Playing Devil's Advocate

According to the Pacific Daily News:

In response to the deacon’s video, Quintanilla said that he respects Tenorio, but his comments in the video were offensive. Quintanilla said the deacon should’ve waited for results from an investigation before coming out and disputing Quintanilla’s allegations. 

While Tenorio is calling for people in the church to “stop this nonsense,” Quintanilla continues to urge people who also may have been molested to come forward and speak out. 

Apuron denied the molestation allegations in a video released hours after Quintanilla delivered a letter detailing the alleged sexual abuse to the archdiocese’s Chancery Office. Apuron hasn’t been charged with a crime and no lawsuit has been filed against him. Quintanilla has said he wants closure and an apology from Apuron and for Apuron to step down as archbishop.

This is the very reason why it is unheard of for victims of rape and sexual abuse to come out publicly the way Mr. Quintanilla did.  In the newspapers and media, the victim is often identified as a 15 year old male or a 42 year old female.  The media often protects their name unless the victim reveals it on his/her own decision.  And even then, the media usually do not publish their photos without their consent due to the nature of the crime.  We also know that it was Tim Rohr who convinced Mr. Quintanilla of going public after much of their "strategizing" together.  The PDN further states:    

On Tuesday, Quintanilla said the first person he told about Apuron allegedly molesting him was another priest, the Rev. Jack Niland. Niland died in 2009, according to a memorial from the Capuchin Franciscans website. 

Tenorio on Thursday questioned if Quintanilla had “really told Father Jack” about Apuron reportedly molesting him. 

The deacon asked why Niland didn’t report the alleged molestation to the archbishop at the time. 

“I believe that Father Jack was mentioned because he is dead and cannot testify to the truth,” he said.  

Rev. Niland was a newly assigned priest at the Agat parish working under Apuron at the time of alleged abuse, according to Quintanilla. 

“I don’t know if Father Jack reported this to anybody, but if he did, obviously nothing happened,” Quintanilla said. “I was 12-years-old; I don’t know what the procedure was.” 

Quintanilla said it’s not unheard of for priests to “cover up” for other priests. It appears to him that this is what’s happening with Deacon Tenorio “trying to find a way to defend his friend” Apuron. 

Rev. Edivaldo da Silva Oliveira, who identified himself as a personal secretary for the archbishop, spoke on behalf of Apuron on Friday. 

When asked if Rev. Niland told Apuron what Quintanilla told Niland, Oliveira said, “(Niland) never reported because it never happened.” 

“This accusations (sic), as Deacon (Tenorio) says, was orchestrated. As the bishop himself said, they are all false,” Oliveira said. 

The deacon said he knows Apuron to be a person incapable of sexual abuse and that he never heard any reports or rumors accusing Apuron of sexual misconduct. 

Quintanilla said: “Deacon Tenorio spoke about what Apuron is capable of doing. Well I think that’s very different from what Apuron actually did—there’s a difference.” 

“I was there and I’m talking from experience, what he did to me,” he said.

Deacon Tenorio was also speaking from his own experience with Apuron, who was a priest at the time.  After all, they worked in the same parish.  As I mentioned in my previous post, it is unheard of for a victim who was sexually abused by a priest to turn to another priest.  Also, if there was something amiss, Deacon Tenorio would have noticed it.  Why? Because victims of sexual abuse display certain behavioral signs that a person cannot miss.  Children who were sexually abused are extremely withdrawn.  They isolate themselves, are emotionally frightened, and have difficulty socializing with others.  There would also be physical signs such as constant aches and pains.  However, Deacon Tenorio said he never observed anything out of the ordinary.  

Interestingly enough, Mr. Quintanilla also said that at the time he did not know that the other boys were abused.  Why is that?  Could it be because the other boys were acting normally as they always do?  A dramatic change in behavior in children is always a red flag.  Therefore, it seems that both Deacon Tenorio and Mr. Quintanilla did not observe anything out of the ordinary in the boys or classmates.       

Furthermore, sexual predators are serial offenders.  They do not commit a crime only in 1977 and then suddenly stop.  Sexual predators will continue to commit sexual offenses even after they are transferred to another parish.  The sex scandal in the Catholic Church showed that priests who were guilty of sexual molestation and transferred to another parish still continued to act on their deviant behavior.