GUAM
Pacific Daily News
This week marks a year since Archbishop Anthony Apuron was removed from the island, and a year since protesters have been demonstrating in front of the cathedral-basilica, demanding that he be defrocked.
When Apuron left the island, he had been accused of molesting Roy Quintanilla, Sonny Quinata and an unnamed cousin of John Toves. Later that day, Walter Denton would come forward, and accuser Roland Sondia spoke out the following week.
A year ago, the church on Guam was in a state of disarray. The group Concerned Catholics of Guam had been declared a “prohibited society.” Ownership of the seminary was in doubt. There was conflict between followers of the Neocatechumenal Way and traditional Catholics.
Although many of Apuron’s actions have been reversed, accusations about sex abuse against children have become much more troubling. If allegations that have been made over the last year are true, dozens of children were molested by people in positions of power over the course of decades. One of those accused, retired priest Louis Brouillard, admitted to molesting boys. In an affidavit signed last year, he said he had confessed his actions to church leaders.
In addition to Apuron and Brouillard, Tomas Camacho, the retired bishop of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa, is accused, as is Apuron’s predecessor, Archbishop Felixberto Flores and others.
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