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
Former Archdiocese of Agana Chancellor Adrian Cristobal, currently a priest on a mission to the Diocese of Phoenix in Arizona, is being called back to Guam after he was accused in a lawsuit of sexually molesting and abusing a Barrigada parish altar boy on several occasions, from about 1995 to 1997.
The Diocese of Phoenix will be notified of the claims of child sexual abuse filed against Cristobal, according to Tony Diaz, the Archdiocese of Agana’s director of communication. Diaz said this is because the complaint against Cristobal will be handled in accordance with the Archdiocese of Agana’s sexual abuse and sexual misconduct policy.
“Father Adrian, while a priest of the Archdiocese of Agana, is currently off-island. He was given permission to be on mission in the Diocese of Phoenix since December 2017, but because of the complaint filed against him, he is now being called back to Guam,” Diaz said.
While in Phoenix, Cristobal hasn’t been receiving a salary or honorarium from the Archdiocese of Agaña, Diaz said.
This is the first time Cristobal has been named a defendant in a clergy abuse lawsuit. More than 160 clergy sex abuse lawsuits have been filed in local and federal courts.
The plaintiff is identified in District Court of Guam documents as L.J.C. for the protection of his privacy.
The archdiocese, in a statement, said it acknowledges the newest lawsuit and allegation of clergy sexual abuse filed against the archdiocese and a Catholic priest.
“The archdiocese extends prayers for L.J.C and all persons who have come forward recently and in the past with claims of sexual abuse by Guam Catholic clergy or lay persons,” the statement says. “We take all allegations of sexual abuse very seriously.”
Under Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes, the archdiocese has revamped and strengthened its sexual abuse and sexual misconduct policy.
This includes aligning its policy with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ stringent Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and implementing mandatory live and on-line training of all clergy, employees and volunteers.
Abuse allegations
L.J.C.’s lawsuit, filed on Tuesday afternoon, says the sexual abuses include those that took place in the Barrigada parish’s office after Mass at a private beach in Ipan during a retreat, and after a funeral Mass.
At the Ipan beach retreat, L.J.C. refused to go into a big tent when Cristobal summoned him and other boys to go in. The lawsuit states L.J.C. recalls hearing some boys who went into the tent say, “Stop. You’re hurting me.”
“After this retreat, L.J.C. noticed that some of the altar boys stopped coming to church and serving Mass,” the complaint says.
The last incident of sexual abuse, according to the lawsuit, occurred after L.J.C. just finished serving at a funeral Mass. He was changing clothes when the priest came into his room and locked the door, the lawsuit states.
Lawsuit: Priest caused extreme pain
As the boy tried to walk around the priest to exit the room, Cristobal grabbed L.J.C. and squeezed his private part so hard it caused the boy extreme pain, the lawsuit says.
L.J.C. quit being an altar boy after that because he could no longer handle the pain, humiliation and embarrassment, the complaint says.
L.J.C., now 35, is represented by attorney David Lujan and demands $5 million in minimum damages in a lawsuit that named Cristobal, the Archdiocese of Agana and up to 50 others as defendants.
The lawsuit says Cristobal sexually molested and abused L.J.C. when the boy was about 12 through 14 years old. The lawsuit says L.J.C. was an altar boy at San Vicente Ferrer and San Roke Catholic Church at the time when Cristobal was a priest there.
Ordained in 1989 by Apuron
The lawsuit says Cristobal was ordained as a priest on Sept. 30, 1989 by then-Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron. A Vatican tribunal in March found Apuron guilty of certain of accusations, in a case that involved allegations of child sexual abuses.
Cristobal was the chancellor of the Archdiocese of Agana during Apuron’s time. When Apuron was placed on leave in June 2016, a temporary administrator sent to Guam by the Vatican replaced Cristobal as chancellor.
At the time time, while Cristobal vacated his curia position, he retained his position as pastor of San Vicente Ferrer and San Roke Parish in Barrigada.
Unhappy with reassignment by Hon
Late September, 2016, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai reassigned Cristobal as pastor of San Dionisio Church in Umatac after years of being pastor in Barrigada.
Cristobal at the time expressed his disappointment in an Oct. 4 letter to parishioners, stating Hon’s announcement came as a shock and surprise to him.
“Hon did not afford me the right to due process. Therefore, I am in communication with him and have respectfully requested that this matter be resolved in a conciliatory and judicious manner,” Cristobal stated in the letter.
Months later, the archdiocese announced sending Cristobal to study canon law in Ottawa, Canada.
Reporter Haidee Eugenio covers Guam’s Catholic church issues, education, government, business and more. Follow her on Twitter @haidee_eugenio. Follow Pacific Daily News on Facebook/GuamPDN and Instagram @guampdn.