GUAM
Pacific Daily News
Bill Pesch
July 10, 2016
Fasten your seat belts, boys and girls! We are about to experience a roller coaster of a legal battle. You can expect many twists and turns, and ups and downs as the slander/libel case against Archbishop Anthony Apuron wends its way through the Superior Court. On July 1, attorney David Lujan, on behalf of four clients, filed a lawsuit against Apuron, the Archdiocese of Agana, and 50 other unnamed defendants.
Many readers may be scratching their heads, saying, “Wait a minute! I thought you recently wrote that the statute of limitations for filing civil actions against Apuron for alleged sexual abuse acts committed years ago has expired. Also, you said that the Guam statute only allows a complainant to file a lawsuit against the alleged perpetrator and not against the archdiocese itself. What is happening here?”
This confusion is understandable. The answer can be found in the nature of the lawsuit itself. Attorney Lujan’s clients aren’t charging Apuron for past acts of sexual abuse. Rather, they are charging him, and others, with very recent incidents of libel and slander. Libel is defined as a false and unprivileged written publication that “exposes any person to hatred, contempt, ridicule … which causes him to be shunned or avoided, or which has a tendency to injure him or his occupation.” Slander is similar to libel, but instead of being written, the statement is made verbally. Under Guam’s statute of limitation, a person is required to file a complaint for either libel of slander within one year of when the statement was published or made.
Lujan’s clients are upset because as they came forward and accused Apuron of past incidents of sexual abuse, he, or others on his behalf, called them “liars” and accused them of “instilling hatred, ignorance and violence in the people.” We all know what is meant when you call someone a “liar.” You are saying that what they said or wrote is untrue and that they knew it was untrue. However, Lujan’s clients are alleging that what they said is true — that Apuron did sexually abuse them. Further, they assert that because Apuron is the head of the Catholic Church on Guam, and because he has denied any wrongdoing and instead accused them of fabricating their accusations, they have been exposed to hatred, contempt, and ridicule by others. Further, they allege that Apuron’s and his supporters’ accusations damage their reputations, subjects them to public scorn, and could possibly impact their ability to make a living.
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