A new video of the damage at the Agat Church shows what really happened. The altar had been moved from the top of the three steps, where it been for decades, and was placed on the lower portion of the sanctuary. It's quite obvious from the size of the hole that the altar fell into that the lower portion was never properly constructed, but it was never intended to support the weight of what appears to be a fully concrete and/or stone altar, probably weighing a couple thousand pounds.
If there was a proper engineering study performed prior to moving the altar then the company which conducted the study could be held accountable. But more than likely, given the entire rearrangement of the sanctuary under the present pastor, it was the pastor's decision to move the altar and that he did so without a proper engineering study nor permission from the Archbishop.
If this is the case, then the pastor should be held personally accountable for the damage and required to pay for the repair. The people of Mt. Carmel Church and the Catholics of the Archdiocese of Agana in general have already suffered enough at the hands of negligent, careless, and sometimes willfully arrogant clergy.
Note: Secular, i.e. Diocesan priests, which this pastor is, do not take a vow of poverty and are permitted to earn a salary and acquire material assets in their names.
Further, it is quite clear that this pastor, a well-known "NCW priest," and in fact, the first priest ordained from the former Redemptoris Mater Seminary, had rearranged the sanctuary to accommodate NCW style services, i.e. placing the altar (they call it a table) and the lectern in the middle of their worship space.
The video also shows that after removing the altar, which represents Christ, and placing "Christ" on the lower level, the pastor placed himself at the apex of the sanctuary where Christ once was. Perhaps, Jesus sent a message.
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