Pinoy installed as Guam prelate

Archbishop Ryan Jimenez. —Screengrab from Youtube

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine-born priest Ryan Jimenez was installed on Thursday as archbishop of Agaña, which covers the United States territory of Guam.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said on its website that the episcopal installation was attended by Msgr. Giosuè Busti, chargé d’affaires of the apostolic nunciature in New Zealand and the Pope’s representative; Cardinal Américo Aguiar, bishop of Setúbal in Portugal; and more than a dozen bishops from the Pacific, Oceania, United States and the Philippines.

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The archdiocese has been rocked by a sexual abuse scandal that led to Vatican’s ouster of the second archbishop in 2019.

The archdiocese later filed for bankruptcy after more than 270 people accused local priests of sexual abuse and sued for damages.

The bankruptcy was settled in June last year after a $45 million settlement with the victims. Even the chancery complex, where the archbishop resides, is on sale, and Catholic school tuition vouchers and cemetery vouchers were promised to the claimants and their families.

Jimenez is currently the president of the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific and vice president of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania. —Jerome Aning