Vatican tribunal hears final witness against suspended Guam archbishop

May 10, 2017

A Vatican tribunal weighing sex-abuse charges against Archbishop Anthony Apuron has taken testimony from the last in a series of accusers.

John Toves, who was the first man to make public charges against Archbishop Apuron, testified for Vatican investigators at a hearing in San Francisco on May 8. Toves said that he was informed he was the final accuser to present testimony.

The Vatican tribunal, headed by Cardinal Raymond Burke, has taken testimony from witnesses in Agana, Guam—where Archbishop Apuron was installed as archbishop in 1986—and in San Francisco. Vatican sources have said that the tribunal is likely to issue a judgment by this summer.

Archbishop Apuron was relieved of all pastoral responsibilities last June, after several young men complained that he had molested them. Pope Francis appointed an American prelate, Archbishop Michael Byrnes, as coadjutor archbishop “with special faculties” to lead the Guam archdiocese until the case is resolved.

 

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Further information:

• Guam archbishop's first sex abuse accuser testifies before Vatican tribunal (Pacific Daily News)
• Vatican tribunal for Guam archbishop hears more testimony in California (CWN, 4/17)