Pacific News Minute: Priest Who Admitted to Sex Abuse on Guam Gives Evidence

By Neal Conan
Hawaii Public Radio
November 1, 2017

http://hawaiipublicradio.org/post/pacific-news-minute-priest-who-admitted-sex-abuse-guam-gives-evidence

So far, 141 suits have been filed in Guam alleging sex abuse by priests. The most recent just last week. This week, the man named in more than half those cases provides sworn evidence. We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

Retired priest Louis Brouillard will be deposed by attorneys for the accusers in Pine City, Minnesota, where he now lives.

Last year, in a signed affidavit, Brouillard admitted to the sexual assault of more than 20 boys. He also said that church officials on Guam were aware of his activities but offered no corrective other than prayer. He served as a priest in the Diocese of Duluth from 1981 to 1985 and his name appears on a list released by the Diocese of priests facing credible accusations of child sexual abuse.

According to the Pacific Daily News, three of the most recent lawsuits accuse Brouillard of abusing boys he flew from Guam to Minnesota for that purpose.

In early October, a Vatican tribunal apparently reached a decision in the canonical trial of Guam Archbishop Anthony Apuron - he’s accused of abusing altar boys in his time as a parish priest.

The Director of Communications at the Diocese of Angana told the Guam Daily Post that, when it’s released, the ruling will list the specific charges, a verdict of guilty, not guilty, or not proven. And in the event that he’s found guilty, the penalty.

Archbishop Michael Byrnes, appointed co-adjutator on Guam by Pope Francis, has said it would be “disastrous” if Archbishop Apuron returns. In an interview with the Pacific Daily News to mark a year since his appointment, Archbishop Byrnes said he’s met with some victims and their families and he’s committed the diocese to a more victim centered approach.