Agana Cathedral under Internal Receivership over $1.9m Debt
By Haidee V Eugenio
The Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica, in Hagatna, incurred $1.9 million in new debt during the past two and a half years, and it is having difficulty paying it back, church leaders said during a press conference Friday, announcing a plan to help stabilize its finances. Weekly collections at the cathedral of about $10,000 dropped to as little as $4,000 because of ongoing controversy, they said. The cathedral is now under an internal receivership, which has taken over its financial management and operations to help pay off its debt and meet its monthly obligations. Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes, in consultation with his presbyteral council and the Archdiocesan Finance Council, said he placed the cathedral under temporary receivership as a last resort. The Archdiocese of Agana currently faces the possibility of paying at least $155 million in damages in 33 clergy sex abuse lawsuits filed in local and federal court. The cases have not gone to trial, and the church has not yet filed a response to any of the lawsuits. Richard Untalan, president of the Archdiocesan Finance Council, made the announcement of an internal receivership during a Friday afternoon press conference. Untalan said about $1.1 million of the cathedral's debt is outstanding payables to suppliers, vendors and other creditors. He said the remaining $800,000is owed to the Bank of Guam, and the council has not yet determined how that money, which refinanced part of an older loan, was spent. The original loan was used for renovations and repairs at the cathedral, Untalan said. That loan was almost paid off when it was refinanced and a new amount was borrowed from the bank, he said. Untalan said placing the cathedral under internal receivership is “not highly unusual but still an unusual step.” “But again, with the cooperation of Father Paul (Gofigan), we are going to have to turn the cathedral around,” he said. ‘Turmoil’ Antoinette “Toni” D. Sanford, the chairwoman of the three-member Archdiocesan Receivership Committee that Byrnes appointed on March 9, said for this fiscal year alone, the cathedral has already posted a $194,000 deficit. “There’s a turmoil that’s ongoing and it’s very evident ... in the cathedral basilica,” she said, referring to the decline in the number of parishioners going to the cathedral and supporting it financially. Sanford said she hopes families who helped build the cathedral and other former parishioners will come back. Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron, who is undergoing a Vatican canonical penal trial, removed Monsignor James Benavente as rector of the cathedral basilica in 2014, creating an uproar among parishioners. Apuron named Monsignor David Quitugua as rector in July 2014. When Pope Francis suspended Apuron in June 2016, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai appointed the Rev. Paul Gofigan as rector of the cathedral. Ricardo Duenas, a member of the Archdiocesan Receivership Committee, said prior to Benavente’s removal as rector, the cathedral’s basket collection was about $10,000 a week. When sex abuse allegations against Apuron surfaced, on top of his questionable financial and leadership decisions, the number of parishioners coming to the cathedral declined, and so did the weekly collection, Archdiocesan Finance Council members said. Gofigan said when Hon appointed him rector in September 2016, the weekly basket collection was about $4,000. Duenas said that was not enough to meet the cathedral’s obligations, including paying off debts. After a few months, the collection has started to increase again, to about $7,000 a week, Gofigan said. Untalan said Gofigan has instituted transparency with the weekly release of the basket collections. Untalan and other council members said the previous lack of accountability and financial transparency, along with the sex abuse allegations against Apuron, contributed to the financial mess that the cathedral finds itself in. “I knew that the basilica was pretty much deep in debt, it was drowning, so I cried out for help to Archbishop Hon and also the Curia to please help the Agana Cathedral Basilica in trying to get itself above water,” Gofigan said, adding that he also thanks Byrnes and the receivership committee. Main task Byrnes, who was appointed by the pope in October, said the Archdiocesan Receivership Committee’s duties and powers include developing and implementing an effective financial recovery plan and an overhaul of the cathedral’s financial governance and administration. Besides Sanford and Duenas, also a member of the receivership committee is Artemio B. Ilagan. They are all members of the reconstituted Archdiocesan Finance Council. The receivership committee is also tasked with reconstituting parish councils, fulfilling government compliance obligations, secure and manage all the assets, and bringing all its accounts current, among other things. “Our office pledges our continuing support of Father Paul and the cathedral-basilica. Together, we can right the ship and restore the confidence of the faithful we have promised to serve,” Byrnes said in a March 23 open letter. Contact: heugenio@guampdn.com
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