GUAM
Guam Daily Post
The past two weeks have seen a number of developments in the ongoing dispute between Archbishop Anthony Apuron and concerned Catholic laity over the Redemptoris Mater Seminary (RMS) property in Yona.
The most recent development is a statement released by Apuron on Thursday, Aug. 25. Jacqueline Terlaje, legal representative of Apuron, issued a statement with the first words from Apuron since his disappearance from public view in June.
In the release, Apuron confirmed statements made by the Archdiocese of Agana and RMS administrators in which ownership of the Yona property was concluded in favor of the archbishop. However, the main concern of the statement seemed to be the allegations that he defied the Pope, as stated in the media following Hon’s an Aug. 18 statement from Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Agana.
Apuron claimed that the decisions he undertook in regard to the purchase and subsequent management of the former Hotel Accion were done within ecclesiastical law and under the advisement of both the Archdiocesan Finance Council and College of Consulters, contrary to reports from the Concerned Catholics of Guam and other sources. Apuron cited a number of threats, as he perceived them, to the spiritual well-being of Guam Catholics and concluded that he could not “in conscience” lift the deed restriction as requested by Hon.
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