HAGåTñA (GUAM)
Pacific Daily News [Hagåtña, Guam]
May 10, 2025
By Jojo Santo Tomas
(This story has been updated to include a statement from the plaintiffs’ attorney.)
Former Archbishop Anthony Apuron on Wednesday broke his years of silence in a video message, maintaining he’s innocent of the clergy sex abuse allegations against him.
He issued a video message after plaintiffs initiated proceedings that sought dismissal of cases, according to his attorney. Apuron is required to agree to the dismissal, his counsel said.
He did, and the parties filed a motion that dismisses with prejudice eight clergy sex abuse cases and one defamation case against him.
Delia Lujan Wolff, attorney for the plaintiffs, on Wednesday night said dismissal of the plaintiffs’ claims against Apuron “is not evidence that Apuron did not sexually abuse or defame them.”
“To be clear, Apuron has not been vindicated by the dismissals and they do not affirm his innocence. While our clients have dismissed their claims against Apuron, after delays in taking his deposition due to Apuron’s alleged health problems and his claim that he has very limited financial resources, they continue to stand by their allegations that Apuron did horrible things to them,” Wolff stated. “In fact, our clients have already received partial relief on their claims.”
A federal judge has yet to act on the voluntary dismissal.
Apuron, in his video message, shared by his attorney, Jacqueline Terlaje, said he can now speak freely about the canonical process.
“The canonical process did not result in my laicization. No priest or bishop who has been found guilty of these crimes has remained a priest or bishop as I have. This indicates my innocence,” he said.
‘Forever disgraced’
Apuron was stripped of his title, permanently removed from his post and was exiled, after a Vatican tribunal found him guilty related to sexual abuse of minors. He left Guam in 2016.
He lost his appeal and the Vatican tribunal in 2019 upheld the earlier guilty verdict.
The plaintiffs’ attorney, Wolff, said “as a result of the Vatican finding Apuron ‘guilty of delicts against the Sixth Amendment with minors’ and Apuron losing his appeal, Apuron was removed from the office of the Archbishop of Agana and perpetually prohibited from dwelling, even temporarily, in Guam.”
“That is huge for our clients. He has been forever disgraced and he cannot change that with a press release,” Wolff stated.
‘Injustice in silence’
Apuron, who was the head of the Catholic Church on Guam for some 30 years, said he was unjustly condemned by the media and by public opinion because of false accusations made against him, and that he accepted the injustice in silence.
“Today I pray to God to have mercy on those who smeared my reputation and destroyed my life for economic and political reasons…and also for those who judged me listening to them. United to the Lord I can say: Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.”
Apuron said many people have expressed their solidarity and support to him and that many people in the Archdiocese of Agana know the truth.
He said a climate of fear remains in the church of Guam, created, he said, by people who want to destroy Guam and have no shame using the church to gain money and power.
“I pray that one day my exile may be lifted and that I may return to my beloved motherland. I keep living this time in prayer and offer my sufferings also for my enemies and for those who condemned me,” he said. “I pray also for the current Archbishop of Guam, may the Lord give him strength, discernment and courage to seek the truth and to do what is right.”
Can’t bring same claims
Apuron’s counsel issued a press release following the filing of the stipulation.
“The claims against Archbishop Apuron have now been voluntarily dismissed with prejudice, meaning that these plaintiffs are prohibited from bringing the same claims against him ever again,” Terlaje stated.
She said these “voluntary dismissals bring to a close nearly a decade of protracted litigation.”
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood, who has presided over the Guam clergy sex abuse cases and the Archdiocese of Agana bankruptcy case, has yet to act on the voluntary dismissal.
Also named in the lawsuits were the Archdiocese of Agana, which settled the cases to exit bankruptcy; the Holy See; and several Capuchin Franciscan entities.
The cases included eight allegations of sexual abuse dating back to the 1970s, mostly from former Hågat alter boys and one defamation case.
‘Made a settlement offer’
Plaintiffs’ counsel earlier stated in a court filing that during a Zoom meeting, “Atty. Terlaje, on behalf of Apuron, made a settlement offer to the plaintiffs.”
“Thereafter, the parties have been engaged in settlement discussions to resolve the dispute between them. The parties’ settlement discussions are in line with what I recall and understood to be the Court’s previous encouragement to the parties to consider resolution and the financial burden of continued litigation,” the April 30 court filing stated.
Another April 30 filing stated that Apuron’s counsel “made a settlement offer to Plaintiff.”
Terlaje’s statement, meanwhile, echoed Apuron’s video message that he has never offered or entered into any settlement agreement with the plaintiffs, nor has he offered any money or other consideration to any plaintiff to resolve these cases.
“Archbishop Apuron has only asserted his willingness to execute a stipulation of dismissal to resolve the cases, as is required under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure…to dismiss any case at this stage of litigation,” according to Terlaje’s statement.
In 2016, Apuron’s accusers said all they wanted was an apology from Apuron.
“Archbishop Apuron has always maintained his innocence in the face of these claims, and has continued to defend his good name within the process permitted under our laws,” Terlaje said in a Wednesday statement.”
Apuron has not been deposed in any of the cases.
“Unfortunately, due to extenuating circumstances beyond his control, the trial and discovery process was delayed partly by unwillingness of plaintiffs to comply with basic requests for information, which is the basis for motions to compel Archbishop Apuron’s unwavering dedication to due process and justice, in asserting his innocence, is affirmed by the plaintiffs’ decision to dismiss their claims today,” Terlaje said in a statement.
Apuron’s health concerns were among reasons cited earlier as to why the planned deposition did not go forward.
“Archbishop Anthony Apuron continues to pray, in solitude, for the Church of Guam, his accusers, and all those victims of abuse in Guam and throughout the Church,” Terlaje stated.
The archdiocese settled nearly 300 clergy sex abuse claims as part of the bankruptcy process.
Pacific Daily News reporter Jojo Santo Tomas covers all interesting topics, including sports. Email him at jsantotoma@guampdn.com.