Apuron accusers meet with Vatican tribunal

By Haidee V Eugenio
Pacific Daily News
April 16, 2017

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/04/16/apuron-accusers-meet-vatican-tribunal/100518146/

Former altar boy Walter Denton, right, and Doris Concepcion, mother of a now deceased altar boy, Joseph "Sonny" Quinata, comfort each other in July 2016 after they revisited the rectory of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Agat where Denton said Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron raped him in 1977.

Archbishop Anthony Apuron

A former Agat altar boy and the mother of a now deceased altar boy testified before a Vatican tribunal for the canonical penal trial of Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron, who is accused of raping and sexually abusing four altar boys in the 1970s.

Walter G. Denton, who accused Apuron of raping him during a sleepover at a church rectory when he was 13 in 1977, said he gave his testimony to the Vatican tribunal led by Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke on March 17 at the Archbishop’s Residence in San Francisco, California.

“I have waited a long time to tell people my story. Telling my story to the tribunal was like telling my story to the Pope. I feel that these Vatican officials are representing the Pope himself. I wanted everyone to hear my testimony. I just wanted to tell someone who would listen to what happen to me,” Denton told Pacific Daily News.

Denton said the tribunal is hoping that Apuron’s canonical trial would be completed sometime early summer, based on information he got from the Rev. Justin M. Wachs. Wachs serves as the Vatican court reporter for the Apuron trial.

Denton, now living in Casa Grande, Arizona, said he cannot talk about the specifics of his testimony or what was said in the tribunal.

He, however, said testifying before the Vatican tribunal was just another step in his healing process and his quest for justice.

“The tribunal made me feel comfortable as they introduced themselves to me. As I sat before the tribunal, I felt that they were there to listen to what I had to say,” Denton, 53, said, adding that the meeting lasted a little over two-and-a-half hours.

Doris Concepcion, mother of a now deceased former altar boy, Joseph “Sonny” A. Quinata, also gave her testimony to the Vatican tribunal, in Arizona, Denton said.

Concepcion was still at the hospital, a relative of hers said, when the PDN contacted her last week by phone. She lives in Prescott, Arizona.

“Although I do not know the date, I can say that Mrs. Concepcion did give her testimony to Cardinal Burke while she was in the hospital in Arizona,” Denton said.

Concepcion has said publicly that almost in his deathbed in May 2005, her son revealed that Apuron molested him in the late 1970s.  Quinata's brother also testified before senators in July 2016 that Apuron raped his brother, when his brother was 9 years old.

Denton provided the testimony in California about a month after Burke and the rest of the Vatican tribunal was on Guam from Feb. 16 to 18, to hear testimony from witnesses and one Apuron accuser, Roland Sondia. But with the advice of attorney David Lujan, Sondia didn’t testify before the tribunal, without Lujan’s presence in the room.

According to Roy Quintanilla, another Apuron accuser living in Hawaii, he also didn’t provide testimony to the Vatican tribunal led by Burke.

The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith named Burke, in October, to be the presiding judge in its trial of Apuron, Guam’s archbishop for nearly 31 years now.

Apuron, who turns 72 on Nov. 1, is the first bishop or archbishop from Guam to undergo a Vatican trial.

Pope Francis suspended Apuron on June 6, weeks after former altar boys of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Agat started publicly accusing Apuron of rape and sexual abuse when he was the parish priest there.

Denton said there are times in life where the words “Thank you” are so insufficient in their ability to convey the level of gratitude he has for someone or a group of people based on what they have done for him.

“Today is one those times in my life right now,” he said.

Denton said he is thankful for the people of Guam for their caring support.

“I ask all of you to continue showing your support to all the victims and their loved ones while they transition through these difficult times,” he said.

He also thanked the Concerned Catholics of Guam, the Laity Forward Movement, Silent No More, his close friends and family for all they have done in support of victims of child sexual abuse.

David Sablan, president of Concerned Catholics, said Sunday that the organization is thankful for Denton and Concepcion for giving their testimony to the Vatican tribunal about Apuron.

"We hope and pray that their testimony will remove Apuron as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Agana and is also laicized or defrocked. We continue to pray for and support Mr. Denton, Mrs. Concepcion and other Apuron accusers. We also continue to pray for and support the other victims of clergy abuse. We hope everyone receives justice and healing," Sablan said.

Tim Rohr, who writes about critical church issues on his blog JungleWatch and who had been in contact with Denton and other Apuron accusers months before they came forward publicly, said he's extremely grateful that Denton and Concepcion gave their testimony to the Vatican tribunal, adding that their testimony is critical to Apuron's trial.

Rohr said from the start, the victims want the Vatican to take action against Apuron and testifying before a tribunal will help lead to that action.

"The only court that can find Apuron guilty is the canonical court," Rohr said Sunday, adding that the civil cases filed against Apuron and other clergy can only find them liable.

Denton said the Vatican has heard their pleas and cries for help and for justice.

"We all have come a long way and I will continue to fight for justice for all the victims of child sexual abuse,” Denton said. “For those victims who are afraid or confused about coming out, please find the courage to come out and tell your story. By doing this, you will find a sense of relief from carrying this heavy burden and it will be a ‘secret no more’. Remember, there are many people who care and who will support.”

On Sept. 23, 2016, Gov. Eddie Calvo signed a bill lifting the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse. That law paved the way for 49 clergy sex abuse cases filed so far in federal and local court against the Archdiocese of Agana, along with some of its former and current clergy, the Boy Scouts of America and the Capuchin Franciscans. The archdiocese has also offered an alternative program to address clergy sex abuse cases, called the Hope and Healing Guam.