Nearly 100 lawsuits have been filed against the Catholic Church or its priests in recent times. Some of Guam’s most revered men in the Catholic clergy have been accused of rampant sexual assault, in one case, more than 50 times in three years. The lawsuits describe decades of assault, manipulation and intimidation of children. In another case a boy was fondled on the way to his grandmother’s burial and another molested on the seventh-birthday and then raped more than 100 times.
The children’s trust in the priests made them vulnerable, the lawsuits say. They had been raised to respect the priest, and told that they were never wrong, and that they were like Jesus in this predominantly Catholic remote island.
The allegations cover nearly four decades and reach the highest levels of the Guam Catholic hierarchy, including an archbishop, 13 priests and others, including a Catholic schoolteacher, and Catholic school janitor and a Boy Scout leader. The lawsuits claim that the attacks by church-related predators spanned from 1955 through 1994, and claim that church leaders ignored the exploitation even though they knew about it.
One retired priest who admitted to having abused 20 or more boys still receives a monthly stipend from the archdiocese. That priest also served as a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America, which is also named in the lawsuit.
In 2016, Pope Francis suspended Archbishop Apuron who is accused in four lawsuits for abusing alter boys.
Dominican priest Tom Doyle, an advocate for abuse victims says “the Vatican or the popes have protected the bishops. They consider them to be the most important part of the church, so they protect them, no matter what they’ve done.”
The Guam lawsuits join a steady stream of accusations against Catholic clergy, which also includes Cardinal George Pell, who was charged with “historical sexual offenses” by authorities in his native Australia. In Boston, where the most high-profile examples of clergy abuse have been, there were 12 cases per 100,000 residents. But in Guam there are 59 lawsuits per 100,000 residents. The scandal runs deep. Even some of the trial court judges on the island have recused themselves from some lawsuits for family or business ties to either the defendants or the plaintiffs. The deluge of abuse claims came after lawmakers changed the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits involving child sexual abuse. One bishop was named in 55 lawsuits.
“And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead [was] a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” Revelation 17:4 and 5.
Though Revelation 17:4, 5 is speaking of spiritual abominations primarily, they go hand in hand with practical abuse and violation of the law of God.
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Please pray for India and for Sijo and his ministry in India. Rising persecution is creating stress on the Hindu nation, especially for Christians. The government enacts repressive laws against Christianity. Persecution is especially difficult in the north where there are killings and torture of Christians, the spread of anti-Christian propaganda. India apparently intends to abolish Christianity in India by 2020.