Guam Catholic Church officials – once again – are being silent about allegations involving at least one priest accused of sexual misconduct.
Kandit on September 7 emailed Archbishop Ryan Jimenez and copied his director of communications, Tony Diaz, inquiring about allegations made in a September 6 article by Pete McKenzie in The New York Times. The Times article, In the Pacific, a ‘Dumping Ground’ for Priests Accused or Convicted of Abuse, uncovered evidence of the Roman Catholic Church’s systematic movement of sex-scandal-ridden priests from the West into the remote islands of the Pacific.
“These men were part of a larger pattern: At least 24 other priests and missionaries left New Zealand, Australia, Britain and the United States for Pacific Island countries like Fiji, Kiribati and Samoa under similar circumstances,” Mr. McKenzie wrote in The Times. “In at least 13 cases, their superiors knew that these men had been accused or convicted of abuse before they transferred to the Pacific, according to church records and survivor accounts, shielding them from scrutiny.”
His investigation revealed that at least one of the priests is in Guam.
“Most moved to or served in 15 countries and territories in the region in the 1990s, but one still serves as an itinerant priest in Guam, an American territory, and another has returned to New Zealand, where he has been cleared by the church to return to ministry. Both deny the allegations of abuse.”
The article does not mention the priest’s name or provide any other clues about who he is. Mr. McKenzie did write, however, that of the priests he found in the Pacific, “at least three of these men, according to government inquiries and news media reports, went on to abuse new victims in the Pacific.”
Kandit more than a week ago asked Archbishop Jimenez and Mr. Diaz who this priest is and whether this man – through his ministry – has regular interaction with whichever vulnerable demographic against whom he is accused of targeting for victims.
An “itinerant priest,” as The Times article describes the Guam man, is a priest who travels from place to place. Earlier this year, the Archdiocese of Agana revealed that one of its priests – Father Luis Camacho – who had been accused of sexual misconduct with a minor, had returned to Guam. Whether he is an itinerant priest is for the archdiocese to confirm, however, Father Camacho’s roots and history do not match up with Mr. McKenzie’s investigation into Western priests who are dumped into a Pacific diocese after scandal erupts.
The archbishop has not replied to our inquiry, which included questions beyond identity: Where did the alleged abuse occur, and how long ago? What steps has the archdiocese taken to protect any vulnerable communities this priest may have access to? Who sent the priest here? Who supervises this priest? Who accepted his incardination in or otherwise move to this archdiocese?
Mr. Diaz on September 9 replied to Kandit’s initial inquiry requesting more time to research the matter and reply to the questions. That was six days ago. Kandit will report answers from the archdiocese if and when we get those answers.
The Archdiocese of Agana had been inculcated in silence and coverup for decades regarding sex abuse and sex scandals within its walls. That dam of voicelessness broke a decade ago, when hundreds of mostly men came forward with stories of sexual abuse at the hands of priests and teachers, and coverup by the diocese. At its onset, then-Archbishop Anthony Apuron dismissed questions of misconduct and allegedly retaliated against Catholic ordinaries and laity who questioned his regime. Several men ended up accusing and suing him for sexually assaulting them as boys, and Mr. Apuron fled Guam never to return. During his exile, Pope Francis accepted a Vatican tribunal’s recommendation to strip him of his office and forbid his return to Guam.
Since then, the Archdiocese of Agana has waged a campaign both to survive from the crippling scandal on many fronts, and to reconcile itself with a community disgusted by the revelations of hundreds. That campaign has included prayers, overtures for healing, and apologies from priests. Archbishop Jimenez’s predecessor and Apuron’s successor, Archbishop Emeritus Michael Byrnes, was among those who apologized for the scandal.
In both his first news conference, and his homily at his Mass of Installation, Archbishop Jimenez also emphasized the scandal, recognized the pain the archdiocese caused to many, and apologized. He committed to transparency in that first news conference.
