Archbishop Anthony Apuron A Vatican tribunal has found Archbishop Anthony Apuron of Agana, Guam, guilty of some of the accusations made against him including the sexual abuse of minors.
After a canonical trial conducted by the Apostolic Tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican judges imposed the following sanctions on the 72-year-old archbishop: the removal from office and a prohibition from residing in Guam. The archbishop can appeal the sentence.
Archbishop Apuron is among the highest-ranking church leaders to have been tried by the Vatican for sexual offenses.
In a press statement the tribunal said: “The canonical trial in the matter of accusations, including accusations of sexual abuse of minors, brought against the Most Reverend Anthony Sablan Apuron, OFM Cap., Archbishop of Agana, Guam, has been concluded.”
Accusations
“The apostolic tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, composed of five judges, has issued its sentence of first instance, finding the accused guilty of certain of the accusations and imposing upon the accused the penalties of privation of office and prohibition of residence in the Archdiocese of Guam.” US Cardinal Raymond Burke, a noted canon lawyer, was the presiding judge in the canonical investigation of Archbishop Apuron.
The Vatican statement said: “In the absence of an appeal, the sentence becomes final and effective. In the case of an appeal, the imposed penalties are suspended until final resolution.”
Archbishop Apuron had been accused of sexually abusing several boys in the 1970s. In early January one of the archbishop’s nephews publicly claimed the archbishop had sexually abused him in 1990.