One of the beautiful things about the NCW and mission families is that they foster and promote vocations. Many in the NCW discern what their vocations would be. Some are called to serve God through the priesthood. Some sisters are also called to the convent. Others are called to a married life. All these vocations are good. Whatever Catholic organization there is that help the youth discern their vocation in life is always a good thing. In the NCW, we get youths who stand up to the call for the priesthood. These youths still have to discern whether they are truly being called to the priesthood or to a married life.
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Freshman Peter Brancale, 14, grew up in the Neocatechumenal Way, an organization within Catholicism that formed in the 1960s.
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Freshman Peter Brancale, 14, grew up in the Neocatechumenal Way, an organization within Catholicism that formed in the 1960s.
“I’ve had a vocation to the priesthood since I was very young,” Brancale said.
He lives with his family inside a former chapel in Bed-Stuy, and plans on attending a full-time seminary after he graduates.
At Cathedral, students must be open to the priesthood, and their school day is centered more around the faith than other Catholic high schools.
Mass is held every morning, confession is held on a regular basis and religion is integrated in most classes.
But students are embraced whether they continue on to a higher seminary or not, officials said.
“We’ve made it very clear in our service to the school... a boy doesn’t have to promise that he’s going to be a priest or that during his time here he’s going to convince us of such,” Fonti said.
“We want him to first and foremost be true and honest, and also to be willing and open to grow intellectually and also spiritually.”
Peter Brancale grew up in a missionary family and said he's wanted to be a priest his whole life. He goes on weekend mission trips with his family. "We go in there and basically pronounce the word of God," he said.(DNAinfo/Katie Honan)
You should read the news about the archbishop's announcement.
ReplyDeleteThis is so hilarious! Tim Rohr, the famous document thief is back from the wedding of his daughter. Perhaps he did not get enough sleep in the last few days, as he got a not-so-smart idea of publishing a fake news report. Lol, what was that Timmy?! However, his fake news report turned awry coming out as a miserable concoction. Ouch! Typical Timmy kind of blunder.
ReplyDeleteStill, some of his most ardent followers started to weep crocodile tears publicly, because they thought the fake news report was actually true. Fake Timmy sadly fell victim to his own miserable funny bone. What a disaster for jungle folks! They have no idea what to think about Fake Timmy anymore.
Is he still a decent endeavor? Hardly anymore. He became more like Timmy the indecent joker. Lol. Make your bet on him and you will surely lose your money, your soul and your mind.
Dear Anonymous at 8:20 pm,
DeleteYes, I saw that and laughed. Tim Rohr had to clarify himself because some of his followers were so gullible that they just swallowed up everything he said and cannot determine for themselves that he published a fake news report.
TimDecember 13, 2015 at 1:52 PM
I guess my sarcasm is a bit too subtle. Here's a hint: the news service Eye of the Ylig. For reference look up Eye of the Tiber.
TimDecember 13, 2015 at 1:54 PM
Just in case some didn't get it, I tried to give a big hint with the sacrificing a goat.
Yup. They swallowed up the sacrificing goat and all the other ridiculous things.
DeleteWhat came out of this ironic piece at JW is that there is a bitter division among the ranks of the protest movement. The division is coming from the opposing opinion of who should be regarded as the number one enemy: the archbishop or the NCW.
ReplyDeleteThose who consider the archbishop the number one enemy argue that he is the one who should be removed. This view is supported by Tim Rohr. They go against the NCW just as much as it is needed to remove the archbishop from his office. They hate the NCW only because NCW is affiliated with the archbishop and they hate the archbishop first! They have a vision of discrediting, humiliating and destroying the archbishop so that someone else would replace him who is oblivious of the real issues of Guam Catholics. Then, they could influence him more easily. This group may make a peace with the NCW under the condition that the archbishop must go.
The opposing view in the protest movement is that the NCW should be targeted as number one enemy. They consider the NCW as the root cause of all problems inside the local church. This view is supported by Chuck White and the CCOG. They hate the archbishop only because he allows NCW to operate on island, and they hate the NCW first. Their goal is the remove NCW from the island, either by forcing Rome to act as Chuck proposes, or even by sheer physical force as some CCOG members demand. Their vision is that the heresy charges against NCW will find favor at the Curia and this would allow them as the persecuting arm of Vatican to ostracize and chase members of the NCW away. They would make peace with the archbishop easily, as long, as he commits himself of banning the NCW from Guam.
This division inside the protest movement was inevitable, because of the diverging views. The internal logic of radical thinking leads to escalation. A number one enemy must be named. Nothing would make sense anymore without blaming everything on one thing, be it a person or an organization. The split in the rank is about who should be hated first, and above all: the local leader, Anthony Apuron, or the local NCW communities.
I personally do not see any way out of this dead end. While some of the complaints expounded by CCOG ring true, it was a mistake to go into blanket opposition and frontal attack against everything that is happening in the church on Guam under the current leadership. Tim Rohr is a bright person with great strength in convincing people. However, his views and proposal have not been screened for validity. CCOG made an error in following blindly these proposals. Now, when the monetary influx starts coming into CCOG, the hidden split in strategy is coming out and divides the protesters.
What is the best strategy to continue the fight? It is just too hard to make a decision. But not making a decision will take a high toll on both JW and CCOG. In my opinion the best decision would be to go forward and meet halfway with both the archbishop and the NCW. We don't need more bitter infighting. We need a meaningful approach that allows the archbishop to lead and at the same time would foster better integration of the NCW into the parishes. Of course this would be a radical change away from meaningless and self-destructive radicalism of the prevailing trends of both JW and CCOG.
Dear grow up in faith,
Deleteyour assertion that there is a division between those that oppose the Archbishop (because they "hate" him) and those that oppose the NCW (because they "hate" them) is flawed on a number of levels.
First of all, the Archbishop is a card-carrying member of the NCW so the distinction you make is not a real one. The Archbishop clearly does as he is instructed by the NCW. A possible solution to the problems would be if the Archbishop exercised his own power independently and according to the ethics of the Church. This is unlikely, as we have seen.
The real problem, I think most people agree with, is that the NCW is heretical, over-represented, has an inordinate amount of political power, and above all has a majority of fanatical followers.
I recall some months ago that you suggested that the divisions in the Church on Guam could be addressed if the NCW (and others) were willing to compromise - celebrate Mass together, participate in adoration etc.
Have you seen any signs that this is even possible? I haven't. The reason is that the NCW believe that nothing in their movement needs to change - that everything the NCW is divinely appointed through their beloved leader who is the very mouthpiece of God. For a died-in-the-wool Neocatechumenal, Kiko is the embodiment of the Divine revelation, and it is impossible to think that there is a need to change or reform.
For the NCW it is only "our way is the right way - the rest of you are infantile and pagan".
That is the ultimate source of the division. It is an issue with the foundation and structure, the teaching and practises of the NCW. Unless they are reformed, there is no possibility of reconciliation in any meaningful sense.
I call on all NCW members to learn more about the Catholic Church and the faith we profess than merely what Kiko has told you (through your catechists). Read more of the Church Fathers, read the papal encyclicals. Insist on having access to the secret teachings of the NCW. Insist that the NCW practice liturgy according to the lawful authority of the Church. It is up to you. Do you have the courage to be truly Catholic?
Dear Anonymous at 3:37 pm,
DeleteFirst of all, the Archbishop makes his own decision. It was his decision who allowed the NCW on Guam in the first place. The NCW cannot simply come to Guam and establish itself in the parishes without the Archbishop's permission. It was also the Archbishop's decision to join the NCW. No one forced him into it. It is an insult to imply that the Archbishop cannot make his own decision.
Secondly, the only one who can brand anything "heretical" would be the Vatican. And the Vatican has never done so. Instead, the NCW has received support and endorsement from the Vatican. Kiko received an honorary degree and praise from the Pope. The only ones who have been calling the NCW "heretical" and "fanatical" are those who hate the NCW. You never hear those words from the Vatican.
Finally, the NCW does read the Church Fathers, the papal encyclicals, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I am walking in the Way, and this is my blog. Do you see anything in this blog that contradicts Church teaching?
Dear anonymous at 3:37 p.m., the situation is more serious than that. There was a false impression created that the RMS issue, as a jolly-joker in the card game, could resolve all problems at once. The judge would rule that the property was stolen, the archbishop would go to prison and the NCW would be banned forever.
DeleteI say it was a false impression, because even Tim Rohr admitted before that this matter is unfit for civil court. Any archbishop has the legal right to do with the property under his purview as he wishes. He said the RMS can be attacked by internal church laws, the canon laws only. But even that would be an uphill battle.
This position abruptly changed when the Bronze opinion came out, but I don't understand how. The Bronze opinion only provided a very shaky argument about the possibility of alienation of the property of the RMS. But this again would not fit for a lawsuit at civil court. So I am at loss at how CCOG was convinced to raise money for an obviously shaky action, the civil lawsuit against the archbishop in relation to the alienation of the RMS property.
Let me repeat, this position to go to court is in sharp contradiction with the previous position of Tim Rohr. It is arguable that atty Bronze had a vested interest in providing this particular opinion so that his law firm would get the contract to represent CCOG at the civil court.
Now, that the hopes for a successful law suit against RMS became way too much elusive, the jolly-joker solution for the problems is getting less popular. But what are the alternatives? This is the truly divisive issue here. The archbishop cannot be removed, because he is protected by the NCW. The NCW cannot be expelled because it ios protected by the archbishop. Now what?
Those who trusted Tim that he will dig up enough dirt on the archbishop to take action against him are getting disappointed and becoming impatient. Those who trusted that the NCW will be proven to be heretic and disbanded are getting also disappointed and impatient. They realize that the heresy charges have been made continuously for 30 years, but the NCW is still around. So there is no chance to get the NCW locked up anytime soon.
This disappointment and impatience is what came out is the protest movement in the last few days while Tim was off island. He did not find his way back to the same camp that he left just a couple days earlier. Hating is a risky business, you have to come up with new and new ways to demonize, otherwise the emotions are flagging and you lose the steam. Now, it is not clear who should be hated above all, the person or the organization. This is difficult!
Yes, dear anonymous, I proposed some trust and good faith building measures, as an alternative radicalism. Confrontation won't solve anything, only escalates more the negative trends that are already wrong enough. Faith building could be done during regular masses, where NCW participates in a demonstrative way. This could foster unity. Common rosaries and adoration could add to this shared activity to bring us closer as a parish. I truly believe this would happen one day. I don't think NCW members are exclusive. People I know from the NCW are open minded and spiritually vibrant. It is refreshing to see their enthusiasm. But they close up under attack. This is what I see. If you put pressure on the NCW, it will become stronger and more protective.
So how can we trust each other? Trust could start to grow if the protest movement would stop demanding the resignation of the archbishop and the expulsion of the NCW. These things are beyond reality and honestly, I do not see anything beneficial in demanding them. It also would help if other faith groups would grow strong at the parishes, so that if someone is interested in more involved spiritual growth there would be other option than joining the NCW.
"Do you see anything in this blog that contradicts Church teaching? "
DeleteoH my Goodnes! Yes! Of course! Almost everything you write is twisted and misrepresented. Your teaching on "concelebration". Your insistence that secret private permissions for liturgical variations are acceptable in the Church. Your suggestions that Kiko's catechesis is "infallible" because its subject matters relates to and refers to the CCC. The false "antiquarianism". Constantly referring to the "NCW Mass" and so on
Everything on this site is contaminated by a cult of personality, and twisted by a false loyalty. Your faith is in a idea (the community) not in a person. That is why we constantly hear that the "NCW saves".
Dear Anonymous at 10:09 pm,
DeleteDo you even read what I wrote? I never taught anything on concelebration. I stated that ACCORDING to the Sunday Visitors, the term "concelebration" was perceived differently in Early Christianity than in modern times. In Early Christianity, all Christians concelebrated.
I also never said that secret private permissions for liturgical variations were acceptable in the Church. I stated many times that the NCW received permission from the Vatican to celebrate the Eucharist the way they do. There is nothing secret about it because everyone knows how the NCW celebrates the Eucharist including the Pope.
I also never said that Kiko's catechesis was infallible. I said that his catechesis was approved by the Vatican. So, who is twisting things around. Either you do not know how to read properly or you simply did not read at all.