Fr. Louis Brouillard, 96, now living in Minnesota, is accused of abuse in 55 lawsuits. He served on Guam from 1948 to 1981, including time as a scoutmaster. In October 2016, he admitted to sexually abusing 20 or more boys in an affidavit obtained by an investigator employed by attorney David Lujan. Lujan is representing 75 plaintiffs in the lawsuits.
In the affidavit the priest said that fellow clergy, including then-bishop Apollinaris Baumgarter, who passed away in 1970, knew of his actions. They told him to "try to do better" and to say prayers in penance, he claimed.
One of Fr. Brouillard's accusers said that in 1975 the priest told him, "If you tell anyone, no one will believe you because I am a priest."
According to some lawsuits, alleged victims said they were too scared to tell their parents, or reported the abuse to adults but weren't believed. Two lawsuits said that accusers reported the abuse to police, but the Guam Police Department says it has no records of these reports.
Some lawsuits charge that alleged abusers told their victims the sexual acts were penance or needed to earn Boy Scout merit badges.
A Church-run counseling program, called "Hope and Healing Guam," aims to provide help for victims.
Some lawsuits speak of the effect of the abuse on the alleged victims' faith, with at least one victim reporting he has left the Church. Other alleged victims have not.
When the first group of former altar boys filed their lawsuit in 2016, their attorney Lujan said they "hope and pray that the Church flourishes for another 2,000 years."
Guam resident Mae Reyes Ada, 74, told Pacific Daily News she sometimes feels embarrassed and guilty she did not speak out in the 1970s when she heard rumors of clergy abuse.
Ada has joined protests advocating Archbishop Apuron be permanently removed.
"The Church is going through purging and cleansing," she said. "It takes somebody with a strong faith to fight this war."
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Another demonstrator at July 14 protests seeking the archbishop's removal, 14-year-old Jaden Comon, said he was present "to help these people in their fight against the evils that have infiltrated our Church."
Comon himself aspires to become a priest, saying, "It's our responsibility, especially when we were baptized in the faith, to come and help."