Blogger to archdiocese: "Bring it on"

Last Friday - on Friday the 13th - the Archdiocese of Agana announced plans to file a civil suit against those spreading lies about the church and Archbishop Anthony Apuron. One person who's been vocal about the division in the local Catholic church says he isn't scared, and as a matter of fact, he's challenging the archdiocese.  

In fact, he's inviting the lawsuit in an effort to expose what he believes is the evil in the archdiocese.

It's the battle he's been prepping for, and local blogger Tim Rohr is ready to go to court. "I'm the only one they can sue," he said. For the last three years, Rohr has made his opinions of the Archdiocese and archbishop public on his blog, JungleWatch. Nearly 5,000,000 page views since its inception, he's a self-declared watchdog for the island's faithful and those who've lost faith in the leaders of the local Catholic church.

"Every single allegation I've ever made, I've already documented on my blog. I have a document for every single thing that I've ever said, and I can't wait to tell the whole story to a judge" said Rohr.

While the blog was prompted by the conflicts between the archbishop and Father Paul Gofigan, and later Monsignor James Benavente, the latest posts have focused on allegations that the archbishop has been involved in sex crimes dating back over 40 years. Earlier this month, a full-page ad in a print publication asked for alleged victims to come forward. The ad was paid for by the Concerned Catholics of Guam.

While groups like the CCOG and the Laity Forward Movement have protested week after week, Rohr believes he's the target of the lawsuit. "Here's why," he proposed. "You can't sue somebody for protesting the bishop. They can sue for defamation and I'm the only one who's defaming Archbishop Anthony Apuron. Because I'm the only one who's used his name in connection with that ad.  I got the CCOG to pay for it, but Apuron's name doesn't appear on the ad. I went public and said those dates have to deal with Archbishop Apuron when he was there.

"So I'm inviting Archbishop Anthony Apuron to sue me. Because we want to put this in court where he can be deposed. And then we can end this."

Last Friday, the Archdiocese released a two-page release in an effort to debunk the allegations. Aside from announcing plans to file a civil suit, the release called out those who questioned church leaders "Whoever joins in this attack against our Catholic faith, our Catholic Church, is neither Catholic nor Christian; this kind of malice lacks the spirit of Jesus Christ."

The Concerned Catholics of Guam declined to comment.