Byrnes considering Apuron’s return for trial

GUAM
Pacific News Center

April 5, 2019

By Julius Santos

Archbishop Michael J. Byrnes of the Archdiocese of Hagåtña, during a press conference Friday, April 5, said he is willing to request Vatican leadership to allow former Guam archbishop Anthony Apuron to come back to Guam and stand trial.

“I’ll see what they say,” Byrnes said.

The Vatican has officially removed Apuron from his post and upheld its initial guilty ruling announced in March 2018. Apuron appealed the ruling asserting his innocence, which he still clings to, to this day.

During the press conference, the focus of Byrnes is on the healing of those who were directly affected by this case, as well as Guam’s faithful. The matter of providing closure to the victims and their families also came up.

Since the first case on child abuse was unearthed more than two decades ago, certain sectors of the community criticized the church.

When asked how he can defend the church after the discovery of past clergy abuse cases, Byrnes said, “The church is more than its priests. It’s more than its bishops. It’s the place where Jesus Christ is consecrated in the Eucharist.”

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