Archdiocese: Fr. Luis Camacho returns to Guam 9 years after canonical investigation over alleged sexual act with minor, still banned from priestly functions

Father Luis Camacho has returned to Guam, nine years after leaving the island while he was under a canonical investigation following his arrest and later charged with custodial interference for allegedly taking a minor from school and engaging in a sexual act with her.

The Archdiocese of Agana on Tuesday announced Camacho’s first return since leaving in 2015.

After Camacho’s 2015 arrest, then Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron sent him off-island to a priestly renewal program.

A year later, Apuron himself also left Guam after former altar boys started publicly accusing him of raping and sexually molesting them when they were minors, and the Vatican opened a canonical investigation on Apuron. A Vatican tribunal found Apuron guilty of abusing multiple minors and after losing his appeal, he was stripped of his title and banned from returning to Guam.

Priestly duties still restricted

Camacho’s priestly faculties remain restricted, the archdiocese said on Tuesday.

“He has been notified that he is restricted from serving in any parish, school or archdiocesan office at this time,” the archdiocese said.

Father Michael Crisostomo, the delegate for the apostolic administrator, and Father Karl Vila, an archdiocesan canon lawyer, met with Camacho last week, the archdiocese said.

Apostolic Administrator Father Romeo Convocar is reviewing Camacho’s case, assisted by others in the archdiocese, before any return to public ministry is considered, the archdiocese added.

According to archdiocesan records, Camacho was arrested on March 17, 2015, on Guam for custodial interference.

More from this section

Sir Jim Ratcliffe breaks silence as Man Utd beat Man City to win FA Cup - 'Glorious feeling'

Man Utd fans beg Sir Jim Ratcliffe to keep Erik ten Hag as manager after sensational FA Cup final win

North Korean missile tests rattle villages along the border

He resigned as pastor of San Dimas, Malesso’ and San Dionisio, Humåtak.

At the time, he was prohibited from hearing confession and restricted from celebrating Mass publicly. He may celebrate Mass only privately.

“Those restrictions of his faculties have not been lifted. Former Archbishop Anthony Apuron sent the priest off-island to a priestly renewal program after the incident in 2015,” the archdiocese said.

Rome opened a canonical investigation on Camacho following the incident in 2015.

“Though the Vatican has not been able to make a canonical ruling due to insufficient evidence, the case is not closed,” the archdiocese said on Tuesday.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith informed then Archbishop Michael Byrnes on Nov. 18, 2022 that the case is filed in the archives at this time as it is not possible to proceed with any canonical action.

The archdiocese on Tuesday said the Priest Personnel Board and the College of Consultors will be asked to review Camacho’s case and make the appropriate recommendations to Convocar, who serves as the acting archbishop until the Vatican finds a more permanent archbishop after Byrnes’ resignation.

Byrnes resigned in March 2023 after a life-changing illness, and after leading the Catholic Church on Guam while it’s dealing with the aftermath of Apuron’s conviction and the healing process for the church as a whole following the clergy sex abuse claims.

Some 280 Guam clergy sexual abuse claims have been filed, and after Apuron’s conviction, a leadership change and the archdiocese’s long bankruptcy process, abuse survivors started receiving compensations in 2023 from the archdiocese, insurers and others associated with the church.