Apuron's canonical trial: What we know so far

By Haidee V Eugenio
Pacific Daily News
October 9, 2016

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2016/10/09/apurons-canonical-trial-what-we-know-so-far/91712460/

In this file photo, protestors call for Archbishop Anthony Apuron to be defrocked outside the Dulce Nombre de Cathedral Basilica in Hagåtña.

Guam Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron, 70, is one of 84 bishops worldwide who have been accused publicly of sexual wrongdoing, according to BishopAccountability.org, a group tracking public records involving bishops.

Apuron has been publicly accused of raping two altar boys and sexually abusing two others in the 1970s when he was the parish priest at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Agat.

To date, just four accused bishops worldwide have been laicized, according to the website. Laicization, in the canon law of the Catholic Church, is the removal of a bishop, priest or deacon from the status of being a member of the clergy. The term corresponds closely in meaning to defrocking, which the Concerned Catholics of Guam wants to happen to Apuron.

The Vatican is preparing for the canonical trial of Apuron, said Rev. Jeff San Nicolas, delegate of the Archdiocese of Agana’s temporary apostolic administrator.

There is also no telling whether Apuron, if found guilty of the allegations against him, will be removed as the archbishop of Guam, as Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai the temporary apostolic administrator for the Archdiocese of Agana, requested the Holy See during a September visit to Rome, or laicized.

Canon lawyer Jennifer Haselberger, a Minnesota-based expert in church law, said there haven't been enough trials of bishops to reach any conclusion about what penalty is normal.

“It will be for the judges to determine the penalty warranted, which could be dismissal from the clerical state or removal from office,” Haselberger said.

The trial won't be open to the public, she said.

“The most important thing to realize is that canon law uses the civil system of law, not the common law. So, the trial is not going to resemble what we think of as a trial in the United States,” said Haselberger, who served as chancellor for canonical affairs in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis until April of 2013, when she resigned in protest of the archdiocese's handling of sexual misconduct by clergy.

During canonical trials, alleged victims may not be interviewed at all.

“I think that the victims would be interviewed, although not necessarily in Rome, unless it is unnecessary because the information is already available through lawsuits or police reports,” Haselberger said.

Hon said information about the allegations against Apuron, including news reports, have been forwarded to Rome. Hon has been the temporary apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Agana after the Vatican placed Apuron on leave on June 6.

Hon said the pope has his “way of considering things,” referring to his request to have Apuron removed, and that things like this “take time.”

“I can assure you that the gravely serious allegations against Archbishop Apuron will continue to be dealt with by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, which will hold a canonical trial. His Holiness, Pope Francis, is monitoring the proceedings,” Hon said in a public message from Rome.

If a bishop is accused of sexually abusing a minor, the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith is to be notified, Haselberger said.

In June, Hon and the Presbyteral Council of the Archdiocese of Agana asked Apuron to resign. When that was unsuccessful, Hon asked the Holy See to remove Apuron. Hon is the secretary of the Catholic Church’s Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, which is responsible for missionary work and related activities.

San Nicolas said earlier that trials involving bishops are very rare so the Vatican needs to “put together the mechanisms, the people, in order to have that type of trial so they’re in the kind of preliminary stage right now.”

Haselberger, who has practiced as a canon lawyer in the U.S. and internationally, said Vatican policy dictates that only Rome can investigate bishops who are accused of sexual abuse.

Apuron, born and raised on Guam, has been the island’s archbishop since 1986. The church hasn't made any announcement as to where Apuron is. Apuron sent a video message, purportedly from Rome, in late May.

But Apuron’s canonical trial isn't the only controversial challenge facing the Catholic Church of Guam.

Apuron, the Archdiocese of Agana and up to 50 other people are facing a $2 million libel and slander lawsuit stemming from Apuron and other church officials’ public statements, calling Apuron’s accusers liars when they came forward to accuse him of sexually abusing and raping them in the 1970s.

The Archdiocese of Agana is also bracing for possible civil lawsuits, after Gov. Eddie Calvo, on Sept. 23 signed a law lifting the statute of limitations, and allowing victims of child sexual abuse to sue their abusers and anyone who helped them, along with the institutions with which they are affiliated.

Besides Apuron, other current and former members of the Guam clergy who have been publicly accused of molesting altar boys in Guam include the Rev. Louis Brouillard and the late Rev. Antonio Cruz. The alleged abuses happened between the 1950s and the 1970s.