Church protesters: 'It's not over yet'

By Neil Pang
Guam Daily Post
September 5, 2016

http://www.postguam.com/news/local/church-protesters-it-s-not-over-yet/article_cb889510-7260-11e6-91f6-6f6f1b925aef.html

PROTEST: Roy Quintanilla, one of the first three individuals to come forward and disclose details of sexual abuse at the hands of Archbishop Anthony Apuron while an altar boy at the Agat parish, advocates justice for Apuron's victims during a protest in front of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica in Hagåtña on Sunday, Sept. 4. Photo by Neil Pang

More than 80 individuals gathered outside the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagåtña yesterday, Sept. 4. The gathered crowd comprised members of the Concerned Catholics of Guam (CCOG), Laity Forward Movement (LFM) and Silent No More.

Members of the three organizations routinely gather to hold protests airing their grievances with church authority – primarily in calling for the defrocking of Archbishop Anthony Apuron, who has been accused of child sex abuse during his time as pastor of the Agana parish in the 1970s.

Lou Klitzke, a member of LFM, told the Post that protester turnout has been steadily increasing over the past few weeks.

"Everybody keeps coming out," she said. "We have a very dedicated group of people."

After the protest, picketers gathered for the after-protest breakdown and announcements for the week to come.

"It's not over yet," Klitzke told the crowd.

Rising attendance at protests

Attendance at the weekly church protests has been consistent since they started in June of this year.

Andrew Camacho, vice president of CCOG, was present and told the Post that, as far as possible litigation is concerned, CCOG was still considering legal counsel to represent them in court.

Also present at yesterday's protests were Tim Rohr and Roy Quintanilla.

Quintanilla is one of three individuals that came out earlier this year accusing Apuron of child sex abuse crimes and is currently filing a libel and slander lawsuit against Apuron in light of comments Apuron made questioning the integrity of Quintanilla and his fellow victims.

Rohr was named by archdiocesan officials in connection to a real estate scheme from which he would benefit. Rohr also runs a local blog that documents the disputes surrounding the Catholic Church.

'We should be able to see'

Klitzkie also told the Post about plans to visit the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Yona to tour the facilities to see what their contributions to the Archdiocesan Annual Appeal (AA) actually go toward.

"If, like Archbishop Hon said, the seminary is owned by the Archdiocese (of Agana), then we as Catholics should be able to see," she said.

Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Agana, has repeatedly released statements reiterating the archdiocese's vehement claim to the Yona property, but requesting that those benefiting from a deed restriction placed on the property by Apuron voluntarily repeal the restriction without litigation.

RMS leadership have yet to respond, but Apuron who, as archbishop, controls sole ownership, has stated that not only is he the only one that can lift the restriction, but that he will not do so.

Hon, who is currently off-island attending to official Vatican business, was unavailable for further comment regarding the priest appointments announced last week. One of the appointments was of Mon. David Quitugua to the post of Acting-Rector of RMS.