GUAM
The Guam Daily Post
Mindy Aguon | For The Guam Daily Post
A corporate disclosure statement filed by the Archbishop of Agana indicating it is a sole corporation is “misleading and inconsistent” with public records that show the relationship between the archdiocese and the Vatican, according to attorney David Lujan. He contends there is ample grounds on which to find diversity jurisdiction in dozens of child sex abuse cases filed against the church.
Lujan filed an objection to the church’s corporate disclosure statement that declared the Archbishop of Agana has no parent corporation and no publicly traded corporation currently owns 10 percent or more of its stock.
The disclosure statement was filed as the church seeks the dismissal of dozens of child sex abuse lawsuits on the grounds that the federal court lacks diversity jurisdiction and the law that was passed allowing victims of child sexual abuse to file suit years later is “inorganic.”
The attorney represents multiple victims in child sex abuse cases against former Guam priests.
‘Under the thumb of the Holy See’
Lujan maintains the corporate disclosure statement fails to properly represent the true nature of the relationship between the Archbishop of Agana and the Vatican. He contends that although the Archbishop of Agana is formally designated as a sole corporation, “it is in fact clearly subordinate to the Holy See and under its ultimate authority.”
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