Canon law expert: Apuron may have been convicted of solicitation

Former Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron may have been charged with solicitation in the confessional and child sexual assault as part of his secretive canonical trial, but his penalty seems to match that of being found guilty of solicitation, a canon law expert said.

"For civil legal reasons, I guess they backed off of child sexual abuse and proceeded on solicitation because it gets the same final result but also does not trigger civil liability back in the hundreds of cases in Guam," said canon law expert Patrick Wall, a former Catholic priest and Benedictine monk who left the ministry in 1998.

Apuron is one of dozens of named defendants in more than 160 Guam clergy sex abuse cases filed against the Archdiocese of Agana.

A Vatican tribunal, comprised of five judges, on March 16 found Apuron guilty of certain accusations and removed him from the position of archbishop and from the local archdiocese

The Vatican has not made public the specific charges against Apuron or the charges of which he was convicted.

Buying time

Solicitation is not sex abuse, according to G.R. Pafumi, author of the book, "Inhumanity in the Name of Jesus," which argues the church's history and teachings made the cover-up of clergy sex abuse inevitable because of unchecked power and the belief in ecclesiastical infallibility.

"It is grooming. Grooming may not be a crime in Guam. In any case, grooming would not expose the Church to the same monetary liability that actual sex abuse would," Pafumi said.

Parties in the Guam clergy sex abuse cases are pursuing mediation to settle the lawsuits out of court. The courts put a stay on the clergy abuse cases in light of settlement efforts.

"The Church may be buying time," Pafumi said. "The situation with Apuron is no longer about abuse. It's about money and the prestige of the Church. The Church will do as much as it can to play Pontius Pilate and wash its hands where it can, try to protect fellow priests within the limits of civil law, and pay as little as possible to the victims."

Reserved for Vatican

Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes, who was appointed in October 2016 to replace Apuron should Apuron retire, resign or is removed, said he does not know enough about Apuron's trial to answer specific questions posed by the newspaper.

"In other words, the ability to resolve these questions is reserved solely to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Holy See," Byrnes said. "Any public inquiries of what is happening with this should be addressed to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Secretariat of State, or Mr. Greg Burke, the Director of the Holy See Press Office."

"In the meantime, our efforts continue to be focused on supporting the process of healing and reconciliation for those who have suffered at the hands of clergy through both civil and spiritual remedies, as well as on rebuilding trust and strengthening the faith of all the faithful of this local Church who have suffered immensely through this sorrowful situation," he said.

As the Archdiocese of Agana receives more information, it will share what it can with the media, Byrnes said.

Veiled in secrecy

Wall, lead researcher for Jeff Anderson & Associates, a Minnesota-based law firm representing victims of childhood sexual abuse, said, "This is not an open public court where you can read the charging papers or the civil lawsuit. The system is a direct descendant of the Holy Inquisition. The entire system is veiled in secrecy."

Wall noted it was a tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and not the Congregation of Bishops that ruled on the Apuron trial, with case number Prot. No.197/2008.

"We know the case was filed in 2008, but that Apuron was only put on leave in 2016 by Francis I," he said.

Wall said it was a penal case, not a doctrinal matter. He said "penal" is church word for criminal, and "doctrinal" is the church word for "belief."

"Some of the witnesses subpoenaed to give testimony allege they were sexually assaulted as minors by Apuron," Wall said, referring to former Agat altar boys who said Apuron raped or sexually abused them in the 1970s.

Apuron has denied all sexual abuse allegations against him. He said he will appeal the Vatican tribunal's decision.

Forcing the people

Wall said Apuron forces the question of whether the people should pay to support him, and what that says to survivors and perpetrators.

"What is suitable support and housing for a cleric determined to have sexually assaulted minors? Three square meals and a cot to sleep on? To my knowledge there is no written policy from the pope on what to do with bishops, priests and deacons that sexually assault minors," Wall said.

He said an additional problem is the canonical trial documents are secret and held in Rome.

"The people cannot analyze the situation and make a proper decision on whether they should support Apuron. In short, the pope is forcing the people of God to support Apuron without question or discussion," Wall said.

Apuron, as a cleric for the Archdiocese of Agana, still receives a $1,500 monthly stipend from the archdiocese. This is known in church terms as "decent support," the archdiocese said.

Justice served

Concerned Catholics of Guam President David Sablan on Wednesday said their focus is on Apuron's guilty verdict and the decision to remove him from his post and from the archdiocese.

"This is quite severe, so whatever the charges are, justice has been served," Sablan said.

Sablan said being defrocked would have meant Apuron no longer has any authority to do anything in the archdiocese, and being banned from Guam effectively accomplishes the same end result.

"Apuron being banned from Guam but still remain being a priest means he is now obedient to Archbishop Byrnes, the new Archbishop of Agana, and his fate outside of Guam will be up to Archbishop Byrnes. He may be sent to live out his days now in a house of prayer or monastery somewhere to seek God's mercy on his soul," Sablan added.

Reporter Haidee Eugenio covers Guam's Catholic church issues, education, government, business and more. Follow her on Twitter @haidee_eugenio. Follow Pacific Daily News on Facebook/GuamPDN and Instagram @guampdn.