An Archbishop in Guam is denying an allegation he molested an altar boy 40 years ago.
52-year-old Roy Quintanilla said the abuse occurred when Archbishop Anthony Apuron, who was then a pastor, asked him to stay the night at his house when he was just 12-years-old.
Mr Quintanilla said he wanted closure and was worried there may be others like him who had pushed the experience of abuse into the back of their minds.
But in a video statement on the website of the Catholic Archdiocese of Agana in Guam, the Archbishop rejected the accusation.
"To be absolutely clear and to avoid any misinterpretations of my statement, I deny all allegations of sexual abuse by Roy Quintanilla."
Mr Quintanilla, who was then an altar boy, said it felt like the abuse just happened yesterday.
"I want closure. I worry there may be others like myself who perhaps pushed this experience in the back of their minds hoping to never have to deal with it."
Archbishop Apuron says newspaper advertisements placed by the Concerned Catholics of Guam, calling for sexual abuse victims to come forward, have now resulted in a false allegation.
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