Posted by Tim
It's time to take a serious and sober look at what we are really after - or at least what I am after. My goals have always been twofold:
1. Expose Apuron and the evils he perpetrated - with the aim of having him removed as Archbishop of Agana.
2. Expose the machinations of the leadership of the Neocatechumenal Way, first within our diocese, and beyond that, the rest of the world.
While I would also like to see Apuron "defrocked," that was never my aim. "Defrocked" became more a battle cry for the desire of many to have Apuron punished for his demonstrable wickedness.
With talk of a forthcoming conclusion of Apuron's canonical trial, I believe that the most we can hope for from the Vatican is his removal from active ministry in the Archdiocese of Agana. As has often been speculated, he will be made to retire to a so-called "life of prayer."
Make no mistake, this is still a verdict of "guilty" even if the Vatican won't call it that. If they say anything, it will be more along the lines of he has "lost his ability to lead," or something like that. In fact, any mention of sex abuse will probably be avoided. The Vatican will default to "lapses in administrative decisions."
We have to understand that this is simply what it is, while at the same time, recognizing that we have accomplished our goal which at its most basic has always been: APURON OUT!
On the civil front, I am hoping that Apuron's victims and Attorney Lujan will NOT settle out of court. While charges against clergy who are either dead or dead broke, out of court settlements are going to be better for everyone.
However, the charges against Apuron MUST go to court. And the reason is not just so that the victims can find justice, but also because of what we can learn through depositions from the likes of Cristobal, Quitugua, The Waldo, Apuron himself, and maybe even the "Dakon."
There is good reason to believe that a lot more than just the covering up of decades-old sex crimes was going on. And now that Quitugua has been elected to the Presbyteral Council by his peers, and personally appointed to the College of Consultors by Archbishop Byrnes, it will be all the more fun to see him squirm on the stand.