By Tim Rohr
In addition to my previous two theories of why the Tenorio campaign lost to Terlaje (here and here), there is one more possibility that may have contributed to Tenorio's loss: the very visible presence, if not active participation, of Archbishop Ryan Jimenez.
For a while now, Jimenez has been snuggling up to the current top occupants of Adelup.
On January 17, 2026, right in the middle of the Funeral Mass for Fr. Michael Crisostomo, Jimenez visibly interrupted the Mass, left the sanctuary, paraded right in front of Fr. Mike's grieving family, and rushed to heartily shake the hands of the Adelup duo.
On February 20, 2026, Jimenez publicly blessed the Josh and Tina campaign headquarters and then joined his heroes on Marine Corps Drive to wave with them.
Thereafter, Jimenez allowed himself to appear as a prop in paid advertisements for the Josh and Tina campaign.
Recently, Jimenez was seen with Tenorio and his partner at a church in Manila.
No big deal, maybe. But Jimenez doesn't appear to have any photo ops with any of the other gubernatorial candidates.
Notwithstanding that Josh and his current boss have brazenly stood for policies and positions mortally condemned by the church, Jimenez is ordained and consecrated to lead; it is just damn unbecoming for a Catholic archbishop to devolve into an ecclesiastical political fanboy.
Credit goes to Josh, though. While Jimenez may have been a willing fanboy, he had to be invited to the party first. Josh, an otherwise astute politician, can be forgiven for wanting to be seen with the archbishop and, more importantly, receiving the arch's personal blessing. (Picture above)
In normal times, especially in Guam, appearing to be in favor with church leaders, especially the archbishop, would be a definite positive. However, these are not normal times. The Catholic Church in Guam, and especially its leadership, was severely damaged after being outed as the most dangerous place in the Catholic world for minors.
Per capita, Guam's Catholic clergy sexually abused minors, almost all boys, at a rate 14 times that of the Archdiocese of Boston, the diocese which inspired the Academy Award-winning movie "Spotlight," and that number is based just on the known lawsuits. I personally know of many more victims who either settled out of court or chose not to come forward. In short, Guam's clergy sex abuse scandal was simply massive.
Jimenez may think that because he's the "new kid in town," Guam's shame and scandal are not on him. He's wrong. He can smile all he wants, but he has been a priest in this archdiocese (Saipan is part of the Archdiocese of Agana as a suffragan diocese) for 25-plus years. Additionally, he was the late Bishop Tomas Camacho's right-hand man for many of those years, and Camacho was also accused of sexual abuse of minors.
In fact, I am willing to say that there is not a priest in any of the Mariana Islands who served under Apuron or Camacho who did not know the filth that festered in this church for decades, and that includes Jimenez - and DID NOTHING.
However, as terrible as that all is, and as tainted as it makes Jimenez, there is a larger reason why Tenorio erred in recruiting Jimenez to be a campaign poster boy.
Those outside the controversy may have only seen the clergy sex abuse scandal as the thing that motivated lay people to band together into the CCOG (Concerned Catholics of Guam) and the LFM (Laity Forward Movement), which ultimately organized into the 54-week picket in front of the Cathedral every Sunday and finally brought the Vatican crashing down on this diocese.
But it was not the sexual abuse thing that motivated those lay people. It was the abuse of this archdiocese by Apuron and the Neocatechumenal Way, an abuse that continues under Jimenez, and, from all evidence, continues with his blessing.
Jimenez is in with the Neocats. That's simply the overwhelming, albeit mostly silent, perception, and will remain the overwhelming perception until Jimenez does something about it. But he won't. His promotion to Rome depends on the same people who are hiding Apuron.
I'm sure Josh didn't think of that.
Facts!! Seeing the Archbishop in photo ops with politicians makes me sick to my stomach. It gives me trauma of how Apuron sucked up to politicians as well. Never had a problem with Archbishop Byrnes tho. He never involved himself in such and instead u saw him with the nobodies, even during fiestas. He would sit in the way side or back with the people then be a distinguished guest.what major differences. Jimenez is filipino so its understandable. Look at how corrupt Philippines is and those in positions of power
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