Pope ends summit with no word on Apuron, drawing disappointment

By Haidee V Eugenio
Pacific Daily News
February 26, 2019

https://bit.ly/2SptTZO

Arizona resident Doris Concepcion, whose late son Joseph A. Quinata alleged he was molested by Archbishop Anthony Apuron, participates in the last protest before the Vatican's decision to remove him from the archdiocese at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagåtña on July 9, 2017. Photo by Frank San Nicolas

Pope Francis closed on Sunday a four-day summit on the protection of children without any word on Guam Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron’s case.

That drew criticism from groups seeking justice for clergy sex abuse victims and the mother of one of the boys Apuron allegedly abused.

For nearly a year now, the pope has been reviewing Apuron's appeal of a Vatican tribunal’s verdict finding Apuron guilty of "certain accusations" involving sexual abuse of minors.

“It was very disappointing and disturbing Apuron’s appeal was not addressed. I feel the pope has let my son, Sonny, and other victims and our island down once again,” said Doris Y. Concepcion, who accused Apuron of sexually molesting her late son, who was an altar boy in Agat in the 1970s.

Concepcion, who now lives in Arizona, testified in Apuron's canonical trial in 2017.

Like Concerned Catholics of Guam and other advocacy groups, Concepcion was hoping the pope would make an announcement at the Feb. 21-24 Vatican summit about Apuron’s nearly year-long appeal.

"The summit is a ruse," Concepcion said..

Clergy sex abuse survivors who gathered at the Vatican, along with victim advocacy groups, expressed disappointment about the perceived lack of concreteness in proposed remedies at the summit.

Zach Hiner, executive director for the Missouri-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, the world's largest and oldest survivors group for abuse victims, said the summit ended up with "reflection points and conversation" instead of concrete steps to punish the likes of Apuron.

"While we didn't expect to get everything that we wanted, we did hope that the pope would take concrete actions to punish abusers like Archbishop Apuron or church officials who have covered up abuse like Cardinal Daniel DiNardo," Hiner said "Instead, we got only reflection points and conversation."

Hiner said "it is time that survivors and advocates put their hopes for change in the hands of secular officials in law enforcement because it is clear that the church is going to continue dragging their feet in getting to the bottom of the sex abuse crisis."

Concerned Catholics of Guam had petitioned the pope to sustain the Vatican tribunal's guilty verdict and the penalties imposed in the Apuron case. If the pope rejects the appeal and sustain the verdict, the sentence imposed on Apuron by the Vatican tribunal will be in effect, including Apuron's permanent exile from Guam and being stripped of his title of Archbishop of Agana. 

David Sablan, president of Concerned Catholics of Guam, said: "We're disappointed that we haven't heard about the pope's decision in the Apuron case, considering the timeline," Sablan said.

In August, the pope said he decided to form a commission of canon law experts to help him address the Apuron appeal himself. The pope said a recommendation on the could be ready in a month, which was September 2018.

The pope's summit brought together heads of bishops' conferences around the globe to help them clearly understand what they must do about the clergy sex abuse crisis, with emphasis on responsibility, accountability and transparency.

Pope Francis described clergy who abuse minors and others who cover up for them as "tools of Satan."

"The Church will spare no effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whosoever has committed such crimes. The Church will never seek to hush up or not take seriously any case," the pope said.

A day after the summit concluded, an Australian court announced Cardinal George Pell, the pope's top financial adviser, was convicted of molesting two choirboys moments after celebrating Mass in late 1996. Pell is the most senior Catholic cleric ever charged with child sex abuse.