HAGÅTÑA, Guam — One member of a board that reviews sexual misconduct complaints within Guam's Catholic Church resigned after writing email to the archdiocese's sexual-abuse response coordinator saying he believes accusations made earlier this week that the archbishop molested a minor.
Hours after Vincent Pereda's letter was delivered Wednesday, the Archdiocese of Agaña issued a three-sentence statement saying it affirms its commitment to its sexual-misconduct and -harassment policy. On Tuesday, Roy T. Quintanilla, 52, who now lives in Honolulu, came forward to accuse now-Archbishop Anthony Apuron, 70, of abusing him when he was an altar boy at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Agat, Guam, and Apuron was a parish priest.
“I believe credible, reasonable cause does exist … that the archbishop had engaged in sexual misconduct,” Pereda wrote to the archdiocese's sexual-abuse response coordinator, Deacon Larry Claros.
In light of Quintanilla’s allegations, the archdiocese said Claros would be coordinating its next actions. Part of that response includes convening the Archdiocese Review Board.
Pereda said he has worked as a clinical social worker for more than 30 years. The Dededo, Guam, resident told the Pacific Daily News that he has to accurately determine if someone’s account of abuse is credible as part of his job.
In the case of Quintanilla, Pereda said the former altar boy's explanation of the abuse is credible.
Apuron has denied Quintanilla’s accusations. The archbishop has not been charged with a crime and no lawsuit has been filed against him.
“I could not see any valid reason why he would lie or make up something like that,” Pereda said of Quintanilla.
Quintanilla's effort to fly to Guam to confront the archbishop also substantiated his statements, Pereda said. Because of those findings, Pereda wrote that he could not be unbiased or objective as a member of the review board.
Pereda also said he considers the archdiocese’s sexual-abuse policy unsound.
“In light of the archbishop being identified as the alleged offender, the sexual-misconduct policy cannot involve him in any way whatsoever,” Pereda wrote. “Since the policy involves him making major decisions and determinations regarding the handling of sexual abuse/misconduct cases, it is a flawed policy.”
Guam is a U.S. territory, but Apuron is not a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, according to information on the organization's website. The U.S. conference has said it is committed to reaching out to victims of clergy sexual abuse, investigating the allegations, reporting them to civil authorities and communicating with the public about the progress.
An investigator hasn’t been appointed yet to assess Quintanilla’s allegations, said Pereda and another board member, George Kallingal. Kallingal, a clinical psychologist and at the University of Guam professor, said he has been on the review board since it started.
Tuesday was not the first time the archbishop had been accused of molestation, but it was the first time anyone had come out publicly with a personal account.
Hundreds of cases of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have been unearthed in the past 25 years but few have involved bishops and archbishops accused of abusing young boys and girls in their pasts. Bishops J. Kendrick Williams of Lexington, Ky., who resigned in 2002; Anthony O'Connell of Palm Beach, Fla., who resigned in 2002 and J. Keith Symons in Palm Beach, who resigned in 1998, were among the U.S. cases.
In 2014, John Toves of San Pablo, Calif., accused Apuron of molesting Toves’ cousin. In that incident, no investigator was appointed, Kallingal said.
Follow Jasmine Stole on Twitter: @StoleJasmine
