In 2016, he was for some time the apostolic administrator of Agãna, in Guam.

Hon's appointment in Guam followed a request from Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron of Agãna, who was under investigation as a result of allegations of sexual abuse made against him.

Hong Kong-born Hon, who is a Salesian, was at that time secretary of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelisation of the Peoples.

He told ucanews.com then that the task of being administrator was an added service to his position as secretary.

Pope Benedict XVI had appointed him secretary at Propaganda in 2010.

He did so on the recommendation of fellow Salesian Cardinal Joseph Zen and another powerful Salesian - the thenn Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

Hon has been the only high-ranking Chinese official in the Roman Curia. He has been seen as Zen's eyes and ears in the Roman Curia.

Zen is well known for his aggressive anti-communism and support of Catholics who are at odds with the government. He is the most senior critic of Pope Francis' policy of rapprochement with Communist China.

Hon has been back in Rome for less than a year; his appointment to Athens seems to indicate that Pope Francis has a very clear strategy for engaging Communist China and, in this difficult operation, insists on aides who fully embrace this project.

Source

• UCAnews
• UCAnews
• LaCroix
• Image: Archdiocese of Agãna

In a letter entitled "Putting the house in order without burning it down" that was read out in all parishes in the archdiocese Archbishop Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-fai said:

"I want you to know that I am in Rome to urge the Holy See to remove Archbishop Apuron as Archbishop of Agãna and to appoint a successor. I am reinforced in my efforts by the Presbyteral Council of the Archdiocese of Agãna which has presented two letters - the first asking Archbishop Apuron to resign and when that was unsuccessful, the second calling on the Holy See to remove him."

" I can assure you that the gravely serious allegations against Archbishop Apuron will continue to be dealt with by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, which will hold a canonical trial. His Holiness, Pope Francis, is monitoring the proceedings."

Hon's letter also contains an apology to the "survivors sexual abuse everywhere who have suffered so much at the hands of clergy"

He said the church is committed to helping survivors of abuse to heal in body and soul.

"To that end plans are afoot create a fund to provide survivors with financial compensation for all they have gone through."

Hon said he has set up a task force to "heighten the awareness of protecting children and continue to strengthen our policies and protocols in the Archdiocese to ensure that we do not harbor those who abuse children and to make certain that abusers are brought to account."

The letter concludes with a warning that the recently enacted law change allowing lawsuits to be brought against the Church based on "acts alleged to have occurred decades ago" could expose the Archdiocese to unlimited financial liability and possible bankruptcy.

"Bankruptcy will mean the forced sale of Church properties that currently house our schools and social services, and that will have a devastating effect on education and charitable work. In other states where similar laws were enacted, the results have been school closures and the cessation of vital services

"I encourage everyone to listen to those messages and to speak together about them so that the Governor is fully informed when he considers whether to sign the Bill into law," said Hon.

David Sablan, president of the Concerned Catholics of Guam, said that asking the pope to remove Apuron is welcome news, but asking the governor not to sign Bill 326 is "a little too late" and is "an insult to the intelligence of the people of Guam."

Catholics make up about 80 percent of Guam's population.

• umatuna.org
• bigstory.ap.org
• guampdn.com
• Image: kuam.images.worldnow.com

A statement released by the The Archdiocese on September 1 re-iterated its request that the Neocatechumenal Way "renounce the benefits granted through a deed restriction."

A deed restriction signed by Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron allows the Redemptoris Mater Seminary and the Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores Catholic Theological Institute for Oceania to use the Yona property in perpetuity.

The statement says such a step would help significantly in the Archdiocese's efforts to restore unity and build harmony between all members of the Church on Guam.

The Yona property, valued between $40 million and $75 million, is the former 100-room, oceanside Accion Hotel.

The statement also expresses Archbishop Hon's sincerest apologies for the hurt and wounds which the former members of the archdiocesan finance council had suffered as a result of their improper dissolution of the same council.

The former finance council members want to clear their names four years after they were abruptly terminated, in January 2012.

On Wednesday last, the dismissed members of the finance council accused Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron of going behind their back in 2011 when the archbishop, with help from other people involved with the Neocatechumenal Way, "secretly" recorded a deed transferring a church property in Yona to the Redemptoris Mater Seminary.

They said council, during a September 2011 meeting, had denied the Redemptoris Mater Seminary's request to transfer the title of the Yona property to the seminary.

The statement issued by the Archdiocese also made it clear that "while moving forward, the Archdiocese welcomes criticism."

"With discernment, acceptance and humility, we understand that criticism is a bridge that leads to improvement."

Source

• umatuna.org
• guampdn.com
• Image: arm3.staticflickr.com

He is  Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai.

Hon Tai-Fai is currently secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, a position he has held since 2010.

He had previously been professor of Theology at the Holy Spirit Seminary of Hong Kong.

Administrators are often named to run archdioceses temporarily until a new archbishop is named.

Apuron, has been the Archbishop of the Agãna archdiocese for 30 years.

He says he welcomes the appointment of an administrator

In late May, the Apuron traveled to the Vatican.

He was still in Rome on June 6 when the Vatican press office announced Pope Francis had appointed the administrator.

In a video, recorded in  St. Peter's Square, addressed the people of his archdiocese Apuron said he said he was pleased the Pope had responded to  his request for the appointment of a temporary administrator.

He said he was still the archbishop  of Agãna and is a victim of  horrible calumnies.

Apuron  has accused  a deacon, Stephen Martinez, of being part of a conspiracy to oust him over a soured property deal.

Three days before the appointment of the administrator, the Archdiocese of Agãna issued a statement announcing it had hired a US-based lawyer and investigator to look into and possibly respond to comments about the archbishop made by Deacon Martinez.

Martinez was the coordinator of the archdiocese sexual abuse response team until 2014.

"To state, as Stephen Martinez did, that the sexual abuse policy of the archdiocese was kept weak purposefully by the archbishop to protect himself is a calumny of such magnitude that the only avenue, which we are following, is recourse to the civil and canonical legal processes to address these intentional lies," the archdiocese's statement said.

The statement added that Martinez also had been the archdiocesan finance officer, a position the statement claimed he handled with "glaring incompetence."

Last week the Vatican announced that the pope had signed off on new measures to remove bishops who fail to respond to abuse allegations.

Source

• catholicherald.co.uk
• postguam.com
• Image: donboscowest.org