New Archbishop Michael Byrnes, who before the end of the year will take up his new assignment as coadjutor of the Archdiocese of Agana, Guam, has a daunting task ahead of him.
For one thing, he has never been to Guam, thousands of miles and several time zones away from the Archdiocese of Detroit, where he was born and raised and has served for the past 20 years as a priest and auxiliary bishop.
For another, he will be stepping into what could charitably be called a delicate situation. For the past six months, the archdiocese, where more than 80 per cent of Guam residents are Catholic, has been riven by accusations against its island-born archbishop, Anthony Apuron, that he abused altar boys 30 to 40 years ago, when he was a priest.
