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VOL. 01 NO. 280

WEDNESDAY JUNE 8, 2016

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ACCUSER: Former Guam resident Walter Denton, center, pauses yesterday in Hagta as he reads a statement accusing Archbishop Anthony Apuron of raping him in 1977, when he was
a 13-year-old altar boy in Mount Carmel Parish in Agat and Apuron was a parish priest there. Denton is the third person in three weeks to accuse Apuron of sex abuse while he was an Agat
priest. Matt Weiss/Post

Archbishop accused anew

Vatican appoints administrator and suspends Apuron
By Louella Losinio
louella@postguam.com

After nearly four decades of

silence, Walter Denton yesterday
spoke to those gathered in front
of the Pastoral Office at the Dulce

Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica in Hagta, alleging that he was

sexually molested by then-parish
priest, now Archbishop Anthony
Apuron. The confession followed
an announcement that Pope Francis
has relieved Apuron of his duties and

appointed an interim administrator

for the archdiocese.
I was raped by Anthony Sablan
Apuron, who at that time was a
priest in Agat, Denton said at the
media conference yesterday.
With family and supporters by his

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PAGE 14

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side, Denton making the third accusation of sexual abuse of altar servers by Apuron within the last three
ALLEGATIONS continued on page 8

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ALLEGATIONS continued from page 1

weeks said the incident changed

the direction of his life, and described
how the abuse started in April 1977
when Apuron asked him to stay overnight at the rectory of Mount Carmel
Church in Agat, where Apuron was a
priest.
Denton, then a 13-year-old altar boy,
said Apuron insisted that he sleep in
the bedroom with him. He said that
during the night, he was sodomized
by Apuron.
Denton, 52, currently lives in Casa
Grande, Arizona. He said he spent 23
years 11 months in the U.S. military
but over the years, the experience of
being raped by Apuron weighed on
him.
It bothered me all my life. There
were many times when I was alone
I would just break down and cry, he
said. I know that I am not the only
one that this has happened to. There
are other Agat boys who have experienced the same thing that I have
gone through. I only hope and pray
that justice will be served to the man
who did this to me and other young
innocent boys.
Denton said Apuron needs to be
removed from his office so he cannot
come in contact with innocent young
men.
It's a travesty. He robbed the innocence from my husband and nothing
can bring that back, said Shirley
Denton, wife of Walter Denton.
Apostolic administrator
On Monday, Pope Francis named
Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai, as
"apostolic administrator" sede plena
for the Archdiocese of Agana.
According to a release from the
Archdiocese on Monday, the appointment followed a request from Apuron
for an apostolic administrator pending the investigation of the abuse
allegations.
Apuron said the appointment of the
apostolic administrator "sede plena"
means that Archbishop Hon would be
in charge of the archdioceses pastoral duties while he remains the archbishop of Agana.
The popes appointment of the
administrator came two days after
he issued new legal procedures to
remove bishops if they were negligent
in addressing sexual abuse cases by
priests.
Tim Rohr, realtor and Catholic blogger and critic of Apuron, said the Vaticans decision to appoint an apostolic
administrator shows that they are
paying attention to what was going
on.

CONSOLE: Shirley Denton, left, consoles her husband, Walter Denton, yesterday in Hagta after he read a statement accusing Archbishop
Anthony Apuron of raping him in 1977, when he was a 13-year-old altar boy in Mount Carmel Parish in Agat and Apuron was a parish priest
there. Denton is the third person in three weeks to accuse Apuron of sex abuse while he was a priest at the Agat church. Matt Weiss/Post

This is not common," Rohr told the

Post. "This is only done when the archbishop or the bishop of the diocese is
considered to be incapacitated, or as
an emergency measure.
Disclosures
Lawyer David Lujan, who is representing Denton, said should Apuron
or the archdiocese initiate legal
action, it would be welcome because
there will be more disclosures soon.
He added that he is working with at
least three more victims.
In May, alleged victim Roy Quintanilla described to the media how
Apuron sexually molested him 40
years ago, also while Apuron was a
priest in Agat and Quintanilla was
an altar server. Lujan also represents
Quintanilla.
Following Quintanilla's accusation,
Doris Concepcion formerly of Guam

but now living in Arizona said her

son, Joseph A. Quinata, admitted to
her shortly before his death in 2005
of being sexually abused by Apuron
in the late 1970s.
Apuron, who has headed the archdiocese since 1986, has not been
charged with any crime.
Quintanillas
niece,
Sharleen
Santos-Bamba, was at yesterday's
press conference and spoke on behalf
of her family. We are here to support
Walter Denton," she said. "His story
is horrific, and what happened to him,
vile. We know there are others and we
want others to come forward. How
many victims must come forward
before any action is taken?
A written copy of Dentons testimony was delivered to the pastoral
office following the press conference.
In a video message from the Vatican, Apuron denied the accusations,
saying that with the appointment of
the new administrator of the archdiocese, the pope showed he understood the importance of establishing
the truth and will allow the independent investigation of the allegations
to proceed.
SNAP
Meanwhile, Joelle Casteix, the

Western Regional Director of Survivors Network of those Abused by

Priests (SNAP), released a statement
following the appointment of Hon,
saying the group is encouraged that
the Vatican has taken this first step.
SNAP also said it is urging the
new administrator to engage in a
complete and independent investigation of the allegations against Apuron
and to act upon the findings swiftly
and appropriately."
SNAP said it also hopes the new
administrator reaches out to and
works with victims and local Catholics who have demanded transparency and change, and also encourage
anyone who has seen or suspected
abuse to report immediately to civil
authorities.
SNAP also asked Guam lawmakers to revisit legislation that allows
victims of sexual abuse to use the civil
courts to expose their abuser and the
organizations that cover up and facilitate abuse.
It is only through this kind of legislation that includes exposing organizations that hire and protect predators that the people of Guam can
learn the true scope and scale of the
coverup of sexual abuse, SNAP said.