Stripped of his title and exiled from Guam, Rome has upheld the guilty verdict against now Bishop Anthony Apuron. This is the final verdict against Apuron who a little over a year ago appealed the initial decision finding him guilty of sexual abuse against minors.

According to the Archdiocese of Agana the final decision allows the church to move forward in a collective journey toward healing and reconciliation.

Archbishop Michael Byrnes says the final decision from the Vatican was sorely needed and that he will work to ensure the actions of the past are never repeated.


"The church is not rejoiced when members of the church plummet from grace and are found guilty of grave wrong," he said. "In this case the grievous case of child abuse it's a deep and sorrowful shame."

 
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Although Apuron was stripped from his title and banned from returning to Guam, it doesn't mean he is not a priest.

Byrnes explained some of the conditions under the verdict.

"It means he can never come back to Guam, which is relatively severe," he said. "It means he can still act as a priest. He can still say mass although from my understanding he would have to be in a place where the bishop would allow him to say mass. There's still, you know, like some blurry areas like this for me. I'm still getting my head around it."

Another blurry area is whether Apuron is still able to ordain priests.
"That's an interesting question and that's a question the canon lawyers have said this is an issue because he probably wouldn't be asked to be the first to ordain," Byrnes said. "But he could be a co-ordination person. So, that's yet to be somebody is going to have to clarify that."

The final decision from the Vatican brings closure to his victims: Roland Sondia, Walter Denton, the family of the late Joseph "Sonny" Quinata, Roy Quintanilla, Mark Apuron, and victims only identified as CCC and DM to protect their identity.

I would have preferred that he was defrocked, but the fact that he's no longer be the bishop of Guam is accomplishment well fought for," Quintanilla said.

But even with the final verdict, Apuron in a statement released via his attorney Jacque Terlaje maintained his innocence, claiming he was a victim of a group plotting to destroy him. Dave Sablan is the head of the Concerned Catholics of Guam. The CCOG along with the Laity Forward Movement and Silent no more have been urging for the removal of Apuron for several years.


"There was never anything we wanted to do to destroy him we just wanted him removed as our archbishop and removed from any leadership position within our church here simply because of all the things that he has done," Sablan said. "He has mismanaged the affairs of the archdiocese he has accused falsely several of his own priests you know Monsignor James Benavente being one Father Paul Gofigan being another he has lied to the faithful and of course the allegations of sexual abuse leveled against him. again how can you follow someone with this kind of record."

Apuron in his statement said he is prevented from litigating to clear his name. He added his banishment from Guam, is similar to a death sentence, losing his homeland, family, church, his people and even his language and that he remains alone in complete humiliation, old and in failing health. What he didn't say was sorry.

"I'm not sure I can forgive," Sondia said. "He put said so much about the suffering that he's been going through but what about us?"

"You know to be hopeful and to expect that he would apologize is just not realistic," Quintanilla said. "There's no sense in holding on false hope that he's ever going to apologize to his victims."

The final decision from the Vatican also now makes Archbishop Michael Byrnes the official leader of the Catholic Church on Guam.