On the Vatican’s radar

GUAM
Guam Daily Post

Neil Pang and Gaynor D. Daleno | Post News Staff

When six of the more than a dozen sexual abuse cases for former local altar boys were moved to the federal District Court of Guam earlier last week, one reason for the transfer of jurisdiction was the lack of local judges who didn’t have a conflict or potential conflict.

But there’s another major significance to the transfer of the six cases to the federal court.

The federal court must take jurisdiction, says David Lujan’s law firm, which is representing the accusers, because this isn’t a Guam issue alone.

The cases filed in federal court directly addresses the seat of the Catholic Church’s global leadership: The Vatican, in Rome.

“This probably already has the Vatican scared. Guam is one big, ugly monster on the Vatican’s radar, and it just got real ugly,” said Tim Rohr, who has been a constant commenter on the turmoil in the local Catholic church leadership over the past few years, and runs a blog with local and international followers.

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