Hon working for unity

By Neil Pang
Guam Daily Post
August 3, 2016

http://www.postguam.com/news/local/hon-working-for-unity/article_3f09fb36-5953-11e6-86d2-fbcd3ff01da1.html

Since holding his first press conference last week, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Agana, has been meeting with local media outlets to address concerns of the public. In recent months, the Catholic Church has come under scrutiny for its failure to address child sexual abuse allegations that surfaced earlier this year.

Starting in mid-May, four people – Roy Quintanilla, Walter Denton, Roland Sondia and Doris Concepcion – have made allegations of sexual molestation of altar boys by Archbishop Anthony Apuron when he was a parish priest altar boy at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Agat in the 1970s.

Hon arrived in Guam in early June to serve as the apostolic administrator for the island in the place of Apuron who had been put on leave by Pope Francis on June 6.

Apuron's whereabouts are unknown and Hon reaffirmed his lack of information regarding Apuron. "He (Apuron) is on leave so he has free reign to travel where he wants," Hon told the Post. Hon dispelled any reports that Apuron is on island.

Hon reiterated that the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith was the Vatican authority responsible for investigating matters of alleged child sex abuse against members of the clergy.

Hon also recently announced revisions to the church's policy for addressing allegations of sexual misconduct. The new policy states that if allegations of sexual misconduct are made against the archbishop himself, that he must recuse himself immediately. The diocese must then present the case to the Vatican which must then keep local church authorities abreast of its findings.

New allegation

On Monday, Aug. 1, at the public hearing for Bill 326 that aims to remove the statute of limitations on civil suits by victims of child sex abuse, Leo Tudela, 73, became the fifth individual this year with allegations of child sex abuse by church authorities. In his testimony, Tudela named Rev. Louis Brouillard, and implicated two other members of the church in a personal testimony that alleged instances of sexual abuse and misconduct that took place in local parishes while he was a student and altar boy attending Catholic school in the 1950s.

Brouillard ministered in Guam from 1948 to 1981 at parishes around the island and at Father Duenas Memorial School. Tudela arrived in Guam in 1956 and alleged that Brouillard molested him while he was an altar boy at Santa Teresita Church in Mangilao. Tudela's testimony of abuse by Brouillard is corroborated by Brouillard's assignment record, which listed Brouillard's assignment at the Mangilao church from 1955 to 1966.

After leaving Guam, Brouillard continued his ministry in Minnesota until 1985 when he was removed from ministry. Following church protocol, the Archdiocese of Agana started providing for Brouillard's retirement expenses in the form of monthly checks. Deacon Stephen Martinez, former chief financial officer, Archdiocese of Agana, stated, "I remember preparing monthly checks to Fr. Louis Brouillard for Anthony Apuron's signature. These checks were sent to Brouillard every month to his residence in Minnesota." Martinez stated that he processed such checks from 2006 to 2011. He told the Post that the standard amount of each check was $900, but that it was reduced to $650 at some point. According to Hon, it is church policy to provide basic compensation to priests who serve under the archdiocese even if they are off-island. To his knowledge, Brouillard is still on the Archdiocese of Agana's payroll, Hon said.

Administering the archdiocese

Hon extended his invitation to meet with the plaintiffs of a libel and slander suit against the archdiocese, to include Tudela. In response to criticism of the slow response time of the archdiocese to address the claims of sexual misconduct, Hon said, "I appreciate people that have high expectations. If I say anything at all, it must be coherent to the church. It must be something that is the truth." Hon said that he must be careful not to implicate or suggest any kind of attempt at cover-up by reacting too quickly.

Hon said that there has been an atmosphere of misinformation concerning his authority. "They expect me to do something beyond my competence. They say that I have full power to force resignations, (but) everything has a certain process." Hon said that when he first came to Guam in January 2015, he noticed some miscommunication between the archdiocese and the laity.

Tony Diaz, the editor of Umatuna Si Yu'os, the archdiocesan newspaper, said that the fact that the archbishop is meeting with media is unprecedented and that the relationship between the archdiocese and the media was not at all favorable over past years largely because of such statements by Apuron that Hon has since retracted. "He (Hon) has never asked to hold back the tough questions."

In his efforts to "heal wounds," Hon has met one-on-one with the priests of the archdiocese to ask them if they were willing to work toward the unity of the church. In order to establish credibility, Hon asked priests to submit courtesy resignation letters to signify their commitment to that end and to be able to move priests around with greater ease. Hon stated that of the priests he met with, not all were willing to submit such letters but did not disclose details.

In regard to Bill 326, Hon said, "The consequences of this bill are immense – they touch every walk of life and is a great concern of the people." The bill is still under study by Hon and the archdiocese and he has no comment about it at this time.

Hon again expressed his desire to meet with the plaintiffs and explained that it was his hope that their "common language" of faith would help facilitate healing. "Unity is not a magic wand that I can wave and make things better – that's a superficial view, he said. Hon ended by stating simply, "I'm here."

Rev. Louis Brouillard assignments

On Monday, Aug. 1, during the public hearing on Bill 326, 73-year-old Leo Tudela accused Rev. Louis Brouillard of molesting him when he was an altar boy in the 1950s.

Brouillard was born July 27, 1921 and ordained on Dec. 17, 1948 according to bishopaccountability.org.

The following is a record of Brouillard’s assignments according to the bishopaccountability website:

1948 to 1949: St. Jude Thaddeus Church in Sinajana.

1949 to 1955: San Vicente Ferrer Church in Barrigada.

1955 to 1966: Santa Teresita Church in Mangilao.

1966 to 1968: Sick leave.

1968 to 1976: Father Duenas Memorial School and Seminary in Tai, Mangilao.

1976 to 1978: No information.

1978 to 1979: San Vicente Ferrer Church in Barrigada.

1979 to 1981: St. William’s Church in Tumon.

1981 to 1984: St. Joseph’s Church in Beroun, Minnesota

1984 to 1985: St. Mary’s Church in Keewatin, Minn.

Brouillard was removed from active ministry Nov. 12, 1985. His name was included on a list released by the Duluth, Minnesota diocese in December 2013 of priests who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse of young persons while serving in the diocese.