The Vatican missed a Sept. 1 deadline to submit to the United Nations a report, detailing the steps it has taken to protect children from sexual violence, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and the Center for Constitutional Rights said in a Sept. 5 statement.

Guam, where more than 100 clergy sex abuse lawsuits have been filed, was cited as an example of the Vatican's failure to increase child protection as well as accountability for perpetrators and those who cover up and conceal the offenses.

Guam's archbishop for some 30 years, Anthony Apuron, is undergoing a canonical trial related to child sexual abuse allegations against him, but the Vatican has so far not released the specific charges or the results of the trial.

Apuron is one of 16 current or former Guam clergy members accused of sexually abusing children. The alleged abuse happened decades ago.

Parties to the Guam clergy sex abuse lawsuits, including the Archdiocese of Agana and the Boy Scouts of America, are trying to pursue an out-of-court settlement. A mediation conference is tentatively scheduled for early October.

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