Leo Tudela, 73, recalls the first instance of allegedly being sexually abused as an altar boy serving on Guam in 1956. Rick Cruz/PDN
Former island priest Louis Brouillard was cooperative and appeared to make an effort to answer difficult questions during the first day of his deposition in Minnesota, according to one of the attorneys involved in the dozens of lawsuits accusing Brouillard of child sex abuse.
Brouillard, who has admitted to abusing boys decades ago on Guam, this week is providing additional sworn evidence related to more than 80 lawsuits accusing him of sexually abusing or raping Guam children. As of this week, Brouillard is named in 87 lawsuits.
Seattle-based attorney Steven T. Reich, a partner at the law firm Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala, said Brouillard has a “fairly decent memory, despite being 96 years old.”
Brouillard, “appeared to make an honest effort to answer the difficult questions put to him,” Reich said after the first day of Brouillard’s deposition, which lasted three hours. The deposition is in Pine City, Minnesota, where Brouillard now lives.
All the parties agreed to depose Brouillard for three hours a day, until Friday, Nov. 3, Reich said.
Brouillard was a priest on Guam from 1948 until 1981, and also served as a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America.
Altar boys were encouraged to also join the Boy Scouts, and many of the lawsuits state Brouillard abused boys while on Boys Scouts outings, often while Brouillard and the boys were swimming.
Reich declined to provide details about what Brouillard said during his deposition because it is not public record at this time.
Reich, whose law firm is working with Guam-based attorney Kevin Fowler to represent clergy sex abuse survivors, said the deposition happened at a community center in Pine City.
Reich said Brouillard was accompanied by his attorney, Thomas Wieser, of the law firm Meier, Kennedy and Quinn, based in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Attorneys for three other plaintiff groups were present for the deposition, as was the counsel for the Archdiocese of Agana and the Boy Scouts of America, Reich said.
Reich said he’s the only one from his law firm present, and will be in Minnesota until the deposition is completed.
Hawaii-based attorney Randall Rosenberg said attorney Lee James, of the mainland-based James, Vernon and Weeks, is attending the deposition in Minnesota. Rosenberg and James are working with Guam attorney Anthony Perez to represent clergy sex abuse plaintiffs.
Guam attorney Michael Berman, also representing clergy sex abuse victims, said one of their attorneys, Philip Okney, is at Brouillard’s deposition.
Attorney David Lujan, representing all plaintiffs for cases filed against Brouillard in federal court, is also in Minnesota for the deposition.
Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes has said archdiocese counsels John Terlaje and Michael Patterson, from Seattle, will be at the deposition.
As of Tuesday, more than 140 Guam clergy sex abuse lawsuits have been filed in local and federal courts against the Archdiocese of Agana, priests, and others associated with the Catholic Church, along with the Boy Scouts of America.
The parties have been pursuing mediation in an effort to settle the cases out of court. The archdiocese has revised its policies to protect young people, and created a program to provide counseling, treatment and compensation.
In phone interviews and a signed affidavit last year, Brouillard admitted to sexually abusing more than 20 boys on Guam and offered his apologies to the boys he may have harmed.
Brouillard said, in his written affidavit, that Guam church officials at the time, including Bishop Apollinaris Baumgartner, knew about his activities and asked him to pray. He was ordained as a priest on Guam in 1948.
Despite Guam church officials reportedly knowing about Brouillard’s abuses while on island, Brouillard continued to serve as a priest in Minnesota, from 1981 to 1985, when he was removed from active ministry. In 1987, he retired in Pine City, where he still lives.
In 2013, the Diocese of Duluth released a list of priests with credible allegations of child sexual abuse while serving in the diocese. Brouillard’s name is on that list.
Three recently filed lawsuits accuse Brouillard of continuing to abuse Guam boys while in the mainland, by flying them out to Minnesota in the early 1980s.
Reporter Haidee Eugenio covers Guam’s Catholic church issues, education, business and more. Follow her on Twitter @haidee_eugenio. Follow Pacific Daily News on Facebook/GuamPDN and Instagram @guampdn.
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Pacific News Minute: Priest Who Admitted to Sex Abuse on Guam Gives Evidence
Hawaii Public Radio
01 November 2017
By Neal Conan
So far, 141 suits have been filed in Guam alleging sex abuse by priests. The most recent just last week. This week, the man named in more than half those cases provides sworn evidence. We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.
Retired priest Louis Brouillard will be deposed by attorneys for the accusers in Pine City, Minnesota, where he now lives.
Last year, in a signed affidavit, Brouillard admitted to the sexual assault of more than 20 boys. He also said that church officials on Guam were aware of his activities but offered no corrective other than prayer. He served as a priest in the Diocese of Duluth from 1981 to 1985 and his name appears on a list released by the Diocese of priests facing credible accusations of child sexual abuse.
According to the Pacific Daily News, three of the most recent lawsuits accuse Brouillard of abusing boys he flew from Guam to Minnesota for that purpose.
In early October, a Vatican tribunal apparently reached a decision in the canonical trial of Guam Archbishop Anthony Apuron – he’s accused of abusing altar boys in his time as a parish priest.
The Director of Communications at the Diocese of Angana told the Guam Daily Post that, when it’s released, the ruling will list the specific charges, a verdict of guilty, not guilty, or not proven. And in the event that he’s found guilty, the penalty.
Archbishop Michael Byrnes, appointed co-adjutator on Guam by Pope Francis, has said it would be “disastrous” if Archbishop Apuron returns. In an interview with the Pacific Daily News to mark a year since his appointment, Archbishop Byrnes said he’s met with some victims and their families and he’s committed the diocese to a more victim centered approach.
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After former altar boys tearfully went public with allegations, a law was passed to open doors for lawsuits against the church, clergy and others. Wochit
Capuchin priest Jack Niland allegedly raped and sexually abused an Agat altar boy during confessions around 1979, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court on Tuesday.
The lawsuit says Archbishop Anthony Apuron, other priests and the Capuchin Order were aware of Niland’s sexual abuses but deliberately remained quiet.
Apuron is also accused of sexually abusing four Agat altar boys in the 1970s, and he is undergoing a Vatican canonical trial.
The latest plaintiff, identified in court documents only as J.C. to protect his privacy, said in his lawsuit that Niland sexually abused, molested and raped him in or about 1979. He was 10 years old at the time.
On several occasions, during confession, J.C. was forced to perform a sexual act on Niland, the lawsuit says.
“During one incident, while J.C. was on his knees with his eyes closed confessing, Niland pushed J.C. forward and pulled J.C.’s pants down. Niland then hunched over J.C. and began penetrating him,” the lawsuit says.
J.C., now 48, is represented by attorney David Lujan. He is demanding at least $5 million in minimum damages. Niland is now deceased.
J.C. is the 142nd person to file a clergy sex abuse lawsuit in local and federal court against the Archdiocese of Agana, priests and others associated with the Catholic Church.
Niland became a Capuchin in 1967 and was ordained as a Catholic Priest in 1976, according to the lawsuit. Niland’s first assignment on Guam was under Apuron at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Agat, where he worked in parishes and schools. During his assignment at the Agat Parish, Niland resided at the Mount Carmel Rectory. He died in 2009 at age 59.
Other plaintiffs in lawsuits against the archdiocese said they went to Niland and told him they had been abused by Apuron.
Former Agat altar boy Walter Denton, who has accused Apuron of raping him when he was a child, has said he told Niland about the rape at the time, and Niland’s response was that “priesthood is a very lonely life.”
Former altar boy Denton, in a libel suit filed against Apuron last year, included a letter he sent to Archbishop Martin Krebs in 2015, describing a conversation Denton and another altar boy had with Niland in the 1970s.
“We told Father Jack Niland that Father Anthony Apuron had raped us in the rectory. We asked him why. The sad response we got from Father Jack Niland was, ‘Well boys, priesthood is a very lonely life,'” Denton stated in his letter to Krebs.
Reporter Haidee Eugenio covers Guam’s Catholic church issues, education, business and more. Follow her on Twitter @haidee_eugenio. Follow Pacific Daily News on Facebook/GuamPDN and Instagram @guampdn.
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The USA TODAY Network’s Pacific Daily News has uncovered nearly 100 lawsuits with stunning accusations against the some of the most revered men on Guam – the priests. USA TODAY
HAGÅTÑA, Guam —Father Louis Brouillard in 1979 allegedly allowed a non-Catholic youth to serve as an altar boy, sexually abused him, and later gave him a medallion for being the “best altar boy” at the Tumon parish, a lawsuit filed in federal court on Monday states.
The plaintiff, identified in court documents only as M.S.M. to protect his privacy, said in his lawsuit that Brouillard was aware the child was not Catholic, but still allowed him to serve Mass.
The $10 million lawsuit states M.S.M. lived across from the Tumon parish, so he served Mass as an altar boy almost every night and on weekends. He was around 12 years old at the time.
The complaint states Brouillard routinely subjected M.S.M. and other boys to the priest walking around naked.
On many occasions, Brouillard allowed M.S.M. and the other altar boys to drink the leftover wine from Mass, the lawsuit states. Brouillard also groped and fondled M.S.M.’s private parts on two separate occasions, the complaint states.
M.S.M., represented by attorney David Lujan, said Brouillard would pay M.S.M. and other altar boys 50 cents for every Mass they served.
The lawsuit states, during a Christmas Mass in or about December 1979, Brouillard gave a medallion to M.S.M. for being the “best altar boy” at the Tumon Parish. M.S.M. served Christmas Mass, officiated by then Bishop Felixberto Flores, the lawsuit says.
M.S.M. was a member of the Boy Scouts of America before he became an altar boy. The lawsuit states Brouillard invited him to go swimming with the priest and other boys, and offered to give M.S.M. his merit badge.
Now 50 years old, M.S.M. is the 141st person to file a clergy sex abuse lawsuit in local and federal courts, against the Archdiocese of Agana, priests and others associated with the Catholic Church. More than half of those lawsuits name Brouillard as the offending priest.
Brouillard, now 96, is the only accused clergy member who has admitted to sexually abusing children on Guam. He is scheduled to provide additional sworn evidence during a deposition in Pine City, Minnesota, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3. The evidence will be used in connection with an effort by the Archdiocese of Agana and lawsuit parties to settle the cases.
Follow Haidee Eugenio on Twitter: @haidee_eugenio
A catch up on the magnitude of the scandal and depth of the heart break unfolding on the small island of Guam.
The archbishop of the Archdiocese of Agaña (Guam) Anthony Apuron recently saw his motion fighting the recent lifting of the statutes of limitations for charges against himself dismissed also underwent a secret canonical trial in Rome in recent months. That Rome trial is terminated but no verdict has been communicated yet. Meanwhile the faithful of Guam continue to be rocked by many other clerical abuse cases. And there has also been considerable controversy regarding archbishop Apuron`s mismanagement of a luxury property used by the Neo Catechumenal Way. Archbishop Apuron could well be the ultimate test of the will of Pope Francis to quit being a media celebrity and actually do something about negligent bishops. Myself I doubt very much that Pope Francis will have been nothing more than a great merchandising success at the Vatican`s souvenirs shop…
I had had big hope for the new Pope a few years ago but what a big letdown.
I understand forgiveness but what about justice? These so-called men of God have no place anywhere near a chalice or the body and blood of our Lord. If I was a thief inside a bank do you think I could get a job in any financial institution?
I think the problem is bigger than we’re led on to believe and he really doesn’t know what to do about it. Trump would, he’s fire the whole lot of them and never lose a nights sleep. I don’t want to start in on him.
More and more dominant roman catholic countries’ victims are coming out and speaking up. How many do we hear about. Sylvia does an excellent job of reporting the Canadian priests. If the numbers are any indication, do you not think it’s just as bad everywhere else. Statistics don’t lie take a small sample and apply to the rest of the world. and add the ones we’ll never hear about. How many bishops and cardinals are among them? More than we’ll ever hear about.
If you use Pope John Paul II and Marcial Marcial in the same sentence you’ll know why I’ll never call him a saint. If you only watch what the right hand is doing you’ll never see the whole picture. Making him a saint was a deflection of what was really going on. I encourage any skeptic on this subject to watch the documentary Vows of Silence. After watching you may understand why I have a problem with top-ranking officials of the church. It’s all about the $$ and nothing else. Well, maybe a bit. I still believe there is more good in our church than bad. We know it’s been like this through the centuries. They didn’t have access to the information highway like we do now. End or ramt……
https://youtu.be/REk2U7YVRwQ
https://youtu.be/tHyhdaTQCS4
Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of the Archdiocese of Lyon France who is the Primat des Gaules; i.e. France`s no.1 catholic cleric will be tried from next April 4-6 (2018) along with 5 other figures in his Diocese in the Preynat case. But Cardinal Barbarin`s alleged failure to disclose abuse also implicates Mgr Luis Ladaria Ferrer who`ll also be tried in this matter.
Father Ferrer who is a Jesuit and close friend of Pope Francis was appointed as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith by Pope Francis last July 1st.
It reaches all the way to the top indeed.
The archbishop of the Archdiocese of Agaña (Guam) Anthony Apuron, who is still facing civil litigation in Guam was found guilty by the Apostolic Tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It is being reported that he will be appealing this ruling.
source:
http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2018/03/16/180316c.html