BishopAccountability.org
 
 

Saipan's Bishop Emeritus Tomas Camacho Dies

By Haidee V. Eugenio
Pacific Daily News
March 5, 2018

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2018/03/05/saipans-bishop-emeritus-camacho-dies/394026002/

Saipan Bishop Emeritus Tomas A. Camacho

Saipan's Bishop Emeritus Tomas A. Camacho died Monday morning, according to Father James Balajadia of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa. Camacho was 84.

Camacho was the first bishop of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa on Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, from 1984 until his retirement in April 2010, at the age of 76. He has since served as bishop emeritus.

Camacho was also a former priest for the Archdiocese of Agana on Guam.

Bishop Ryan Jimenez, who succeeded Camacho as head of the Catholic Church in the CNMI, said the late bishop died after a long bout of illness.

"He has left us, but he will always be remembered for his warm smile and his dedicated service to our church and to the whole of the CNMI," Jimenez said in a statement.

Jimenez said Mass will be celebrated for Camacho beginning Monday night followed by the rosary, until next Monday.

Funeral Mass is scheduled for Tuesday, March 13, at 11 a.m. at Mt. Carmel Cathedral on Saipan, Jimenez said.

Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes, in a statement, said he and the Catholic Church on Guam express their deep sorrow and extend prayers for Camacho, whom he described as a longtime Chamorro clergyman.

"Bishop Tomas was very well-loved on Guam, Saipan and the Marianas, serving in the priesthood for 56 years. We lift him up in prayers and extend our condolences to his family and those closest to him," Byrnes said.

CNMI mourns the bishop's passing

"It is with deep sadness to inform all the faithful of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa of the passing of Bishop Emeritus Tomas A. Camacho. The Diocese of Chalan Kanoa offers our prayers and condolences to the family of our late Bishop Camacho," according to the diocese's official Facebook page.

Balajadia, a priest at St. Jude Parish in Koblerville, Saipan, said Camacho died at the Commonwealth Health Center Monday morning.

CNMI Gov. Ralph DLG. Torres, in a statement, said he and his family join the CNMI in mourning the bishop's passing.

The governor ordered that all CNMI and U.S. flags lowered to half-staff in respect for the island diocese's first bishop until the day of Camacho's interment.

"Our prayers are with his family, friends, Bishop Ryan P. Jimenez, the clergy, the diocese, and everyone who has had the privilege to meet and experience the love this man of God had for our people and our islands," Torres said. "He has served our community as a teacher, a spiritual guide, and a role model to always keep the faith even in the darkest trials and tribulations. He transformed the hearts of generations within our community through his actions and leadership."

Clergy abuse cases

Camacho is one of the clergy members accused of sexually abusing altar boys on Guam.

Lawsuits filed by alleged victims accuse Camacho of abusing them in the 1960s and 1970s.

The first clergy sex abuse lawsuit against Camacho was filed in February 2017 by former altar boy Melvin Duenas. Duenas alleged that Camacho raped and sexually abused him from about 1971 to 1974, when Camacho was the priest at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Inarajan.

The second lawsuit was filed in April 2017 by a plaintiff identified in court documents only as B.C. to protect his privacy. B.C. alleged that Camacho sexually abused him around 1962, when Camacho was priest at the Nuestra Senora de las Aguas Catholic Church in Mongmong.

Camacho had been ill for years, his lawyer in the clergy abuse case, William M. Fitzgerald, said in July 2017. Fitzgerald said the allegations against Camacho came as a shock and a source of additional strain on the retired bishop’s health. Camacho was born on Sept. 18, 1933.

Fitzgerald had said the allegations against Camacho date back to nearly 50 years ago, making it hard to find witnesses who were present during the period alleged in the cases.

'The CNMI loves Bishop Camacho'

“Everybody in the CNMI loves Bishop Camacho and everybody’s shocked, including the bishop himself about the allegations,” Fitzgerald said at the time. “His health is not good. He basically lives by himself, but people take care of him.”

Fitzgerald, who has been a lawyer in the CNMI since 1974, said despite the allegations, Camacho is strong in his faith and wishes everyone good.

“What I tell him is to keep the faith, and he does," Fitzgerald said last year. "I also hope he goes through this in better health. He continues to pray for everyone.”

Camacho, Saipan’s highest Catholic Church leader for some 25 years, isn't the only bishop in the Marianas who is accused of sexual abuse. Two other bishops from the Marianas have been named in clergy sex abuse cases filed since 2016.

Guam’s archbishop for more than 30 years, Anthony S. Apuron, is accused of raping and sexually abusing four former altar boys in Agat in the 1970s as well as his own nephew in the early 1990s.

The late Archbishop Felixberto C. Flores was also accused of sexually abusing a Catholic school student, around 1966.

 

 

 

 

 




.

 
 

Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.