WHAT HAPPENED TO FILONI AND HON?

In the post THOSE TROUBLESOME LAY PEOPLE, I ended with the following: 

P.S. Getting tangled up with "those troublesome lay people" in Agana was not good for either of their (Filoni and Hon) careers. Both were removed from Rome after the Apuron thing blew up. 

Anonymous then left this comment:

Pretty sure that Pope Francis's removal of Filini (sic: Filoni) and Hon from the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples had more to do with their objections to Pope Francis's secret deal with China.

The use of the "s" in the spelling of Evangelisation (rather than the "American" spelling with a "z") suggests the commenter is probably European and may even be personally familiar with the situation he references. 

Filoni

In the case of Filoni, I would be inclined to agree with the commenter that the Pope's removal of Filoni from his position as Prefect of said Congregation was probably due more to his objections to Francis' China policy than to his role in the screw-up by Hon in Guam. The dates certainly reflect this:

Francis' China policy was signed September 22, 2018. Filoni was removed on December 8, 2019.

Hon

However, Hon was removed as Secretary of the same Congregation on September 28, 2017, one year before the China policy was signed. Hon had been an outspoken critic of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, with whom Francis would later make a deal, since 2011. But the timing of Hon's removal points more to his screw-up in Guam. Here's why:

Hon served as the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Agana, Guam, from June 6, 2016, until October 31, 2016. During that time, Hon incurred what is probably one of the largest black marks on his record a cleric of his stature could ever incur: through both his actions and inaction, Hon created the hostile environment that led to the legislation that opened the door to the bankruptcy of the Archdiocese of Agana.

While we'd like to think that clergy sex abuse and the covering it up - which is what Hon appeared to initially try to do - would be bigger black marks. Sadly, that's not the case. In fact, it was Apuron's mishandling of the RMS property, not the "mishandling" of altar boys, which initially caused the Vatican to take notice of what was going on in Guam. 

Stupid islanders

How Public Law 33-187 became law and how Hon caused it to happen will probably be a very lengthy chapter in my upcoming book about the entire mess. But the bottom line is that Hon took us - as Attorney David Lujan said - for "stupid islanders."

It is obvious that Hon's policy is designed to have the confessor brainwash the victims into believing, as modern-day counselors would say, that it was the victims' fault that the pedophile molester abused them, and to deal with this matter in-house. Hon needs to awaken from his Rip Van Winkle sleep to see that things are not done this way in the 21st century; rather, the Defendant is hauled into court to face his accusers for the entire island to see and hear. Furthermore, please inform your Client we are not stupid islanders! - Atty. David Lujan letter to Atty. John Terlaje, July 14, 2016.

Hon's attitude set off a firestorm, and it might have remained nothing but a firestorm, but for a man named Bob Klitzkie. With the Concerned Catholics of Guam, Klitzkie responded to Hon's insult with a strategy that led to the formation of an organization named SILENT NO MORE, which led to the introduction of legislation (by Sen. Frank Blas, Jr.) to lift the civil statute of limitations on sex crimes against minors. 

Blas' bill permitted civil suits against perpetrators, but not against the institutions for which those perpetrators worked or operated. After Hon "sniffed" at the bill, Klitzkie, a former lawmaker, pro tem judge, and attorney, flexed his lawmaking muscles and worked with key figures in the Guam Legislature to amend it to include institutional liability.

Hon panics

After two days of dramatic, tearful, horrific, and grueling public testimony, the bill passed the legislature unanimously. Hon panicked and tried to orchestrate a petition campaign at every Mass to stop then-Governor Calvo from signing it into law. 

Hon's campaign didn't work, and three years later, after hundreds of lawsuits, the new Archbishop of Agana, Michael Byrnes, declared bankruptcy. 

According to Wikipedia, the following happened after Hon returned to Rome:

• On 28 September 2017, Pope Francis named him Apostolic Nuncio to Greece,[12] his first position in the diplomatic service.
• On 24 October 2022, Pope Francis named him Apostolic Nuncio to Malta.
• On 18 May 2023, he was also named as nuncio to Libya.
• On 2 February 2026, Pope Leo XIV accepted his resignation upon reaching the age limit.

Interestingly, Filoni, upon being removed from leadership of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, was appointed  Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher.

I say "interestingly," because it is an Order of which I am a member, albeit not in good standing. In 2013, Filoni's predecessor threatened me to lay off Apuron. I threatened back and decided not to be active in an organization whose leader covered for sex criminals, and according to Archbishop Vigano, as well as Fr. Gene Gomulka, a former military chaplain, may be one himself.