Church: Guam Archbishop Faces New Sexual Assault Allegation

A relative of the country’s highest-ranking Catholic official claimed to local media he was abused in 1990.

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HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Catholic church officials in Guam say they have notified the Vatican of a new sexual abuse allegation against Archbishop Anthony Apuron.

According to the Archdiocese of Agana, a relative of Apuron claimed to local media he was abused by the archbishop in 1990.

Guam Portrait of Archbishop Anthony Apuron museum.
A portrait of Archbishop Anthony Apuron at the national museum, Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica in Hagatna. Cory Lum/Civil Beat

Apuron already faces multiple allegations of sexual abuse of altar boys in the 1970s.

He has denied those claims and has not been criminally charged. His lawyer Jacqueline Terlaje didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The allegations against Apuron prompted a Vatican tribunal. Archbishop Michael Byrnes says he was informed by Vatican officials late last year that a verdict has been reached, but it has not yet been released.

The Vatican sent Byrnes to Guam to replace Apuron on an administrative basis.

Civil Beat published a special report last October, Faith Betrayed, about how decades of sexual abuse by Catholic priests on Guam have left island residents feeling shattered. 

Related reporting is also featured in our latest Offshore podcast episode, “Confronting Faith.”

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