GUAM
The Guam Daily Post
Neil Pang | The Guam Daily Post
“There is no reason to believe that survivors will stop coming forward and filing civil lawsuits. … If history is a prologue to the future, the litigation will end in a combination of three ways after the Archdiocese of Agana publicly produces the personnel files: private settlements, public trials with jury verdicts and or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.” – Patrick J. Wall, attorney and former priest
The last few weeks have seen a momentous development in Guam’s clergy sex abuse crisis when the attorney representing more than 80 percent of the alleged victims told a federal court judge he intended to put the cases on hold as he and his clients entered into settlement talks with Hope and Healing Guam.
This brief reprieve was shaken somewhat last week when, during a status conference before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Joaquin Manibusan, attorney David Lujan told the court he was unable to file his motion for a stay until the Archdiocese of Agana provides him with copies of its insurance policy and audited financial statements stretching back to 2010.
These signals of potential settlement talks come at a time when, since the start of this month, damages being sought by accusers of clergy abuse, as filed in federal and local courts, now exceed half a billion dollars.
As of the latest case filings on June 2, total minimum damages from the 76 pending cases come out to $530 million, and the total does not yet take into account 13 cases pursuing damages in amounts to be proven at trial. With the Archdiocesan Finance Council reporting net book assets at about $132 million, which includes churches and schools under the archdiocese, Guam’s Catholic Church now finds itself facing claims that easily surpass its current assets by more than four times.
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