APURON BETTER BE HOPING FOR ANOTHER DISMISSAL

By Tim Rohr

As I've already set out in a previous post, this dismissal has all the signs and smells of "no money in it." The plaintiffs and their attorneys already got their money from the church bankruptcy case. There was no reason to continue except for the apology from Apuron which is what his initial accusers stated from the outset that that was all they wanted. 

Maybe they got it. But then why is Apuron trumpeting his innocence if he said he was sorry? Well that's not hard to answer. Because he is Apuron. And the only thing that matters to Apuron is Apuron. Besides, with the case dismissed permanently, no one will ever know what really happened. That is unless the plaintiff's want to talk. 

However, I don't think they will. If I can speculate further, I think the deal (we can't call it a settlement) may have included an apology on condition that the plaintiffs never speak of it. I wouldn't put it past Apuron - or his attorney to make such a deal. 

You have to hand it to the "trained lawyer" * though. Delaying this case for nearly a decade was perfect strategy. It gave Apuron time to get rid of his assets (or hide them), as I set out in a previous post. It gave time for the bankruptcy case to go through which funneled money to the plaintiffs and their attorneys. 

And most important, it gave time for the case to become a "loser" for the plaintiff's attorneys, Lujan and Wolff, as they had always been working on contingency, and, as Apuron had few assets after nearly ten years, they were essentially working for free. And attorneys don't like to do that. 

Perfect, Jacque. Perfect. Bravo. 

* "Trained lawyer." That's how Jacque Terlaje referred to herself back in 2015 when she was defending Apuron's canonically illegal alienation of what was then a 70 Million Dollar property and handing it over to the Neocats. 

The Pacific Daily News updated its initial story after plaintiffs' attorney, Delia Wolff, made a statement. For my own better understanding, I am going to parse it out with my comments in red.

By the way, the PDN's choice of a picture for the story is ironic. "Louie," the neocat priest the cops found with an underaged girl in a car at an Agat beach back in 2015 - which his head in the wrong place - is the guy behind Apuron. After the story broke, Apuron rushed Louie off-island where he disappeared for most of the next decade. And, like Apuron, he was harbored by Neocats. Louie is back, by the way.

UPDATED Former archbishop breaks years of silence, plaintiffs' counsel says dismissal 'not evidence that Apuron did not sexually abuse or defame them'

Former Archbishop Anthony Apuron on Wednesday broke his years of silence in a video message, maintaining he’s innocent of the clergy sex abuse allegations against him.

He issued a video message after plaintiffs initiated proceedings that sought dismissal of cases, according to his attorney. Apuron is required to agree to the dismissal, his counsel said.

"Required?" Required by who? That sounds like a settlement: "If we do this, then you do that." No court rule requires a party to agree to a dismissal, unless the court itself dismisses a case. And that's not what happened here. So maybe they're not calling it a settlement - probably because Apuron has no assets to settle with. But it certainly is an agreement - which is a functionally a settlement.

He did, and the parties filed a motion that dismisses with prejudice eight clergy sex abuse cases and one defamation case against him.

Delia Lujan Wolff, attorney for the plaintiffs, on Wednesday night said dismissal of the plaintiffs’ claims against Apuron “is not evidence that Apuron did not sexually abuse or defame them.”

“To be clear, Apuron has not been vindicated by the dismissals and they do not affirm his innocence. While our clients have dismissed their claims against Apuron, after delays in taking his deposition due to Apuron’s alleged health problems and his claim that he has very limited financial resources, they continue to stand by their allegations that Apuron did horrible things to them,” Wolff stated. “In fact, our clients have already received partial relief on their claims.”

There's a lot here. But primarily it points to Wolff herself talking the plaintiffs into dismissing the case. I can't prove that. But it makes sense, especially when she says "he has very limited financial resources." As I already said, lawyers don't like to work for free. Nobody does. So it was a business decision. 

Of course it was always a business decision. Wolff's father, David Lujan, took the cases back in 2017, after the law lifting the civil statute of limitations on sex abuse against minors had been enacted. Lujan is a smart businessman. I'm sure he knew that the real money would be in the suit against the archdiocese, not Apuron individually. And he was right. Now that the archdiocese case is settled - to the tune of many millions of dollars - why bother with a washed up 80-year old Apuron who has no money? 

Meanwhile, though, to get the bill passed that would pave the way to many millions for the attorneys, the case needed a human face to stir the passions needed to see the legislation through. And those faces were provided by the initial four boys who "Apuron did horrible things to..." as Wolff says above. 

Meanwhile, it's helpful that Wolff says "Apuron has not been vindicated by the dismissals and they do not affirm his innocence," but as you can see from Apuron's victory lap and what is obviously a campaign to return to Guam, Wolff's clarification means nothing - and the plaintiffs are now barred from ever bringing up the "horrible things" that happened to them ever again.

A federal judge has yet to act on the voluntary dismissal.

It appears the judge has to sign off on this. However, I often wondered why this same judge allowed this case to languish for nearly a decade - with only a bit of prodding here and there. I don't know about local District Court rules but according to AI:

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides tools for the court to actively manage cases and address delays by:

• Setting clear deadlines and allowing for extensions under specific circumstances . 
• Using scheduling orders and case management conferences to ensure progress . 
• Utilizing various motions to expedite resolution or address specific issues . 
• Taking action against parties who are deliberately delaying the process . 

However, none of this appeared to happen in this case. I wonder why?

Apuron, in his video message, shared by his attorney, Jacqueline Terlaje, said he can now speak freely about the canonical process.

He was always free to speak about the canonical process (his Vatican trial). In fact, he did on many occasions: repeatedly swearing to his innocence even after the first court found him guilty and again after Pope Francis personally denied his appeal. In fact, Apuron repeatedly claimed that he was framed by "Tim Rohr and his associates" for the purposes of serving a Chinese gambling interest. 

Here is what he said after the Vatican found him guilt as reported in the Guam Daily Post on March 19, 2018:

“I have been informed of the conclusion of the first instance canonical trial against me. While I am relieved that the tribunal dismissed the majority of the accusations against me, I have appealed the verdict. God is my witness – I am innocent, and I look forward to proving my innocence in the appeals process."

And here is what KUAM reported on April 4, 2019, after Apuron lost his Vatican appeal and the first guilty verdict was personally upheld by Pope Francis:

Apuron in a statement said he was “deeply saddened by the decision of the Holy Father to confirm the decision of the court of first instance. I lodged an appeal against that decision last year because I am innocent and the sentence of the court of first instance had vindicated me declaring non credible the majority of the charges made against me: I believe that the facts and evidence presented demonstrated my total innocence.”

(The same KUAM story contains a full press release by Apuron that will turn your stomach. I'll deal with it separately.)

Bottom line is that Apuron did not "suffer in silence" as he wants us now to believe. He has not only virulently and publicly protested his innocence, he has just as virulently and publicly threatened those of us who stood up to him. Just more lies and more lies. 

“The canonical process did not result in my laicization. No priest or bishop who has been found guilty of these crimes has remained a priest or bishop as I have. This indicates my innocence,” he said.

Lies, lies and more lies. There's a long list of priests and cardinals who have been found "guilty of these crimes" and "has remained a priest of bishop." Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is one. Even though he was eventually laicized due to his gross disobedience, he was first simply removed from office as Apuron was. There was also Cardinal George Pell of Australia who was found guilty of the same crimes by an Australian court and spent 404 days in jail and had his nose broken before being acquitted by the High Court of Australia. Pell was never laicized and died a Cardinal in 2023 in the good graces of the Church - and truly innocent. He didn't just have the cases against him mysteriously dismissed.

Moreover, Apuron here is functionally calling Pope Francis a liar. It was Francis who personally upheld his guilty verdict upon Apuron's appeal and in doing so, clarified exactly what Apuron was guilty of: "delicts against the Sixth Commandment with minors."

‘Forever disgraced’

Apuron was stripped of his title, permanently removed from his post and was exiled, after a Vatican tribunal found him guilty related to sexual abuse of minors. He left Guam in 2016.

Note the dates, because his defenders are claiming that he was "ordered to leave Guam." Nope. Apuron ran away within one day of Roy Quintanilla coming forward with accusations against Apuron on May 17, 2016. He was not ordered to never return to Guam until the conclusion of the canonical trial in March 2018, two years later. 

He lost his appeal and the Vatican tribunal in 2019 upheld the earlier guilty verdict.

The plaintiffs’ attorney, Wolff, said “as a result of the Vatican finding Apuron ‘guilty of delicts against the Sixth Amendment with minors’ and Apuron losing his appeal, Apuron was removed from the office of the Archbishop of Agana and perpetually prohibited from dwelling, even temporarily, in Guam.”

“That is huge for our clients. He has been forever disgraced and he cannot change that with a press release,” Wolff stated.

It's funny to read Wolff saying this now because in 2017, when Pope Francis sent Cardinal Burke to Guam to investigate this mess, I was told that Wolff's father, David Lujan, had advised his clients (Roy, Walter, Roland, and Doris), not to speak to Burke. Lujan's interest was his own case, not the Vatican's, so he had good reason to control his clients. 

However, I knew then what has proven to be true now, that if the Vatican did not convict Apuron, then Lujan's case wouldn't matter. Lujan had the power to sue Apuron and hold him liable in behalf of his clients, but he didn't have the power to remove Apuron from the archdiocese. Only the Vatican could do that. 

Also, at this point, things were growing very tense for me and my family. Apuron had publicly threatened to sue me. My family wanted me out of this, and understandably so. However, I had come too far at that point and my only hope for saving my family and myself was for the Vatican to find Apuron guilty and remove him. 

So I went to see Mr. Lujan myself and pled my case: to let his clients participate in the Vatican investigation. Eventually, all four did participate, Apuron was found guilty and was removed. Unfortunately, it was too late for some members of my family, at least one of whom had been compromised by the Neocats. I have evidence of that. 

So, as I started off saying, it's funny to see Lujan's partner and daughter relying now on the Vatican verdict that may never have happened had I not intervened with her father all those years ago. I'm not taking credit for it. Maybe Lujan had planned to do it anyway. 

‘Injustice in silence’

Apuron, who was the head of the Catholic Church on Guam for some 30 years, said he was unjustly condemned by the media and by public opinion because of false accusations made against him, and that he accepted the injustice in silence.

Actually, the "media" only reported what his accusers were saying. His accusers, the boys he molested and raped, accused him. So it's interesting that he doesn't call out their names here, but falls back on the generic "media" and "public opinion." If you're innocent, Mr. Apuron, why not name names? 

Well, we know why. You're not innocent. And naming names could open paths to new litigation. In fact, why not name my name - like you did in so many press releases before? In fact, I was the only "media" (JungleWatch) that provided a forum for those accusations for most of the first couple years of this. If anyone could be accused of "unjustly condemning" you, it's me. So have at it. 

And, as already demonstrated, he sure as hell did not "accept the injustice in silence." Here's one reminder of how he accepted the so-called injustice:

“Tim Rohr and his associates launched a 'vicious and calumnious attack' on the archbishop and the church,” the statement says...The archdiocese is in the process of taking canonical and legal measures against those perpetrating these malicious lies.” - Guam Daily Post, June 1, 2016

In fact, here is what his attorney said after Apuron was found hiding in his friends' house near San Francisco:

Attorney Jacque Terlaje provided a statement to KUAM: "As you are aware, I am legal counsel for Archbishop Anthony Apuron, OFM Cap. D.D. In response to your inquires regarding his whereabouts, the Archbishop is in a location where he is able to continue working on defending his innocence without distraction." - KUAM, Feb. 2, 2017 

So according to his own attorney, Apuron wasn't suffering in silence and praying for his accusers, he was "working on defending his innocence without distraction." LOL. 

“Today I pray to God to have mercy on those who smeared my reputation and destroyed my life for economic and political reasons...and also for those who judged me listening to them. United to the Lord I can say: Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.”

Wow. To take the words of Jesus hanging on the cross and apply them to yourself! SMH. But beyond that, Mr. Apuron, please demonstrate how any of us who stood up to you benefitted economically or politically. You can't. In fact, several of us paid terrible prices while you danced around your "hill" singing "No one can touch me." Some of us gave up years of lives and had our own reputations smeared - by you and your goons - while we fought to end the "filth in the church" you and your friends smeared it with.

Apuron said many people have expressed their solidarity and support to him and that many people in the Archdiocese of Agana know the truth.

If any of that were true, then Apuron would have had his "day in court" as he so often said he wanted. He could have brought those "people" who expressed "their solidarity and support" and who knew "the truth." But he didn't. Instead, he ran away at the first accusation and was even found hiding in a house owned by the VP of the Bank of Guam in San Francisco. Never forget where he was found hiding.

Accusers locate Apuron - Guam Daily Post, Jan. 18, 2018

He said a climate of fear remains in the church of Guam, created, he said, by people who want to destroy Guam and have no shame using the church to gain money and power.

Well, he had ten years to prove that. But he didn't. Instead he stayed in hiding, claiming to be too old and sickly to show up for a deposition - though he had no problem romping about on video yesterday proclaiming victory. 

“I pray that one day my exile may be lifted and that I may return to my beloved motherland. I keep living this time in prayer and offer my sufferings also for my enemies and for those who condemned me,” he said. “I pray also for the current Archbishop of Guam, may the Lord give him strength, discernment and courage to seek the truth and to do what is right.”

Ummm, Mr. Apuron. Your accusers accused you. They didn't condemn you. The POPE did.

Can’t bring same claims

Apuron’s counsel issued a press release following the filing of the stipulation.

“The claims against Archbishop Apuron have now been voluntarily dismissed with prejudice, meaning that these plaintiffs are prohibited from bringing the same claims against him ever again,” Terlaje stated.

She said these “voluntary dismissals bring to a close nearly a decade of protracted litigation.”

You gotta admit. Jacque is good. She sure as hell was careful not to say "my client has been vindicated" - something any lawyer representing the winning party would be happy to exclaim. But she didn't. Because he wasn't. 

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood, who has presided over the Guam clergy sex abuse cases and the Archdiocese of Agana bankruptcy case, has yet to act on the voluntary dismissal.

Also named in the lawsuits were the Archdiocese of Agana, which settled the cases to exit bankruptcy; the Holy See; and several Capuchin Franciscan entities.

The cases included eight allegations of sexual abuse dating back to the 1970s, mostly from former Hågat alter boys and one defamation case.

‘Made a settlement offer’

Plaintiffs’ counsel earlier stated in a court filing that during a Zoom meeting, “Atty. Terlaje, on behalf of Apuron, made a settlement offer to the plaintiffs.”

“Thereafter, the parties have been engaged in settlement discussions to resolve the dispute between them. The parties’ settlement discussions are in line with what I recall and understood to be the Court’s previous encouragement to the parties to consider resolution and the financial burden of continued litigation,” the April 30 court filing stated.

Another April 30 filing stated that Apuron’s counsel “made a settlement offer to Plaintiff.”

Terlaje’s statement, meanwhile, echoed Apuron’s video message that he has never offered or entered into any settlement agreement with the plaintiffs, nor has he offered any money or other consideration to any plaintiff to resolve these cases.

“Archbishop Apuron has only asserted his willingness to execute a stipulation of dismissal to resolve the cases, as is required under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure...to dismiss any case at this stage of litigation,” according to Terlaje’s statement.

In 2016, Apuron’s accusers said all they wanted was an apology from Apuron.

“Archbishop Apuron has always maintained his innocence in the face of these claims, and has continued to defend his good name within the process permitted under our laws,” Terlaje said in a Wednesday statement.”

Ummm, really? Defended his good name? That's what we were looking forward to: a solid defense at his "day in court." But Jacque, you were careful never to let that happen, weren't you. In fact, as the next line in the story says:

Apuron has not been deposed in any of the cases.

 LOL. You say he "continued to defend his good name but he never even showed up for so much as a single deposition. So there was no defense, just his measly whining from whatever hole he was hiding in - and still is. And by the way, and once again, it was the POPE who trashed his "good name." And he did it personally.

“Unfortunately, due to extenuating circumstances beyond his control, the trial and discovery process was delayed partly by unwillingness of plaintiffs to comply with basic requests for information, which is the basis for motions to compel Archbishop Apuron’s unwavering dedication to due process and justice, in asserting his innocence, is affirmed by the plaintiffs’ decision to dismiss their claims today,” Terlaje said in a statement.

It's hard to wrap my head around this B.S. It appears Jacque is saying that the circumstances beyond Apuron's control was the plaintiff's unwillingness to comply with requests for information. That's bullshit. That is totally in Jacque's control. Requests for Admissions, Interrogatories, and other Discovery tools must be complied with or the "unwilling" party is subject to contempt of court. They can't just say no. That was totally in Jacque's control. Did she file motions to compel production? Did she file motions to show cause? Contempt? I don't think so. It's clear that Jacque and her buddy wanted to draw this out as long as they could, and they did. And they did it to tire out the opposition. It worked.

Apuron’s health concerns were among reasons cited earlier as to why the planned deposition did not go forward.

As already mentioned and demonstrated, Apuron certainly had no problem going on camera and celebrating. So much for the lies about his health. 

“Archbishop Anthony Apuron continues to pray, in solitude, for the Church of Guam, his accusers, and all those victims of abuse in Guam and throughout the Church,” Terlaje stated.

What a joke. He's certainly not in solitude. He's living it up with the Neocats. That was the deal.

The archdiocese settled nearly 300 clergy sex abuse claims as part of the bankruptcy process.

And now comes the moment of truth for Archbishop Ryan Jimenez. In case he wants my advice, Jimenez would do best with sticking what Rome has decided, not what Jacque or Apuron is saying about this mixed up dismissal thing. In any event, Apuron's actions plunged this archdiocese into bankruptcy. And that's not the least of it. How many souls have been lost. How many? Apuron better be hoping for another dismissal. And in a much higher court.