Up to 10 young men from American Samoa and Samoa studying to be Catholic priests at a seminary in Guam were withdrawn from the institution earlier this summer, according to church official in Guam.
Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, who currently oversees Guam’s Catholic Church, while Archbishop Anthony Apuron is relieved of his duties amid allegations of sexually abusing young men more than two decades ago, confirmed that seminarians from the Diocese of Samoa-Pago Pago and the Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia have left.
During the Pacific Arts Festival, the Faasao Marist group visited the Samoan seminarians who were studying there.
The Pacific Daily News said, “Archbishop Hon first started hearing at the start of July that the Samoan seminarians would be leaving Redemptoris Mater Seminary.”
This is the same seminary with a deed restriction that, according to Hon, Pope Francis instructed Archbishop Apuron to rescind and annul more than a year ago.
The deed restriction gives the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of Guam and the Blessed Diego Theological Institute the legal right to use the Archdiocese of Agana’s property.
This particular seminary is the former 100-room, oceanside Accion Hotel in Yona and is one of the Guam Catholic Church’s largest real estate assets valued at between $40 million and $75 million.
Pacific Daily News says the Rev. Kelemete Pua’auli, Chancellor of the Diocese of Samoa-Pago Pago, said the two American Samoan seminarians, who were on a special program in the U.S. since last year, “will be home to continue with their pastoral assignments for the remainder of this year.”
