The Problem Is In One's Heart

Those who are against the Archbishop often cite the Neocatechumenal Way as the cause of the division.  For example, in the Guam Pacific Daily news, which is found here, listen closely to what Chuck White says to the PDN : 

 

"Members of the Neocathecumenal Way practice their faith in a way that largely separates them from their parishes," White wrote in an email. 

 

For example, they celebrate Mass away from the Church proper every Saturday night, instead of attending normal parish Masses, " White stated.  "While they insist that these Masses are open to others, in practice, they are not.  They are not even published in the parish bulletin." 

 

This is where one can actually see where the real division is coming from.  Chuck White says that we celebrate Mass away from the Church.....so why does that bother him??? Is he FORCING us to join the regular parish mass?  What business is it of his if one attends the regular mass or not??  So, here lies the problem.  This is not to say that the regular mass is terrible.  After all, I attend BOTH the regular parish mass and the Eucharist in the NCW.  I do not care if Chuck White attends the Latin Traditional Mass or the regular Parish Mass.  That is his decision.  So, why does it bother him if I decide to attend the Eucharist in the Way?? So, the problem is not me because it does not bother me if Chuck White attends the Traditional Latin Mass or the regular Parish Mass.  The problem is in Chuck's heart because he is the one bothered by it.      

Then Chuck White goes on to say that the Eucharist is not open to others.  We know for a fact that this is false.  There have been non-NCW brothers in our Eucharist.  We ALWAYS introduce these people to the communities at the beginning of Mass. Furthermore, invitations have even been extended to Tim Rohr and Chuck White, which they declined.....so why the complaint?   It is ironic that the ones who complained about the NCW Eucharist not being publicized in the Church bulletin are the ones who would not attend the NCW Eucharist.  

Matthew 15:17-20   “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?  But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
   

Listening Is Effective In Communication

An anonymous poster showed me an article which can be found here.  The article is entitled "Pope warns clergy on 'celibate life lived as sterility.'"  According to the article, there are many priests and bishops who hold in a lot of anger and frustrations.  Priests are angry at each other and even at their bishops, but rather than resolving these issues they hold in the anger and frustrations. 

After reading this article, this reminded me of the Neocatechumenal Way communities.  In the Way, we also have anger and frustrations with a brother or sister; however, we learned not to hold these frustrations inside us.  We confront the brother and sister, usually in the convivience.  In time, we learned to forgive each other and move on.  This is one of the miracles that one finds in the Way.  Anger is normal.  Everyone gets angry.  But to dispel the anger and find peace, it starts with forgiveness.   

Perhaps, if these priests were in a community and attended a convivience where they voice their complaints, things would not get so complicated as it is now.  In the community, we find that we are no better than the other.  According to the article (the bold is my emphasis): 

Say it to his face," the pope recommended. "You're a man, so if you have something against your bishop, go and tell him. There may be consequences, but pick up your cross, be a man!"

For every good or bad thing, there are always consequences.  However, it is always best to receive good consequences rather than bad ones.  Therefore, before facing the bishop it is always helpful for the priest to learn some effective communication skills.  Listening is part of effective communication.  Many times, people hear, but they do not listen.  There is a difference between hearing and listening.  Listening involves understanding.  The article goes on to state further: 

Pope Francis told the priests it is normal and even "healthy" to get angry, but wallowing in that, not getting it off his chest, not airing differences directly, but talking behind someone's back cause more damage.

The key to a fruitful life, the pope said, lies in "double fidelity and double transcendence: being faithful to God is seeking him, opening oneself to him in prayer, remembering that he is the faithful one," and "opening oneself to others" with empathy, respect and patience.

In communicating with others, it is important that we open ourselves to others with empathy, respect, and patience.  This part is certainly clear.  In no way is Pope Francis saying that a priest should go in yelling at the Bishop and calling him a liar.  He is saying to confront your bishop with empathy, respect, and patience.  

After reading this, I think that Pope Francis will agree with Archbishop Krebs.  In this article, the Pope said that if priests have problems with each other or even with their Bishop, they should confront the person.  In other words, deal with your internal problems yourselves.    

Poll Results

Jul. 28, 2014

Grade Archbishop Anthony Apuron's handling of recent church controversies.

A

54%

F

37%

D

4%

C

2%

B

1%

Voting is now closed | 2375 votes

      

Archdiocese Confirms Reason for Removal Of Monsignor James

The Archdiocese of Agana has finally confirmed the reason for the removal of Monsignor James Benavente.  According to KUAM: 

Following the removal of Monsignor Jams Benavente as rector for the Cathedral Basilica and director of director of the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Agana, Archbishop Anthony Apuron today finally issued a statement on the matter. 

In a press release he stated that based on the findings of a recent audit he decided that a change in administration in the two entities was necessary and urgent to re-establish proper accounting practices, complete a financial review, financial report and a audit. 

According to Apuron an audit conducted by Deloitte & Touche revealed the Cathedral and Catholic Cemeteries have about $7 million in indebtedness.  He added the firm determined the accounting practices, especially in the Catholic Cemeteries are "inappropriate" and that an audit is not possible until appropriate accounting has been reestablished in the Catholic Cemeteries of Guam.  The archbishop removed Monsignor James from his positions, exactly one week after he celebrated his 20 year anniversary.  The monsignor has denied any wrongdoing. 

Archdiocese confirms Monsignor's removal was over finances

Conspiracy Theory

One of the conspiracy theory that has been going around is that the Neocatechumenal Way is going to take over the Catholic Church.  This only goes to show that they have no faith in Jesus Christ who said that He will be with His Church until the end of time.  The Church was founded by Jesus Christ and is over 2000 years old, and they actually believe that the NCW will take over the Catholic Church??  The NCW is PART of the Catholic Church.  No one in the NCW ever said that the Way is Lutherian or Protestant.  The only ones who has been saying these things are those who oppose the Way.  That alone says everything. 



 

SNAP Monitoring Anti-Catholic Sites

One of the commenters in the last post said that Msgr.James Benavente was removed from his duties.  I googled the information regarding Msg. James Benavente, and  I came up with SNAP monitoring all the hate sites on their list.  Guess what!!!  Junglewatch is on that list.  See the weblink below:  

SNAP monitors Junglewatch

SNAP knows that Msgr. James Benavente was removed from his duties, and SNAP did not get this information from KUAM, but from Junglewatch, which they listed as their source. According to the jungle, which was copied and pasted by SNAP, Msgr. Benavente was removed due to financial mismanagement. KUAM, on the other hand, reported the following and gave no reason as to the reason for the removal: 

KUAM News has received a copy of a letter that was sent to several people in the Archdiocese of Agana today announcing Archbishop Anthony Apuron's removal of Monsignor James Benavente as Rector of the Dulce Nombre Maria Cathedral-Basilica.  According to the letter his removal went into effect Friday, July 25th.

According to the letter Monsignor James was also removed as the Director of Catholic Cemeteries for the Archdiocese of Agana. The letter also announced the Archbishop's directive dissolving the Archdiocesan Development Group. The Group served as the umbrella organization for the Cathedral's gift shop, museum and Media Ministries.

Monsignor Benavente served as Rector for 20 years. His removal is the latest controversy for the Catholic church in Guam.  Earlier this week, the Archbishop removed Father John Wadeson from active ministry in the Archdiocese of Agana. His removal followed the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests or SNAP exposing his past and the fact that Father Wadeson was twice accused of child molestation in California. Father Wadeson was banned from the Los Angeles Archdiocese. The day after he was removed, Father Wadeson left Guam.


News From KUAM


 

Disobedience Leads To More Sins

Do you see the damage disobedience can do?  It can lead to more sins.  This whole fiasco surrounding Father John Wadeson started with a disobedient priest who leaked out information from a closed meeting.  This one action led to a chain of events that hurt an innocent priest and many others.  This act of disobedience is an act of betrayal.  By leaking out this information, it has caused distrust among the clergy.  With this inability to trust, it becomes more challenging to come back to the table for more discussions.  There is fear and insecurity.  Priests would be worried as to whether their conversations are being recorded to be published in the jungle. 

One priest (Father John Wadeson) expressed his disappointment in an email to his brothers about the leaked information.  Toward the end of his email, he reminded his brothers that the real enemy is Satan, not each other.  Unfortunately, this email was also leaked to the jungle where it was misconstrued.  The owner of the jungle misconstrued Father John's email by thinking that Father John was calling him (Tim Rohr) "Satan."  How in the world the owner of the jungle managed to think that is beyond me when in the first place, that email was not even addressed to him. 

Thinking that he was called "Satan", brings anger (another sin).  Then comes revenge (another sin).  From there, everything went downhill.  Other sins such as denial and blame start to appear.  So, this whole fiasco started with the disobedience and betrayal of one priest.  Whoever this "Judas Iscariot" is, I hope he repents and change his ways. 

I call him "Judas Iscariot" because Judas Iscariot was the betrayer.  Judas' crime was worse than the Roman soldiers who nailed Christ to the cross.  Why? Because the soldiers who nailed Christ to the cross were only following orders and did not know Him.  Judas Iscariot, on the other hand, knew Christ because as an Apostle he lived and ate with Him.  

Disobedience causes division since the beginning.  It separates angel from God and man from God.  Lucifer was cast out of Heaven, becoming separated from God through his disobedience.  Lucifer (which means "morning star" or "light bringing")  is well known as Satan (a name associated with "plotter") is the enemy of both God and man.  Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden becoming separated from God through their sin of disobedience. 

Obedience, on the other hand, brings harmony.  In the human family, when children obey their parents there is harmony.  How much more true this would be in God's family when priests obey their Archbishop.  

WOW! Imagine That!

Today is Friday, July 25th.  Last night after coming home from the movies, I dreamed about Father John going to a lawyer. 

I just looked at my newspaper this morning, which is always delivered to my home.  And right there in "Voice of the People" is a letter from Father John.  According to the last comment of his letter: 

"I warn anyone who wishes to reiterate this false accusation that I have instructed my lawyer to proceed judicially against those who will advance this calumny.  Whatever compensation may be obtained after the court pronouncement will be devolved to help in need, on Guam."

Good for Father John!!  Okay.....now where is SNAP???  He can get millions of dollars from them! 

God works in mysterious ways.  Because Archbishop Apuron removed Father John from active and public ministry, the non-neo priests and the jungle can no longer play the "favoritism" card.  The Archbishop removed a non-neo priest (Father Paul) and a "neo priest" (Father John). 

Playing A Different Song And Dance

Tim Rohr is playing a different song and dance now that Father John is being followed by SNAP.  Under my July 17th post "Follow What The Vatican Delegate Says,"  I copied and pasted the following from Junglewatch on July 19, 2014 at 10:18 a.m. into my blog, which can be found here:

"And YOU Wadeson! And to think that just recently on this blog I stood up for you. To think that I have been filtering out comments on this blog for nearly a year about the mysterious circumstances surrounding your sudden incardination and about your name being on a certain list. And you are going to call us, and ME in particular, SATAN?"

As you can see, Tim Rohr knew about Father John's circumstances for nearly a year.  Now below is the weblink showing the database of Father John, which is now completed by SNAP.  Junglewatch is on that database: 

http://bishop-accountability.org/priestdb/PriestDBbylastName-W.html

If you click on the name "Junglewatch" in that database, it will bring you to bishopaccountability.org who copied and pasted Tim's Junglewatch blog regarding his knowledgeable circumstances of Father John., which he kept secret for nearly a year.  However, look at the difference.  This is the change that Tim Rohr made on his blog: 

"I kept quiet about it because I didn't know all the details but I was shocked to hear the Archbishop bragging about SNAP supporting his decision against Fr. Paul when I had been used as cannon fodder to protect him only a couple of years earlier. Well, Archbishop, now it's your turn to protect yourself. Don't call me."

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2014/07_08/2014_07_19_JungleWatch_DontCall.htm

As you can see, he took out the part where he said he knew about Father John's circumstances for nearly a year.  He is now making the claim that he kept quiet about it because he did not know all the details.  And this is the Tim Rohr who always brags about knowing the truth and being the one to get it out to the public first.  Tim Rohr is now covering himself because SNAP will be the one to ask him why he kept it a secret for nearly a year.  So, he took out that part in his blog and changed it.  

For those of you who want to go into the jungle and verify it, you can do so.  What Bishopaccountability.org copied and pasted from Tim's blog is good enough for me.     

SNAP Exposed

I found this article by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, which is a very interesting read.  Victims of child abuse by priests or any other deserves our love, compassion, and sympathy.  However, organizations who use the media for the sole purpose of trying to destroy the Catholic Church do not.  Below is only a few excerpts from the article.  You can read the rest in the weblink I provided below: 

Garabedian, a Boston attorney, isn’t interested in balancing the scales of justice: he wants to go for the kill. “This immoral entity, the Catholic Church, should be defeated. We must stand up and defeat this evil.” That’s exactly what he told the true believers. Candid statements like this give the lie to the argument that those who routinely bring suits against the Church are doing so out of fidelity to the law. Nonsense. What drives them is not outreach to alleged victims—what ignites them is the satisfaction of going after the Catholic Church. I learned this first-hand when I recently called Garabedian asking if he had any remorse after a spurious lawsuit he filed against a fine priest was tossed by the judge. What prompted my call was the revelation that the priest, though never found guilty of anything, died a broken man—this was the attorney’s second lawsuit against him! Garabedian not only showed no remorse, he went ballistic when questioned....................


“The Unmasking of the Dallas Charter and Other Recent Game-Changers” was the subject of a discussion by Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, and Terence McKiernan, founder and president of the group. Many pundits and media outlets see BishopAccountability as nothing more than an organization that tallies accusations against priests. In actual fact, its agenda, which was made positively clear at the conference, has more to do with stabbing the Catholic Church.

 

Doyle is a founder, or co-founder, of several Catholic dissident groups, including Voice of the Faithful. She told the audience that “the conspiracy begins at the Vatican” and the “zero tolerance policy is a sham.” That’s right—she believes that Rome is at the heart of a world-wide conspiracy to protect molesting priests (it is precisely this kind of mindset that is shared by Anderson; otherwise, he wouldn’t constantly be suing the Vatican). She made it plain that she wants the names of all priests accused between 1930-1960 to be released, notwithstanding the fact that many are long dead and cannot defend themselves. She also stated that the “review boards have become a new pressure point,” and that “the Gavin Group [which gathers diocesan data for the bishops] is getting worried” that their audits may be found to be flawed or false.

 

SNAP exposed

Catholic Sex Abuse Facts

An anonymous poster wrote the following under the post "True Humility".  His/Her comments can be found here.  According to the poster: 

"You all defend Fr. John as if you know the truth, but none of you do. There have been many known predator priest in the history of the Church, who have never been convicted in the court of man. The Church handled these incidents internally, usually keeping it secret to protect the image of the Church. It is no longer that way today, thanks to organizations like SNAP, except here onGuam where our Arch protects himself and the interest of the NCW. Shame on all of you who would discredit the actions taken by the L.A. Archdiocese, without even knowing the details of the cases against Fr. John. You would rather risk the safety of children for the sake of your selfish pride."

 

Here are a few Catholic sex abuse facts that was conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), the independent research organization out of Georgetown University, which has been tracking abuse data regarding United States Catholic clergy for several years.  According to their data: 

 

Almost all accusations against Catholic priests date from many decades ago, and indeed nearly half of all abuse accusations concern priests who are already long dead.  In a body of 77 million people, contemporaneous accusations of abuse against Catholic clergy in the United States are very rare, recently averaging only 8 allegations deemed "credible" by review boards each year. 

 

According to CARA, here are the numbers of accusations involving a current minor that were even deemed "credible" each year from 2005 to 2013:

Year / # of accusations

2013	10
2012	6
2011	7
2010	8
2009	6
2008	10
2007	4
2006	14
2005	9

Catholic Facts

 

Now, let us look at Los Angelos.  there are 211 accused individual cases in the L.A. Archdiocesan, which goes back to 1932.  Out of that 211 (of which Father John is listed on), how many of those cases are credible is unknown.   According to that report, the allegation of Father John took place between 1973-1977, which is approximately 41 years ago.  The information is found in this weblink: 

 

http://bishop-accountability.org/priestdb/PriestDBbylastName-W.html

 

So, according to that report, the 2 incidents of child abuse that took place in which Father John was accused of was between 1973-1977, which is approximately 41 years ago.  No other incident of child abuse took place after that.  Then in February, 2004, the names of 211 priests were listed.  The weblink below provides an insight of what was going on at the time of 2004. 

 

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/usccb/natureandscope/dioceses/losangelesca.htm

 

According to the news report (bold is my emphasis):  Mahony, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles, said recent actions by the archdiocese to remove a once high-ranking priest from a San Marino parish as well as the decision to reveal the names of 211 priests accused of wrongdoing had provided evidence that the archdiocese was keeping its word.

 

After receiving the names of 211 priests, the Archdiocese  of L.A. banned these priests regardless of whether they were falsely accused or not.  Today is the year 2014.  To this day, Father John has no lawsuit against him.  To this day, there has been no arrest and/or conviction.  In addition, there has been no other report of sexual abuse by Father John since 1977.  The law says that an accused person is innocent until found guilty in a court of law.  In the case of Father John, he is still innocent.  And if there is any credible evidence of his guilt, I would think it would show up by now after 41 years. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

True Humility

Father John has shown what true obedience and true humility is.  He was removed from active and public ministry by Archbishop Apuron, and he did not retaliate.  He did not say anything negative to the Archbishop.  He was like St. Padre Pio.  He was humble.  He remained obedient to the Archbishop in that he said nothing negative about him.  And in answering to the Pacific Daily News, he said positive things about the Archbishop.  And most importantly, he did not say anything negative to his persecutors.  He is a true servant of God.  God bless him always. 

According to Father John Wadeson: 

“…I was in such shock at the viciousness and lies of what was being said about me and our (Archbishop Anthony Apuron), whom I hold in great esteem, that I was lost for words.

For the good of the Church I thought it best that I leave the country, albeit with a very heavy heart, so that these false accusations that are being leveled at me do not become weapons to use against our Archbishop or the church of Guam. Years of evidence shows that our Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron has been in the forefront against gambling and the corruption that it would bring; he has consistently defended marriage and the family; he is encouraging vocations to the priesthood and religious life to help in the evangelization of the Pacific. He has truly been a pastor and those who are attacking him know not what they do!

Meanwhile I will continue to pray for our Church, our archbishop as well as for those who attack him. One of the great Fathers of the Church, St. Gregory the Great, commented on the words that Job uttered In the midst of his anguish: "He, who is mocked by his friend as I am, will invoke God and He will answer him. (Job 12:4) and he said "It is the wisdom of the righteous, to pretend nothing in show, to discover what he means by words; to love the truth as it is, to eschew falsehood; to set forth good deeds for naught, to bear evil more gladly than to do it; to seek no revenging of a wrong, to account opprobrium for the Truth’s sake to be a gain. But this simplicity of the righteous is ‘laughed to scorn,’ in that the goodness of purity is taken for folly by the ‘wise’ men of this world. For doubtless every thing that is done from innocency is accounted as foolish by them, and whatever truth sanctions in practice sounds weak to carnal wisdom. For what seems worse folly to the world than to show your mind through your words, to feign nothing by crafty contrivance, to return no abuse for wrong, to pray for them that speak evil of us, to seek after poverty, to forsake our possessions, not to resist him that is robbing us, to offer the other cheek to one that strikes us?"

Father John's parting words in the PDN

Peace Talks

Apparently, the problem is in the clergy, and that is where it should start.  The laity should not be involved.  When Archbishop Krebs was here, listening to the clergy......that was a good start.  And that can continue on if the Archbishop desires it.  However, there is a problem that needs to be addressed FIRST before "peace talks" can continue.  The problem that needs to be addressed is the fact that information was leaked out of a closed meeting.  The minutes of the meeting and probably even a recording had fallen into the wrong hands.  Furthermore, the email that Father John sent to his brothers (fellow priests) was also leaked out.  Apparently, someone either forwarded the email or printed it out and gave it to the wrong hands.  

This can be addressed in either two ways:  

1.  Everyone's cell phones and recording devices should be confiscated before entering the meeting.  It is unfortunate that this may have to be done because an individual priest does not know how to act like an intelligent adult.  This is what one happens when one person sins.  The sin of one person can cause the suffering of many others.   

2.  Find the culprit and remove him from the clergy.  I know this sounds harsh, but even Israel feels that Hamas needs to be taken out before "peace talks" can resume with the moderates who have been striving for peace.  

    

To Posters Posting On This Blog

This is a reminder that any posts or comments copied and pasted from the jungle will not be published.  Also, any comments with name-calling such as "dumb", "stupid", or "twisted" will not be posted.  In addition, any threats will not be published. I had to delete three such comments this morning.  Telling me that I am a "twisted" person without giving any reason as to why is not constructive discussion and is also not the topic of this post.  Any ignorant and inappropriate comments will not be published.  This is only a reminder. 

So, please be careful of how you comment.  Be responsible for what and how you comment for I will not take responsibility for any ignorant and inappropriate comments.    

Sunday Mass Once A Month

One of the stipulations mentioned in Cardinal Arinze's letter to the Neocatechumenal Way on December 2005 is that the communities are to attend the Parish Mass once a month.  According to the letter: 

At least one Sunday per month, the communities of the Neocatechumenal Way must participate in the Holy Mass of the parish community. 
  
Cardinal Arinze's letter

According to Kiko Arguello, a majority of the members in the communities already go to Sunday Mass once a month.  Some communities even make a point not to celebrate Eucharist on one Saturday evening each month so that the brothers can attend the Parish Mass.  There are also brothers I know who actually attend daily Mass including the Sunday Mass along with the Eucharist in the Way.  I find that very admirable.  It is unusual to see people attend Mass on a daily basis.  However, there are also some brothers who are "fallen away" Catholics.  They are still baptized Catholics but have not attended the Parish Mass in a very long time.  

Having been away from the Parish Mass for so long, some of these "fallen away" Catholics find it difficult to suddenly go to the regular Sunday Mass.  They appear more comfortable in the Neocatechumenal Way Mass despite that it is two hours long.  This is where the members of the Way, the Catechists, and the Priest can encourage these brothers to start going to the Parish Sunday Mass once a month.  After going to the Parish Mass once a month, they can feel more comfortable in attending the regular Parish Mass.  Some of the brothers in the Way have also become more involved in the Church by becoming alter servers, lectors, choir members, and Eucharistic Ministers; therefore, these brothers sometimes attend regular Sunday Mass more than once a month. The brothers who already attend the Parish Mass on a daily basis is not a problem.  They have actually gone beyond what the Pope required them to do. 

Building Bridges

Archbishop Krebs had a wonderful time here on Guam as he visited the clergy, the mayors, seminary, and even the Governor of Guam.  According to the Umtuna dated July 20, 2014, Archbishop Krebs emphasized that his intention was "to come help (build) bridges and help those who want to build bridges."  According to the Apostolic Delegate, "I did not come here to help those who want to break bridges down but to help those who want to build them." 
   
Despite the fact that an ignoramus priest managed to record the closed meeting and turn it over to Junglewatch to be publicly ridiculed, reconciliation and unity can still be achieved for with God all things is possible.  Naturally, it will be challenging because of what was done during the closed meeting.  Nevertheless, the reason for this behavior is because of desperation.  The Nuncio supported us, and that is the reason for their frustration and anger.  

Let me again reiterate to the brothers in the Way.....do not engage in anything that is hostile to our Archbishop and to the Catholic Church.  To put it in simple terms, it is not necessary to go to the jungle anymore. The Apostolic Delegate has already labeled it a "hate blog", so please heed his advice when Archbishop Krebs advise us not to pay any attention to it.  Just pray for those who persecute us, and God will take care of the rest. 

Follow What The Vatican Delegate Says

An anonymous poster commented on a thread under one of my "A  Couple Of Solutions" post found here.  According to the anonymous  poster,he stated: 

Pontifical Delegate stated not to pay any attention to Jungle Watch blog ( This is true, it came from the horses mouth) . He said is not Catholic Education info but a hate blog. He also said in Germany is far worst. We are all blessed we are not in El Salvador like what happen to Archbishop Oscar Romero. Thanks be to God.  

This anonymous poster heard it from Archbishop Krebs.  Therefore, brothers, I repeat once again......do not engage with anything that is hostile to our Archbishop and to the Catholic Church.   The Pontifical Delegate has labeled Junglewatch a hate site.  I encourage you not to engage or participate in anything that is strongly opposed to the Catholic Church and to our Archbishop. Encourage and strengthen each other. And most importantly, pray for those who hate us, and trust that God will take care of the rest.   

Whoever leaked out information from a closed meeting is not after unity, but out to destroy or undermine any kind of reconciliation.  What other reason would this person have in leaking out information to a blog owner who obviously opposed the Archbishop?  Yes, the Archbishop ordered that the meeting be closed and nothing should leave the door, and the Pontifical Delegate AGREED with Archbishop Apuron.  By deliberately leaking out information, the person responsible have already made up his mind not to reconcile.  As Catholics, we should follow what the Vatican Delegate says.  He says not to pay attention to the jungle. Therefore, pray for those who hate us.   Only God can convert the hearts of men.    

Canon Law 1369

I found the following canon law very interesting regarding the use of public media against religion or the Catholic Church.  I found the canon law in the Vatican website.  The word "Church" according to Catholic teaching has never been applied to a stone building, but to a people or a gathering of an assembly.  The Archbishop and the NCW is PART of the Catholic Church. It is always best for a person to observe the Church's doctrines and teachings.  Allegations of so-called liturgical abuses is not more important than respect toward our Church leader.  Remember that Christ told a man to leave his gift at the altar and reconcile with his brother.  God favors reconciliation more than the gift at the altar.   

Canon Law 1369  A person who in a public show or speech, in published writing, or in other uses of the instruments of social communication utters blasphemy, gravely injures good morals, expresses insults, or excites hatred or contempt against religion or the Church is to be punished with a just penalty.

Canon Law 1369

A Couple Of Solutions

It has been reported that the problems we have here in Guam are to be resolved by us rather than by Archbishop Krebs or the nuncio.  Perhaps, we can start with the priests who are rebelling against the Archbishop. 

Solution #1:  Priests made a vow of obedience to the Archbishop; therefore, they should cease all rebellion and start committing to their vow of obedience to the Archbishop with the faith and trust that God is leading the Archbishop just as He leads the Pope. 

Solution #2:  To those priests who feel that the Archbishop gives more attention to the RMS priests - here is a solution:  Become a "neo-priest".  Then you can get the attention from the Archbishop all you want since that is your desire anyway.  If your answer is no to being a neo-priest, then see Solution #1.   

As for the lay faithful who are rebelling against the Archbishop:  

Solution #1: Obey and respect your Church leaders, whom Christ has placed under authority and recognize that anyone who tells you to go against your Church leader is already going against the Catholic Church.   

Solution #2:  If you cannot trust your Church leader (whether it be the Pope or Archbishop), then pray to God to give you faith. 

This Is Funny

The NCW supports the Archbishop and do not ask for the financial report.  Some of them do not even care about the money and trust that God will find some good use for it that will either help the poor or the Church. 

Those who are against the Archbishop publicly announced that they will not give anything to the AAA.  They also publicly announced that they will no longer donate their money to the Archdiocese of Agana and to those Churches that have the Neocatechumenal Way.  Others say that they will only pay for the electricity of the Church.  And ironically, these people who said they will not donate are the same ones demanding to see where their money is going.  Their money.........the money they no longer donate??  How ironic or should I say hypocritical. 

Apostolic Delegate To Visit Guam

Archbishop Martin Krebs is scheduled to visit Guam on July 12-15.  Most likely, he would be joining the Archbishop's community to celebrate the Eucharist in the Neocatechumenal Way.  I actually hope so.  The Papal Nuncio in the United States had celebrated the Eucharist with the Neocatechumenal Way, and they had no problems with it.  Archbishop Krebs will also be meeting with the clergy. 

Apostolic Delegate To Visit Guam

The Role Of The Laity

Pope Francis said that he would like to see the laity more involved in the Church.  Of course, this never meant to go against the Church or the Archbishop.  It also does not mean to become lectors and alter servers, although that is a good thing.  It also does not mean to stand at an abortion clinic protesting against abortion, although that is also a good thing.  Although all these are good things and should be done, Pope Francis was implying much more than these.  The role of the laity is to spread the Gospel to all people in our workplace, our neighbors, and everywhere.  According to the National Catholic Register (bold is my emphasis): 

Cardinal Bergoglio was the principal author and presenter of the "Aparecida Document," which not only echoes many of his fundamental themes, but is a reliable indicator of his thought. 

The reform of the laity, the document says, must involve them to become "missionary disciples in communion." 

Those four words define the lay vocation:  converted followers of Jesus, who together with others, share Jesus' life and faithfully seek to spread their joy, life and love to those who have not yet come into that twofold communion. 

It's a community of believers trained and inspired to go out to transform politics, society, education, neighborhoods, family and marriages. 

It's a brotherhood of Good Samaritans drawing near to neighbors with love and mercy. It's the faithful who are the salt of the earth and not just salty critics of the Church. 

This sounds like the Neocatechumenal Way.  The members of the NCW do not criticize the Church nor the Archbishop.  We know that the members of the Church and the Archbishop is not perfect.  Yet, we have always been supportive of the Church and Archbishop here on Guam.  It was never the role of the laity to stage a protest against the Church or even their Church leaders.  Against abortion.....yes!  But certainly not against the Church or even the Church leaders.  It was God who put the Archbishop as the leader, and who are we to tell God that He chose the wrong leader.  Even David never went against King Saul because Saul was appointed by God.  You can read the rest of this interesting article in the following website: 

Reforming The Laity

Why The Concern Over Money?

Under one of my posts Gift of Fortitude, a few comments were made about financial ruin, a mountain of debts, etc.  Where is this coming from? Obviously, Catholics United and a few others under the thread feel that the Archdiocese of Guam is heading toward financial ruin.  Where is this concern coming from that we are up to our necks in debts and are heading toward financial ruin? 

So, the Archbishop has a luxury car.  However, one poster pointed out that the car was a gift to the Archbishop.  Is the Archbishop also living in a grand palace?  Is it because we have a seminary in Yona?  The Redemptor Mater Seminary in Yona was founded by the Archbishop on December 8, 1999, which was 14 years ago.  Fourteen years is a pretty long time, and all during that time, not a single church on Guam has closed down.  So, why concern over money so suddenly?   

Compared to the German Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, he used the money on building his residence.  The Bishop of Gemany was spending millions of dollars on luxuries such as a $20,000 bathtub and a $1.1 million landscaped garden.  Do you see anything like that at the chancery?  The chancery looks pretty much the same for the last 20 years or so.  So, why is there talk of financial ruin and mountains of debts?   

Community of Disciples

Those who walk in the Neocatechumenal Way will always encounter problems.  Problems are a part of life and found not only in the NCW, but in any type of community (whether it be family or work community).  The Apostles also walked as a community, and they called themselves the "Way."   This is where we got our name from - the very early Christians.

Acts 9:2   and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that, if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way,^* he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains. 

Acts 22:4  I persecuted this Way to death, binding both men and women and delivering them to prison.

(The bold is my emphasis, and scripture is taken from the New American Bible.)

According to the New American Bible, the Way was "a name used by the Early Christian community for itself.  The Essene community at Qumran used the same designation to describe its mode of life."  In the Early Church, a   "catechumenate" was a person who was under the instruction of the rudiments of Christianity.  Taking its inspiration from the catechumenate of the early Catholic Church, by which converts from paganism were prepared for baptism, it provides post-baptismal formation to adults who are already members of the Church (See wikipedia on the Neocatechumenal Way website).  

At any rate, the community of disciples of the Early Church were not perfect.  They argued and disagreed with each other even after Christ ascended into Heaven.  For example, there was a huge disagreement between St. Paul and St. Barnabus.  Their argument was so intense that they went their separate ways (See Acts 15:36-39).  And their argument was so trivial.  However, the two eventually reconciled later on. 

Another argument took place between St. Paul and St. Peter - the two greatest Apostles.  To understand their argument, one needs to understand the situation during those times.  At that time, the Jewish Christians did not get along with the Gentile converts.  The Jewish Christians imposed their Jewish laws of circumcision upon the Gentile converts, and would not associate themselves with any uncircumcised Gentiles.  After St. Peter visited Cornelius (who was a Gentile convert), he got into an argument with some of the Jewish Christians who criticized St. Peter for being in the house of Cornelius (See Acts 11:1-4). 

Later, we see St. Paul (the Apostle of the Gentiles) strongly rebuking St. Peter for his actions.  Imagine that, St. Paul rebuking the Prince of the Apostles!  In Galatians 2, we see St. Peter sitting with the Gentile converts.  When St. James and his Jewish friends came in, St. Peter moved away and sat with the Jewish Christians in order to avoid any conflict between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile converts.  However, St. Paul saw this as discriminatory against the Gentile converts.  So, St. Paul faced St. Peter and rebuked him. 

Perhaps, Peter's example was not the best to the Gentile converts who was present there and saw his actions; however, we later find St. Paul eating his own words when he copied St. Peter's actions in order to avoid conflict with the Jewish Christians.  In order to avoid conflict with the Jewish Christians, St. Paul had Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:3).  And St. Paul was the one preaching that circumcision was not necessary. It took a council to resolve the problems between the Gentile converts and the Jewish Christians.     

In our walk, we are like these disciples who disagree, fight, and argue.  These disciples were no different from us.  They walked in a community and encountered problems like we all do.  Christ meant for his disciples to walk in a community because through a community, we eventually lean on Christ to help us overcome all obstacles just as the Apostles did.  God gave us the grace to reconcile with the brother, to love the other, and even to die for the other.  St. Paul and St. Barnabas later reconciled with each other.  St. Peter and St. Paul were executed together in Rome.  Despite arguments and disagreements in the community of the Early Christian disciples, they loved each other and willingly gave their life for Christ.       

   

NCW Seminarian Interviewed About The Way

This video below shows a seminarian from Paraguay explaining a little bit about the Neocatechumenal Way and how it saved the marriage of his parents.  Because of the Way, he has found his vocation into the priesthood.  We are in a battle against the secular world that wants to destroy families. 

The Neocatechumenal Way offers an opportunity for families to work together.  Couples are turning away from divorce and are no longer afraid to be open to life.  In the Way, the importance and role of the families are discussed in the catechesis and even in the Beginning of the Year retreats.  RMS priests are being trained to give catechesis in their homilies as well as tie today's readings together so that the homilies becomes relevant in the every day life of the faithful. The Way is also producing many priests not only to do the missionary work that Christ instructed them to do, but also to conduct the Mass for the faithful. 

Kiko Arguello have often said that the Neocatechumenal Way came from God.  The Pope has said that it is a gift from the Holy Spirit.  What we do know is that the Way started among the poor.  It did not start with the rich.  It started from the poor, and it came from poverty.  As I said before, God chooses the poor, the weak, the humblest, the handicap, and even the worst sinner as His chosen ones so that through their weaknesses, God can manifest His power and strength.  COURAGE!!!    

The Gift of Fortitude

Fortitude is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Fortitude is defined as the mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty, adversity, danger, or temptation courageously.  In the Neocatechumenal Way, I often hear the word "Courage" that this has become a slogan or motto of the Way.  Always walk in the right path with courage and humility.    

To the brothers walking in the Way and especially to our Archbisop, take courage. You are never alone.  God always chooses the weak, the poor, the handicap, the shy ones, the most humbled, and even the worst sinner as His chosen ones to lead.  He does this so that He uses our weaknesses to manifest His power and strength.  God is always by our side especially during these times of difficulties and persecution.  He has armed us with the divine gift of fortitude, which is why the slogan and motto of the Neocatechumenal Way is "courage."  Courage because families are in mission in foreign countries away from friends and job securities.  Courage because mission priests and seminarians are being sent off to evangelize to bring people to Jesus Christ.  Courage because even our seminarians from foreign lands are being ridiculed and discriminated due to their language.  Courage because we are being ridiculed, taunted, and scandalized by others.  According to the Pope: 


Dear brothers and sisters!

In recent catechesis, we examined the first three gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding and counsel. Today we think about what the Lord does, He always comes to support us in our weakness with a special gift, the gift of fortitude .

1. There is a parable told by Jesus, which helps us to grasp the importance of this gift. A sower goes out to sow; not all the seed he sows, however, bears fruit. What ends up on the street is eaten by birds; what falls on stony ground or among thorns sprouting, but is soon dried by the sun or choked by the thorns. Only what ends up on the good soil can grow and bear fruit (cf. Mk 4.3 to 9 / / Mt 13:3-9 / / Luke 8.4 to 8 ) .

As Jesus himself said to his disciples, the Father is the sower, who sows the seed of His Word abundantly. The seed, however, often clashes with the aridness of our hearts and, even when welcomed, is likely to remain sterile.

Instead, with the gift of fortitude the Holy Spirit frees the soil of our heart from torpor, uncertainties and all the fears that can stop it, so that the Word of God can be put into practice, in an authentic and joyful way.

This is a real help, this gift of fortitude it gives us strength and frees us from many obstacles.

2 . There are difficult moments and extreme situations in which the gift of fortitude is manifested in an extraordinary, exemplary way. This is the case of those who are facing particularly harsh and painful experiences, that disrupt their lives and those of their loved ones.

The Church shines with the testimony of so many brothers and sisters who have not hesitated to give their lives, in order to remain faithful to the Lord and His Gospel.

Even today there are numerous Christians in many parts of the world who continue to celebrate and witness to their faith with deep conviction and serenity, and resist even when they know that this can result in them paying a very high price.

All of us know people, people who have experienced difficult situations, so much pain, let us think of those men and women who have a difficult life, who fight for the survival of their family, educate their children.

They do this because the Spirit of fortitude helps them.

How many, many men and women - whose names we do not know - honor our people, honor our Church because they are strong in carrying forward their lives, their work, their family, their faith - these our brothers and sisters are saints!

Every day saints! Hidden saints among us! They have the gift of fortitude in carrying on in their duty as people, mother, father, brother, sister citizen. We have so many - so many.

Let us thank the Lord for these Christians who are the hidden saints among us. It is the Spirit within who carries them forward and it would do us good to think of these people. If they do this, if they can do this then why not me and we ask the Lord to give us the gift of fortitude.

3 . With this, we must not think that the gift of fortitude is only necessary on some occasions or in certain situations.

This gift must be the base note of our being Christians, in our ordinary everyday lives. As I said we must have fortitude in our everyday life as Christians we need this fortitude to carry on in our lives, our families our faith. Paul, the Apostle Paul, said something that it would do us all good to hear: "I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me" (Phil. 4:13).

In our everyday life, in difficult times it would do us good to say this "I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me". The Lord always gives us strength, Lord never gives us more than we can handle, "I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me".

Dear friends, sometimes we may be tempted to allow ourselves be overtaken by laziness or despondency, especially when faced with the hardships and trials of life. In these cases, do not lose heart, but invoke the Holy Spirit, so that with the gift of fortitude He can lift our hearts and communicate new vigor and enthusiasm to our lives and our following Jesus.

Pope Francis Catechesis on Fortitude