Pro-apuron Group Leader Says Neocatechumenal Way Not to Blame for Church's Problems
By Haidee V Eugenio
Dr. Ricardo B. Eusebio, president of I Familian Mangatoliku Siha Pari Si Apuron or Catholic Families for Apuron, on Wednesday said the Neocatechumenal Way should not be blamed for everything that is going wrong with the local church. The Rev. Jeff San Nicolas, during a press conference Tuesday arranged by the Archdiocese of Agana, said leaders of the Neocatechumenal Way, locally and internationally, have been interfering with the Guam church, to the detriment of other Catholics. The Neocatechumenal Way is a movement within the Catholic church whose practices sometimes are at odds with those of Guam’s traditional Catholic community. Apuron, who belongs to the group, has been placed by the Vatican on temporary leave over sex abuse allegations. “I think the Neocatechumenal Way has been made to be the boogeyman. Everything that you don’t like is a fault of the Neocatechumenal Way," Eusebio said. "The advances, the reputation of the Neocatechumenal Way, has been harmed significantly because of this." Eusebio, who has been a member of the group on Guam for 19 years, said the Neocatechumenal Way has more than 700 members on Guam. At least nine of the Catholic parishes on the island have members of the Neocatechumenal Way in them, he said. Eusebio, who also is on the board of directors for the Redemptoris Mater Seminary — which is operated by the Neocatechumenal Way — said he blames the church leadership under Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai and San Nicolas for failing to oppose, early on, a bill that would allow child sex abuse victims to sue the perpetrators and the institutions with which they are associated.
Hon last weekend issued a statement opposing the bill, arguing lawsuits could financially cripple the Guam church and its services, including schools. “I think that’s a very, very important question because we were relying on the church to be able to say something,” Eusebio said. “We did not create the organization until we recognized that the church, at the time, which is being represented by Archbishop Hon (and) Father Jeff, said nothing and so realizing that these people are not going to say anything, we decided to do something about it and this is what we’re trying to do.” The Archdiocese of Agana started circulating a petition, asking Gov. Eddie Calvo to veto the child sex abuse bill, Bill 326-33, which was approved by the Legislature on Sept. 12 by a vote of 13-0. San Nicolas, Hon's delegate, said at 2:50 p.m. Wednesday, the archdiocese submitted the petitions to the governor’s office for the governor’s review. Calvo has until Friday to act on the bill or it lapses into law without his signature. “More than 4,500 signatures were gathered in a span of four days from the various parishes, schools, and institutions within our Archdiocese,” San Nicolas said in a statement. A group endorsing the bill, called Silent No More, gathered more than 3,000 signatures for a petition that encouraged the Legislature to pass it. Eusebio said the bill needs to be recalled, reassessed and turned into a comprehensive bill. “And so I don’t know how many altar boys there are that have been molested by priests, but I’m willing to bet that there are more people, more kids out there who have been involved in incestuous relationships, who have been molested by somebody with authority in government of Guam, and that’s who I also want to include in a comprehensive bill, and that’s why I think that need not be signed by the governor and should go back to the Legislature,” Eusebio said. Apuron has been accused of raping and sexually abusing four Agat altar boys in the 1970s when he was parish priest. He has not been charged with any crime. Eusebio said he does not know where Apuron is at the moment, or when his canonical trial begins.
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