31 Mar 2017

Guam's Catholic Church faces two more lawsuits

4:34 pm on 31 March 2017

Two more lawsuits have been filed in Guam by men who say they were sexually abused by a former priest in the 1960s.

The latest complaints bring the number of lawsuits for historical sexual abuse faced by the island's Catholic Church to 39.

Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica in Guam

Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica in Guam Photo: 123rf

Most of the allegations are against the island's recused archbishop, Anthony Apuron, and a former priest, Louis Brouillard.

According to the Pacific Daily News, the two latest cases accuse Mr Brouillard - who has admitted abusing children when he was on Guam - of abuse during boy scouts trips in the early 1960s.

One of the cases is seeking US$10 million in damages.

Late last year, after a number of allegations surfaced, Guam's government lifted a statute of limitations openeing the door for the Catholic Church to be sued for historical cases.

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs