Tuesday, September 9, 2014

ISN'T THERE A ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY FOR BISHOPS TOO?

I was cleaning off my desk and I came across this again. I was about to file it away when something struck me.

In this statement, Archbishop Apuron directly infers that his removing of Fr. Wadeson "from active and public ministry" is directly related to his policy "regarding sexual misconduct". 

In my initial post about Fr. Wadeson, I only referred to the existing reports and even stated that the claims against Fr. Wadeson may be "false allegations". However, Archbishop Apuron makes no such claim or defense of Fr. Wadeson. He removes Fr. Wadeson from ministry in accordance with his sexual misconduct policy, effectively bolstering the existing allegations against Fr. Wadeson.

BUT THEN...

Archbishop Apuron helps Fr. Wadeson disappear! How's that? Really? Isn't that what all those bishops in the states were being sued for a couple of years ago...helping problem priests disappear? How does helping Fr. Wadeson disappear correlate with taking "these matters very seriously?"

Fr. Wadeson may in fact be innocent of any allegations of sexual misconduct. (Personally, I hope he is.) But Archbishop Apuron, after effectively accusing him of sexual misconduct by removing him from ministry and then helping him disappear, is now the object of MISCONDUCT. 

Isn't their a zero-tolerance policy for bishops too? Joelle Casteix (SNAP) recently began following me on Twitter. Maybe she'll know.

Suggestion to Clergy and Religious: The next time Archbishop Apuron drags you in to read off the charges against Msgr. James and/or Fr. Paul, or anyone else for that matter, ask him to explain his own conduct in helping a priest he treated as a sex offender to disappear. 








21 comments:

  1. As uncharitable as this may appear, right now I have ZERO TOLERANCE for what comes out from the Chancery or out of the Archbishop's mouth — or those of his spokespersons — these days.

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  2. Has a policy regarding sexual misconduct and sexual harassment. Actually there are two. For neo priest, 100% tolerance unless there are concerns from the community. And zero tolerance for all others.

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  3. By shipping Fr. Wadeson off, he is dumping Fr. Wadeson's problem on someone else. Unfortunately, because the archbishop incardinated Fr. Wadeson in Guam, that problem boomerang right back to Guam

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  4. Tim,

    The archbishop compounded one malfeasance with another, by incardinating Fr. Wadeson without investigation and consultation with his councils, and then hiding him somewhere else once his malfeasance was discovered and exposed. Moreover, if the archbishop had prior knowledge of the sexual abuse allegations against Fr. Wadeson and incardinated him anyway, then his malfeasance is egregious and wanton.

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  5. I still couldn't understand the point of Fr. Wadeson's half page ad in the U Matuna warning those who continue to malign his name, that they will hear from his lawyer. I wonder if he paid for that ad. I still couldn't understand that. Who was he telling it to? I thought he might have been barking at the wrong tree because he should have sued the Archdiocese of Agana for the letter above which said in no uncertain terms that he was being removed because "The Archdiocese of Agana has a policy regarding sexual misconduct and sexual harassment and takes these matters very seriously." Was it just for the sake of those who continue to believe they can't do anything wrong. Maybe it was sort of a last hurrah. Just having the last say or soemthing. SMH.

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    1. When a kiko is cornered in a situation or found in a lie, the reaction they are allowed to do is lash out and attack. Poor Fr John was only doing what he was taught to do.
      He was caught having been removed in LA for horrible crimes against children and students entrusted to his care, so he threatens those pesky persecutors.

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  6. I had written this in the neo blog and of course they didn't print it. This is in regards to the archbishop and how anyone can anyone be attacking him for what he has done about gambling, abortion, etc.and praised him for being such an advocate of whatever. My response was this. Really! For the 20 some odd years of being the leader of the catholic church here in Guam WHAT has he really done. Praising for what he is suppose to do as our leader is like praising a garbage man for picking up your trash. Unless he picks up the trash around the garbage can or better yet scrubs it I don't think he should be praised. I will thank him for doing his job but.... Have You Really had any knowledge of him going anything above and beyond his duties for which I personally think is doing a crappie job.
    He told the churches it is their own responsibility to build their ownCCD center . And good luck because you cannot have bingo or sell raffle tickets. No guidance whatsoever. I have first hand experience with ordot church. We were able to borrow money to build our pastoral center and at least the archbishop did support that. However they did move St Thomas Aqiunas there . Would you believe that they had to hire a lawyer to get the archdiocese to pay. They were in arrears over 2 years. When they did this the archbishop sent a letter to Mngr David Quitugua the elder immediately demanding the church's (ordot) arrears to the archdiocese. I didn't know that all parishes are supposed to donate one week a month of their chenchule to the archdiocese. Or even the time he was supposed to confirm 20 students at ordot and forgot. When they called him up he told mgnr David to perform the confirmation.
    Ask the santa Rita parish about their plans for the pastoral center. They had raised 400k . The Priest There Who Is a neo, took 200k of it for plans to make it a neo pastoral center. When the parishners found out they scrapped their plans. Again what has he really done for the catholics here on Guam?

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    1. Regarding the Santa Rita Pastoral Center, Father Fabio pretty much insulted our local architects by enlisting an off-island architect for this project. Did he really think we are that dumb not to know that it would cost more money? And then to find out that this off-island architect is going to design it the "neo way"? Errrrrrrrrkkk....back the truck up!

      Oh and by the way, we still want our statue back.

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    2. 200K for services of an architect to draw up plans is excessive. The people of Santa Rita worked hard and made sacrifices to raise funds only to see $200,000.00 go to waste. That's just wrong!

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    3. Where is that 200G does Gennarini have it? Get that back, damn it.

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    4. And everyone's invited to a gala dinner later this month to raise more funds for the Santa Rita Neo Pastoral Center. Only $100 a ticket to help the neos have a place to call their own.

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    5. I hope they include in their budget enough money for a real altar and a few statues!

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    6. But the chamorro's spend "meelions" on food already.

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    7. Janet B - Mangilao, is stat U? Forget statues, they are IDOLS to be smashed. An altar is for sacrifice....we want a banquet table TABLE, table, Janet. sheeez.

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    8. I don't know how much the Neo architects were paid or are going to be paid, but a locally licensed architect will have to sign off on those designs and they probably won't do it for free. And before they do, they'll have to convert the meters to feet and substitute in materials and fixtures that are locally available and suitable for the climate and "seismology".

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  7. The weekend that Fr. Wadeson's letter was in the Umatuna, I had gone to Mass at Chalan Pago. As we all know, Fr. Edivaldo is the priest there. Before the final blessing he announced that Fr. Wadeson's letter was in the Umatuna. He proudly said that he stands by Fr. Wadeson and believes his innocent. Whether he's innocent or not, I couldn't believe he could say such a thing without thinking of sexual abuse victims, as myself. Fr. Edivaldo, learn from the Archbishop, sometimes you say TOO MUCH. Sometimes it's better to keep your thoughts to yourself!

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    1. Why doesn't Edivaldo keep silent like the Arch. Not a peep. So is ARCH going to make all these pastoral visits and say nothing? Will he answer questions? Or will he use the chance to vilify his priests?

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  8. In 30 years Apuron has contributed nothing to the archdiocese. He has used the people for his own personal financial gain.

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  9. The Diocese is still liable....
    Wadeson, was not excardinated, so in effect he is still incardinated here, just removed from public ministry and hid somewhere, probably still collecting a paycheck, health insurance, etc.
    So why all the fuss? They keep insisting that there were no charges brought, etc.
    So why did L.A. Diocese feel that they had to call the archdiocese of Agana when they found out where Wadeson was?
    Let me paint a scenario, one that is not that uncommon.
    A family comes foward to expose an abuser to the diocese, they state that they don't want it to become public, just want the accused to be removed from ministry and they will no longer pursue the case, they also wish to have a gag order put on the case. The diocese does its investigation and finds the allegations are substantiated, so they follow the plaintiffs wishes, but because he belongs to a religous order they return to sender. Mum's the word and remove him from ministry.
    Several years later they find out he's working in another diocese, and because of liability, they inform said diocese...

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  10. @9:28 Pale' Francesco is not going to be happy with yet another GALA DINNER! More meelions of dollars of food...but, of course, this is for a good cause! Thank you Santa Rita for supporting local business to build your edifice! Guess you have to keep it in the family, huh? Disturbing Pale' Polish, why are you going along with all of this? Please tell. Know you are on the blog.

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