Guam archbishop, removed in 2019, claims innocence
May 08, 2025
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CWN Editor's Note: Archbishop Anthony Apuron, who was removed from his post as Archbishop of Agana in 2019 after a Vatican tribunal found him guilty of sexual abuse, has broken his silence and insisted on his innocence.
In a video message, the archbishop said that his innocence was proven by the fact that plaintiffs in sex-abuse lawsuits against him had moved to dismiss their case. A lawyer for the plaintiffs challenged that conclusion, saying that his clients had chosen to settle their case after years of delay, but still maintained that they had suffered abuse.
Although the Vatican had removed him from office and ordered him to live outside Guam, Archbishop Apuron argued: ““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.”
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