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
The archbishop knew of this problem for over 14 years but chose to remain silent. You may say Tim knew as well but that was only since last year. If our Shepard really care for the safety of the children he shouldn't have harbored Fr. John for so long. I pray things get better for our archbishop
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous at 6:54 p.m.,
DeleteWhen was he incardinated? You say over 14 years? If he was incardinated before 2004, then there was no allegations against him. It was until 2004 when the 2 sexual abuse accusations were listed and when the Archdiocese banned him. That was 10 years ago. And a man is still innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
So let's just take the chance and risk the safety of children because he was not proven guilty in a court of law...Really. Diana, do you not see any wrong doing on the part of the Arch or Fr Paul. Please simple answer the question without twisting it. Yes or no?
DeleteDear Anonymous at 10:21 p.m.,
DeleteYou are free to leave and live in China or any other country who holds to the belief of "guilty until proven innocent in a court of law." In a democratic country, laws are passed to protect individual rights. Those laws were there to protect you in case you were ever accused of a crime.
As for the Archbishop and Father Paul, the rule in the Catholic Church is the Bishop is the authority, NOT the priest. So, when the Archbishop tells Father Paul to terminate an employee, he should have done it..... and that includes for the sake of "appearances. And since Father Paul feels that he was unfairly treated, he can and has taken it to Rome.
To be honest, however, Father John turned out to be a true servant of the Lord. He never said a single negative word against the Archbishop or even against Tim Rohr who was actually responsible for his being ousted from public ministry.
I meant Fr. John, not Fr. Paul
DeleteTim Rohr shot into his own leg, hurt his own cause and his own friends big time! But he is conceited enough for not even noticing but it is the truth!
ReplyDeleteAfter the Wadeson affair, I do not see any possibility to reinstate Fr Paul to the Santa Barbara Church in Dededo. He provided safe heaven to a CONVICTED criminal. Fr John only got allegations according to the terms of an out our court settlement with the LA diocese. If Fr John had to fall because of that allegations, then how about Fr Paul? Using Tim Rohr's war language: it is ON YOU GUYS NOW. Thank you Tim Rohr, thank you Junglewatch!
YOu might want to think this again. I think the archbishop shot himself in the leg. He was the one providing a safe haven for so long and and only decided to do something about when SNAP released a press statement. Truth will prevail that Fr.Paul was fired for no reason.
DeleteDear Anonymous at 7:24 a.m.,
DeleteLet us leave the decision to Rome, shall we?
OK but let us pray that the Archbishop, the clergy, neo members or not, you, Tim and I find it in hearts to unite once again. I know God works in mysterious ways and I hope healing will come soon.
DeleteTim, Rohr, you crucified Fr John Wadeson and sided with the liberal media to make this an anti-Church media event. It will be on your conscience forever! You will be avoided as someone who caused scandal, you will be a pariah on this island and your extended arm for hand shake won't be received by anyone. You earned this fate that you fully deserve.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the church anonymous whose open arms harbor the sick and suffering. Open to those crucified with accusations....yes even to those who crucify with malice in their hearts.
ReplyDeleteDear J. Bautista,
DeleteI like your spirit. It is truly refreshing.
Once again Juan, you look at the situation selectively through a microscope. Pick up your head and see the big picture. all of you. You let your emotions cloud your judgement.
DeleteDear Anonymous at 5:00 a.m.,
DeleteThe only person who allowed his emotion to cloud his judgment was Tim Rohr. He went after Father John only because of an email he wrote expressing his disappointment of leaked information from a closed meeting.
Diana Tim Rohr even admitted that he posted on his blog when Fr.Wadeson was rellivant. He cannot be trusted including Patty Arroyo.
DeleteSo long, John.
ReplyDeleteI pray for for Fr. John. May God forgive him if the accusations are true; although he sure didn't handle it like an innocent man. He took his paycheck and ran back to S.F.
Delete(I felt deeply shocked at some of the comments at other posts, which weren't even about Fr. John, so I decided to write this reply where I think it belongs more:)
ReplyDeleteDid it occur to anyone (beside perhaps Diana and a few others) that those so-called "credible" accusations in LA might be false? I don't know if they are or not, but
-Fr. John was never charged, only accused
-Even now he is saying "false accusations", as he is leaving.
Again, I don't know if those accusations were true or not, but just imagine for a moment if they are false...
Writing this, I am not even asking you to presume that he is innocent until proven guilty (which is a right of everyone who is accused according to legal practice in civilized societies), just to allow the thought that he MIGHT be innocent cross your minds.
Just imagine the irreparable damage done to a man, who could possibly be innocent, from behind the anonymity of the blogger's computer screen, while his name and reputation is laid out for everyone to spit on... Did he do anything wrong to you? Are you sure he did something wrong to someone else?
What's the other option if he is really guilty of that which he is accused of and there is no legal way to charge and convict him? to leave judgement to God. If someone is so obstinate in evil and unrepentant that he abuses children and keeps denying it... what do you think the justice of God will be for such a one? Don't you think God is just and, unlike us, he actually knows what each has done? Do you really think He needs your help?
Thanks. I really needed to let this out.
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.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous at 4:27 a.m.,
DeleteMy response is found in this weblink below:
http://neocatechemunal.blogspot.com/2014/07/catholic-sex-abuse-facts.html
You are so right ananymous that we don't the truth but what makes your comments sound so hypocritical is that you ....only you knows the truth. And lets say that you are right. Who made you judge and jury? Only God judges....sorry anonymous...that job is all ready taken
DeleteMy dear Anon 4:27, the truth is I know Father John to be a wonderful man of God. He is good and loyal servant of God. I pray for his well being. I also pray for you A4:27.
ReplyDeleteI know Fr. John personally and I can assure you he is no predator priest! He is a priest who seeks to serve and obey Jesus Christ his Lord and God. He also loves Holy Mother Church and has given his life to serve her as a priest. It saddens me to see his reputation ruined based on apparent "credible" accusations. I believe that if he had done anything it would had gone to court and there would had being a pay off, but there was no
DeleteIt is interesting to note that in all accusations that have been deemed credible there have been pay offs. There was none in this case. Why? Because he did nothing wrong! Now days there is a pay off for all accusations that are taken to court. Nevertheless, I believe that God himself will do justice for him. I believe He will receive many graces as consequence of this unjust accusation. Let all men and woman of good will pray for him cause I believe he is suffering intensely. He needs prayers in order to accept all the suffering that this accusation has put him through!
Keep up the Good Work Diana! Somebody has to speak out the truth about the Neocatechumenal Way and what a "Wonderful" blessing it is for the Church! And clarify all the lies that are said in the liberal press of Guam about it! God bless you! :)
Delete