4 Aug 2016

Hearing told of abuse by Catholic Church members on Guam in 1950s

8:48 am on 4 August 2016

A 73 year old man has told a public hearing on Guam he was sexually abused by a priest and two other church members in the 1950s.

Leo Tudela was testifying before a hearing on a bill that would lift the statute of limitations on civil lawsuits against people who have sexually abused children.

Pacific Daily News reported Mr Tudela said the abuse occurred when he was a 13 year-old altar boy.

Mr Tudela said he was seeking justice and the due process of the law so he could begin healing after half a century of suffering.

The latest allegation against the Catholic Church came after Guam's Archbishop Anthony Apuron was accused of abusing four altar boys in the 1970s.

A temporary administrator was appointed to manage the Catholic Church on Guam following those allegations.

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