GUAM
KUAM
Updated: Aug 04, 2016
By Sabrina Salas Matanane
The Concerned Catholics of Guam group is questioning why a priest accused of child sex abuse is still getting paid by the Archdiocese of Agana. As a matter of fact, the CCOG has been questioning the alleged actions of this priest since January 2015.
During a recent public hearing on Bill 326, legislation to lift the statute of limitations on child sex abuse cases, Leo Tudela alleged he was abused by members of the clergy when he was 13 years old. He came from Saipan to Guam to attend Catholic school and eventually became an altar boy at the Santa Teresita Church in Mangilao. That’s where he encountered Father Louis Brouillard, who he alleges sexually molested him.
“I was shocked and felt very uncomfortable,” Tudela said earlier this week. “I was shaking, scared, and started to cry.” Since his testimony, apostolic administrator Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai has gone on various media, including KUAM Radio, acknowledging the tremendous pain Tudela is experiencing for coming forward and assures the community the matter has been referred to the archdiocese’s sexual abuse response coordinator (SARC).
Ironically, allegations involving Fr. Brouillard have been reported to the former SARC before. Matter of fact, in a report compiled by the CCOG in January 2015 it states that the priest was stripped of his faculties by former Archbishop Felixberto Flores after credible allegations arose against him. Fr. Brouillard then went back to his home state of Minnesota.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.