Archbishop Apuron said that the Vatican’s appointment of Bishop Michael Byrnes, a Detroit auxiliary, as coadjutor was “a most welcome answer to my request for help in the governance of the island at this time.”
The new coadjutor have the right of succession when Archbishop Apuron retires or resigns.
Archbishop Apuron, who has consistently denied the charges against him, said that he is currently “working with the authorities in the Vatican to establish my innocence.”
The archbishop is facing a canonical trial on the sex-abuse charges.
Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, who was appointed in June as temporary caretaker of the Guam archdiocese, revealed in September that he has asked the Holy See to remove Archbishop Apuron permanently from his post and name a successor.