz said the church wasn't dealing with allegations of child sexual abuse effectively, and last month, Support Network of those Abused by Priests Regional Director Joelle Casteix visited Guam to meet confidentially with alleged victims. The Archdiocese of Agana has reiterated that it strictly adheres to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Charter on Sexual Abuse, as ratified by the Holy See. The measure was introduced a day after the Catholic church reiterated its policies on investigating claims of sexual abuse by clergy and its commitment to protect children.
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