ARCHDIOCESE CALLS FOR CRISTOBAL’S RETURN TO GUAM

Reverend Adrian Cristobal will be called back to the Archdiocese of Agana, and the Diocese of Phoenix – where he is “on mission” – will be notified of sexual abuse claims made against the priest.

Cristobal was named in a civil complaint filed on Tuesday in the District Court of Guam by a former altar server, L.J.C., who used initials to protect his identity. The lawsuit alleges Cristobal sexually molested and abused the boy over a two-year period when L.J.C. served as an altar boy at the San Vicente Ferrer & San Roke Catholic Church in Barrigada in the late 1990s.

Because of the complaint filed against Cristobal, Archbishop Michael Byrnes is calling for the former archdiocese chancellor to return to Guam. Archdiocese Director of Communications Tony Diaz said the complaint will be “handled in accordance with our sexual abuse and sexual misconduct policy.”

The policy also requires notifying the Diocese of Phoenix, where Cristobal has been serving on mission since he left Guam in November 2017.

Cristobal has not been receiving a salary or stipend from the Archdiocese of Agana since he left Guam, the archdiocese confirmed

Byrnes will determine if the accusations against Cristobal are credible and then task an independent review board with further investigation.

It will mark the first case sent to the independent panel, Diaz confirmed, as this is the second active clergy member of the Archdiocese of Agana who has been named in the child sex abuse lawsuits.

> Guam Daily Post