THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT

By Tim Rohr

On Wednesday, Jan. 7 (2026), a Clergy Day of Recollection for priests and deacons of the Archdiocese of Agana was held at the Dominican Child Development Center in Ordot. According to the announcement, the focus was on "the very important subjects of child abuse and bankruptcy." The announcement is copied from the AOA Facebook page:

Clergy Day of Recollection focuses on child abuse and bankruptcy 

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The very first Guam Clergy Day of Recollection for priests and deacons of the Archdiocese of Agana in the New Year focused on the very important subjects of child abuse and bankruptcy Wednesday, Jan. 7 in Ordot. The Dominican Sisters and the Dominican Child Development Center (DCDC) hosted the clergy at their site in Ordot.

With Father Fran Hezel, SJ as Day of Recollection facilitator, Archbishop Ryan P. Jimenez and the clergy welcomed three very seasoned Guam professionals in respective social work and legal professions to give presentations and lead important discussions in those areas. 

On June 20, 2023, the United States District Court of Guam announced the official closing of the Archdiocese of Agana’s Chapter 11 Reorganization (bankruptcy) case related to clergy sexual abuse. The archdiocese reached a formal agreement of reparation and compensation with the victim-survivors of clergy sexual abuse who were severely harmed by former members of our archdiocese. Nearly three hundred lawsuits related to clergy sexual abuse were filed against the archdiocese. The effort to bring healing and compensation continues for our Church on Guam.

Honorable John C. Terlaje, Superior Court of Guam Judge; Dr. Juan Rapadas, longtime licensed clinical psychologist; and Attorney Rodney J. Jacobs, longtime lawyer and partner in the law firm of Calvo, Jacob and Pangelinan, LLP engaged in conversations with the clergy during this week's Day of Recollection.

All devoted Catholic men who are very active in the Church and and seasoned professionals in their respective fields, the speakers spoke respectfully but with frankness and honesty as they shared their knowledge, perspectives and input on child sexual abuse and the archdiocese's bankruptcy.

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It's good that they had this "day," and that they had the privilege of hearing from these experts; and it would be better still if we, the people who are paying the bills, could get a detailed briefing on what was said, if not a full recording.

The bankruptcy resulting from the clergy sex abuse in this diocese, which occurred at an incomprehensible scale (per capita, the worst in the whole world*), is not just clergy business, it's all of our business, and we want to know what our church leaders are doing about it other than handing us the bill. 

And by "doing about it," I don't mean the things that the court ordered them to do, I mean what are they doing about the real roots of this horror and what are they doing to make sure it never happens again. 

And it's not just about child protection. The rape and molestation of hundreds of minors was only the symptom of a much greater evil which had been eating out the heart of this church for decades. 

That's what we want to know about. 

*Before Guam's clergy sex abuse scandal was exposed, Boston's was considered the worst. It was so bad that an Academy Award winning movie (Spotlight) was made about it But then there was the Archdiocese of Agana. Per capita, Guam's clergy sex abuse scandal is FOURTEEN TIMES WORSE than Boston's. FOURTEEN TIMES!