Sunday, November 29, 2015

Ownership Of RMS Confirmed

Now, that the Certificate of Title has been released through the Catholic newspaper, I hope to see the media on Guam follow up on the story.  They can interview the Director of Land Management regarding the Certificate of Title issued to the Archdiocese of Agana.  The following was taken from the U Matuna Si Yu'os, a Catholic newspaper on Guam.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ownership of Seminary property confirmed

The Archbishop of Agana is the legal and sole owner of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of Guam in Yona (former Hotel Accion property) according to the Certificates of Title issued by the Government of Guam, Department of Land Management on October 30, 2015. 

The Department of Land Management issued Certificates of Title Nos. 135922, 135923, 135924 and 135925 for the ownership of the property where the Redemeptoris Mater Seminary of Guam is located in Yona.  There are four Certificates of Title because the Seminary property is made up of 2 lots, and 2 right-of-ways. 

Guam law authorizes the Government of Guam by the Director of Land Management to issue a certificate of title to the owner of the property, or his agent.  According to Monsignor David C. Quitugua, Vicar General, "The release of these certificates clearly resolves any doubt that the owner of the seminary property is the Archbishop of Agana, A Corporation Sole." 

Msgr. David C. Quitugua states, "These certificates establish that the Archdiocese of Agana by Most Rev. Anthony S. Apuron, OFM, Cap., D.D., Archbishop of Guam, maintains legal ownership of the Seminary property, and it is only the Archdiocese through the mechanisms of Canon Law that will determine the transfer or conveyance of this property.  Of course, all transaction must be civilly legally recorded and registered."  He continued, "The transfer or sale of the Seminary property and it monetary value cannot outweigh the intrinsic worth that the seminary provides for evangelization in the Pacific."  Moe than 40 young men currently are enrolled in the formation for the priesthood.  Thse men come for the Archdiocese of Agana.  Other Bishops from he Diocese of Kiribati, American Samoa and Western Samoa are also sending their men here.

Additionally, the Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores Theological Institute which provides for the academic formation of the seminarians, is affiliated to the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.  This is the Pope's University.  At the completion of studies, the degree conferred comes from the Lateran University. The program of studies and the Faculty have the Nihil Obstat of the Lateran University. 

The release of the Certificates of Title confirms the previous opinions of Bishop Arieta of the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts (the highest judicial authority in the Roman Curia, who serves in the name of the Pope), and Lewis Roca Rothgerber, LLP, who have stated that the Archbishop continues to maintain authority over the Seminary property. 

A blessing from Monsignor David C. Quitugua, "In the spirit of Thanksgiving, let us remember to give glory and praise to God for all his blessings upon us.  We ask Santa Marian Camarin to continue protecting us, as she has done over the years.  Dankulu na Si Yu'os Ma'ase to all the faithful for your generosity big or small, and for all that you do in the Archdiocese." 

Saturday, November 28, 2015

The Truth Prevails

The ownership of the RM seminary has been confirmed in today's Umatuna.  The certificate of title recorded at the Department of Land Management confirms that the RM seminary is under the Archdiocese of Agana even with the Declaration of Deed Restriction in place, just as the Archdiocese have been saying all along.  So, what does this mean?  It means that the Archbishop, Father Pius, Father Adrian, Jackie Terlaje and the Archdiocese have been telling the truth all along.  The fact that CCOG and the junglefolks NEVER believed them was never the problem of the Archbishop.  It was never the Archbishop's fault that CCOG chose to believe the fairytales in the jungle.  They wanted transparency.  They wanted some evidence that the RM seminary did in fact belong to the Archdiocese of Agana.  Tim Rohr even stated to prove him wrong.  Today, he has been proven wrong.  The truth prevails. The question now is.....who is man or woman enough to apologize to the Archbishop for calling him a liar and a thief?      

Apparently, Tim is upset and still calling the Archbishop a liar and thief despite the certificate of title in front of his nose.  As anyone can plainly see, it was the jungle that caused the division.  The Archbishop was telling the truth all along.  Now, the jungle is inventing fairytales about Land Management. So, who do you think you should believe......Tim Rohr or the Department of Land Management?  I doubt that the Archbishop would be signing any papers presented by CCOG. If CCOG persists in their blindness by bringing the matter to court, just remember that these are the documents that the Archbishop will be presenting:  
  1. Report from the Pacific American Title confirming that the lots on which the RM seminary sits identified the owner as the Archbishop of Agana.
  2. Report from the law firm of Lewis Roca Rothgerber LLP in Denver, Colorado showing that the Archbishop of Agana retains substantial authority over the RM seminary. 
  3. Document of the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts, which has the highest authority in the Catholic Church for interpreting the laws of the Church concluding that there was no alienation of the property. 
  4. Certificate of title from the Department of Land Management.
What documents will CCOG bring to the table showing that the RM seminary does not belong to the Archdiocese of Agana?  Do they have a certificate of title actually naming the Neocatechumenal Way as the legal owner? 

To CCOG, the Laity Forward Movement, and the junglefolks, if you want to cease the division and foster reconciliation and unity in the Church.....it now begins with you.  Why?  Because the truth has finally come out. You now know that the Department of Land Management names the Archbishop as the legal owner of the RM seminary.  In other words, the Archbishop never gave the property away.  He was telling you the truth all along.  So, what do you think you should do about it?   

RMS Priest Becomes Bishop

 
Pope Francis Appoints Toronto Priest as Bishop of Whitehorse
Friday, November 27, 2015
Pope Francis has appointed Father Hector Vila, currently Rector of Toronto’s Redemptoris Mater Missionary Seminary, as the new Bishop of Whitehorse. Bishop-designate Vila will become the sixth bishop of one of Canada’s largest geographical dioceses, succeeding Bishop Gary Gordon, who was appointed Bishop of Victoria, British Columbia, in 2014.
 
Bishop-designate Hector VilaBishop-designate Vila commented on his appointment: “I wish to express my gratitude to God and to His Holiness Pope Francis for the trust placed in me. Coming from the Diocesan Missionary Redemptoris Mater Seminary of Rome established by Saint John Paul II, I was humbled by this new call to serve God’s people in the Diocese of Whitehorse, in knowing that God has a plan and will guide me on his path. I look forward to this new mission and to meeting wonderful people, learning about their traditions, discovering the beauty of this region of our country and growing in faith together.”
 
Cardinal Thomas Collins responded to the appointment: “Bishop-designate Vila is a holy and faithful priest who will bring a love of his faith and the people he has served to the Diocese of Whitehorse. I invite all of the faithful, and especially the members of the Neocatechumenal Way, to join me in offering their prayers for Bishop-designate Vila. I am grateful for his leadership of the Redemptoris Mater Missionary Seminary since 1998. The priests formed under his spiritual care faithfully serve the Archdiocese of Toronto.”
 
 
 

Friday, November 27, 2015

Dehumanizing A Person

The following comment was published under the thread in my previous post: 

Um, "Diana" is a pseudonym, so there is no "human identity". It could be a he, a she, a group of people, or an artificial (un)intelligence.

Also, its pretty easy to know who wrote a comment if they have cookies enabled and they are using the same device to make the comment. You can identify them no matter where they are.
Those who have read the jungle should already know that Tim Rohr has dehumanized me by calling me "The Thing."  See the weblink here and here.  As a result, many of the junglefolks followed Rohr without thinking or even questioning him. 
According to Dictionary.com, "pseudonym" is defined as (the bold is mine): 
a fictitious name used by an author to conceal his or her identity; pen name
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defined the same word as (bold is mine): 
a name that someone (such as a writer) uses instead of his or her real name 
Both dictionaries indicate that a "pseudonym" is a PERSON.....a human person.  This only goes to show how delusional Tim Rohr is, thinking that the person writing the comments and entry posts behind the computer screen is not human.  To make matters worse, he has managed to brainwash his followers in doing the same thing.  Dehumanizing a person is done to make it easier for others to abuse, humiliate, persecute, and eventually even kill the person.  This was done with unborn babies and with African Americans.  It was done by all those who practiced slavery, mass murder, and genocide.  

The fact that Tim has reduced me to an object "The Thing" only goes to show that he is not dealing with reality.  What "sane" person does not know that objects are incapable of using pseudonyms.  Writers and authors are known to use pseudonyms, so what "sane" person actually think that writers and authors are NOT human?  Who says that a person has to reveal his/her name in order to be considered "human"?  This is the same mentality of those who kill the unborn child.  Those who support pro-choice dictate when human life begins.  In the same way, Tim Rohr has already dictated who is human and who is not simply by whether they use a pseudonym or their real name.       

The Pope's Answer: I Am A Sinner

After Pope Francis arrived in Washington DC, Christian Today news obtained information about the first Latin American Pope and even interviewed him.  They asked Pope Francis who he is, and he gave a very humble reply.  "I am a sinner," he said.  But the great news is despite that he is a sinner, God's love and mercy saved him.  This is the message that the Pope carries throughout the entire world.  This is the same message that the Neocatechumenal Way also carry with them throughout the world.  According to Christian Today:  
"On the night of my election, I had an experience of the closeness of God that gave me a great sense of interior freedom and peace, and that sense has never left me," he told his friend, who is a fellow Latin American bishop.
That same year, he was asked the same question many others asked after he became the Pope: "Who Is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?" And Pope Francis had the perfect reply: "I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner."
But the great news is that despite being a sinner, God's love and mercy saved Bergoglio, and this is the same news that he is trying to spread to people all over the world.

Christian Today

God loves us even when we were sinners.  As the Apostle Paul stated:  "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8).  The God we worship is a God who loves all sinners (murderers, thieves, cheaters, etc).  Christ ate and walked with sinners so they could be converted.  Out of love, He died for sinners so they could be redeemed. 

The Apostle Paul also gave his testimony of how he was a sinner:  

I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify.  I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished (Acts 22:4-5).  I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate to do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but is sin living in me that does it (Romans 7:15-20)

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God.  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect.  No, I worked harder than all of them - yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me (1 Corinthians 15:9-10).  Although I am less than the least of all the Lord's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:8)
  

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

The Misconception Of Judases

 
 

In my last entry post, a couple of commenters either misunderstood Kiko or perhaps they want to justify their demonizing.  This is what Kiko Arguello said about "Judases", (the bold is mine): 
 
“Finally, there is a third circle, a third group of brothers and sisters, those who live a lie, who have always lied to themselves. They are those in whom Satan acts, enslaving them.  Not necessarily because they are wicked, or due to any fault of their own, but perhaps for some reason or other that we will not investigate. Maybe these are the richest people, humanly speaking, the most intellectually gifted. (Judas was perhaps the brightest of the apostles, which is why he kept the purse … )  These people cannot stand the community. This mission is very important because, without Judas, there is no Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ. If you are called to be Jesus Christ,you must have your Judas.  Each of you here will have your hour. Your life is in function of assuming an hour. Jesus Christ was waiting for his hour to arrive and one day he said: My hour has come (see Jn 12:23). I hope that one day all of you will be able to say the same: My hour has come, the hour to give testimony of Jesus, the hour to be raised up, the hour in which the Father will be glorified in you. All Christians are called by God to take on this hour.

When that day arrives, these people will have the mission of killing you, of destroying you. Fundamentally, they live dominated by the devil because they have never been loved. To be able to love himself and other people, a man needs to be loved. These people do not listen to your reasons; they do not recognize the Spirit.  They say it’s all too angelic and a form of alienation which provides you with an excuse never to have to lift a finger to do anything.  The only way for these brothers and sisters to be saved is for the Church to give her blood for them, the blood of Christians, which is the blood of Jesus Christ. They will kill you and you will give your blood for them, as St. Stephen gave his blood for those who stoned him. In that way, they can all be saved.”  Page 82, Day 4.

First of all, Kiko called "Judases" our "brothers and sisters" because they are either Catholics like us or non-Christians made in God's image like all humanity.  Kiko also recognized that the "Judases" are important for our salvation.  He said that if we are called to Christ, we must have our Judas. Many in the jungle, on the other hand, do not call us brothers and sisters.  In fact, they do not even recognize us as "Catholics". They label the NCW as "evil cult", "the devil", or just plain "evil."  While Kiko say that it is important to have the "Judases" and that we should have them in our midst, some junglefolks have expressed that they do not want the NCW in their midst and out of their church building. 

Second of all, Kiko never said that the "Judases" are evil or even the devil.  He stated:   "those in whom Satan acts, enslaving them.  Not necessarily because they are wicked, or due to any fault of their own,...."  Kiko recognized that Satan is the enemy who enslaves our brothers and sisters.  Kiko goes on to say that the Judases are NOT wicked, and he did not fault them for anything.  He recognized that their life is dominated by Satan because they have never been loved.  In the NCW, we are taught that the enemy is NOT the person who persecutes you.  The enemy is Satan, who can enslave us and convince us to do wrong things.  Satan is not human, and is the enemy of both God and man. 

Finally, Kiko stated that the "Judases" can be saved if we give our life up for them just as Christ gave up His life to redeem all mankind.  To the brothers walking in the Way....this means that we should live our life the way Christ did.  Christ loved all sinners that He gave His life so that sinners can be saved. We should follow in His footsteps.  We should also love the "Judases" and give our life for them so that they can also be saved.  We follow the way of the cross. 

1 John 3:16   This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
                                                                     

Monday, November 23, 2015

Demonizing A Group Of People

When one group objectifies or demonizes another group of people, it becomes easier to abuse and persecute them.  In fact, it even allows others to kill them. 

Take for instance, the unborn child.  Some called the unborn child a "mass of cells", which makes it easier for abortion to take place.  The unborn child is viewed as an object (a mass of cells or a fetus).  Their identity as a human being was eliminated, and they were treated as an object that can be disposed.   In the same way, African Americans were seen as property before and during the Civil War, which made it easier for some people to enslave them. They were not viewed as human beings, but as property that can be disposed.

During World War II, the Jewish people were demonized as "subhuman" or an "alien race" who caused all of Germany's problems. The consequence was the Holocaust.  By demonizing them and making them less than human through Nazi propaganda, it made it easier for many German Nazis to carry out genocide.   

Members of the NCW on Guam are now being demonized as "evil incarnate" and the "devil" who are causing the destruction of the Catholic Church.  Propaganda is now being leveled against the NCW as "murderers." These comments came from the jungle (the bold is mine):

Failure to publish the Decree is indeed strong circumstantial evidence of the Archbishop's deceptive intentions, though he may seek to blame that on the chancery, as usual.

The NCW Cult clearly promotes and enables an environment of wholesale corruption, greed, theft, and blackmail.

N.B. Instead of merely referring to the Neocatechumenal Way (NCW), we should use "NCW Cult". Instead of New Eucharistic Order (NEO) adherents being referred to as NEOs, a more accurate descriptor would be "NEO Cultists".

The NCW Cult and NEO Cultists are the "soil" in which the ongoing evil lives, thrives, and has its being.

Comment Taken From Jungle

Determined Devil
Dedicated Dim Wit
Disturbed Doofus
Apuron, resign now you
DIOCESE DESTROYER! ��
Eileen Benavente-Blas
 

Decades will come and go; unfortunately this terrible photo of the devil in Shepard clothing will remain in the bookshelves of our parishes. The photo is published in the jubilee book of the Agana Cathedral Basilica. It irks all of us knowing that the Popes special home (Basilica) is now the grand meeting place of an evil cult (NCW/NEO) that has infested our island of paradise.
Comment Taken From Jungle

Fr. Matthew Blockley.November 23, 2015 at 10:05 AM

Agnes. I also believe NCW will go to extreme measures to remove individuals who are possible threats to their cult. They do this by bullying, accidents, threats to life and Death. If I was Archbishop I would certainly have one trusted helper prepare meals or do it myself. I would be wondering if my meals had substance added to harm me.

The NCW consist of over 1 million people.  CNMI Lawyer, Eileen, Father Blockley, Frenchie, and others (some who are anonymous) have said that the NCW is "evil", "evil incarnate", and the "devil'. This goes beyond "name calling" for the devil is NOT human.  And when one labels a group of people (in this case over 1 million people) either as the "devil" or "evil", they dehumanize the group of people so it makes it easier for others to abuse, persecute, and eventually even kill them.  Already Frenchie is claiming that the NCW leadership are murderers. 

Did you know that the Early Christians were also accused of murder and cannibalism???  According to the weblink below (the bold is mine): 
The circumstances surrounding the first persecution – Nero’s – had enormous effects, despite the fact that this persecution does not seem to have extended further than the city of Rome. The Christians were officially accused of a heinous crime – the burning of the city – and this created a widespread public opinion hostile to the new religion.

The historian Tacitus regarded Christianity as ‘a pernicious superstition’; Suetonius described it as ‘novel and mischievous’; Pliny the Younger as ‘depraved and extravagant.’Tacitus went as far as calling the Christians enemies of mankind. Therefore it is not surprising that ordinary people attributed to Christians all sorts of monstrosities such as infanticide and cannibalism, etc. According to Tertullian, ‘Christians to the lions’ became the obligatory catch-cry of every riot. 
http://www.earlychristians.org/index.php/expansion/item/302-the-pagan-empire-and-christianity-the-persecutions

Roman propaganda dehumanized the Early Christians by accusing them of false crimes such as mass murder, infanticide, and cannibalism.  It became easy for many Romans to view the Early Christians as "monsters" due to these kinds of monstrous accusations that was leveled against them.  And as it turned out, the ones who made those false accusations were the ones who persecuted and killed them.  In the same way, Nazi propaganda dehumanized the Jewish people as "subhuman" creatures infiltrating the Aryan race thereby making it easy for many to persecute and kill them (See weblink here.

This is the FIRST I have heard Frenchie accuse the NCW leaders of being murderers.  Eileen and an anonymous commenter in the jungle has demonized the Archbishop as the "devil".  CNMI Lawyer has also demonized more than 1 million people walking in the Way as an "evil cult".  This goes beyond "name calling" because the NCW is being accused of a monstrous crime as murder and is being dehumanized as the devil and an evil cult.  And this propaganda against the NCW is not coming from the NCW.      

Sunday, November 22, 2015

NCW Youth in WYD

Every year since I have joined the Way, the youths in the NCW have participated in the World Youth Day.  This experience always leaves our youth with many positive inspirations.  The next World Youth Day will be in Poland, and the Neocatechumenal Way youths on Guam have been currently fundraising for the trip.  Get ready for Poland!!!  :-)    



Friday, November 20, 2015

Protecting An Asset?

An anonymous commenter made the following remark of which I will respond in this entry post:  


The CCOG wants to return control of the RMS to the archbishop. Please be fair and not spread falsehoods that they are attempting to enrich themselves personally. The same goes for Tim Rhor. They are protecting an asset of the archdiocese. Who can fault that?
This is my response:  
Anyone who read the jungle knows that Tim Rohr and CCOG are not interested in protecting the RM seminary.  They spoke about closing the RM seminary down and selling it.  According to Tim Rohr: 
Of course none of these idiots have actually spoken with any of the terminated members of the AFC to ask if they had ever suggested that the property be sold. However, I have. I spoke with Richard Untalan and he said that he indeed had suggested it and for good reason.............
But back to selling the property. Mr. Untalan proposed it as a way to create capital to pay down Apuron's debt (yes, Apuron's debt), and to fund a real seminary. The proposal was never about "selling the seminary", it was about selling the property and building and sustaining a seminary instead of trying to keep and maintain the hotel monstrosity. 
 http://www.junglewatch.info/2015/07/picking-on-second-thing.html#more

Their intention was expressed right there in the jungle blog, Anonymous.  Their intention is not to protect the asset.  Their intention was to shut down the RM seminary and sell the hotel property.  Right now, they think that this valuable asset is not under the Archdiocese of Agana when in fact it is.   

If this is God's providence that it will go to court, then let it be. Sometimes, one needs to learn the hard way.  When CCOG learns that they are wrong and that the property had always been under the Archdiocese of Agana, do you think that will solve the problem?  Nevertheless, God is the author of history. Something good will come out of this for the NCW, the Archbishop, and the Archdiocese of Agana.    

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Money As Usual

An anonymous commenter made the comment, which I think deserves its own entry post.  The comment can be found here. 

Tim Rohr is the most shameless person I have ever known. Here is the latest of his rants about raising money to sue the Archdiocese and the local Catholic Church, an obvious farce exposing his true motives:
"First, we give the money to the church and they use it. Now we have to raise our own money again to be able to get it back." http://mvguam.com/local/news/43129-apuron-lawsuit-mulled.html
First, he is not even giving money to the church, on the contrary, he is calling everyone to hold back all donations and contributions to the expenses of parishes. That is how greedy he is.
Second, he obviously wants monetary gain and enriching himself by the fundraising for a lost cause. To be sure: all the money they are collecting and spending on lawyers will be 100% wasted! Don't make mistake about it: the Church did not do anything wrong and the Archdiocese will be exonerated! They'll only make their lawyers rich by keeping them busy. Lol.
Third, by keeping their hands on the funds raised, Tim and his gang will use the leftover money for their own purposes. They will have their laugh on the misery of people who gave their money to them and trusted them to use it wisely. What a huge mistake! Spending money on a lawsuit against their own Church is not wise at all! It is a complete waste of trust and resources. Keeping their own share from the donations is the purpose of this whole scam. This is how criminal these people are!
It is true that Tim Rohr and the junglefolks have not contributed anything to the Archdiocese of Agana and have encouraged everyone to withhold their contributions.  
It has always been about the money.  They do not contribute anything to the Archdiocese of Agana; yet, they make these kinds of statements in the Guam Daily Post:
  1. The Catholic group said if Apuron signs the documents and returns the property to the archdiocese, the archdiocese can gain an asset which may improve the archdiocese's debt situation. 
  2. "The CCOG is in the process of doing that fundraising now. It's kind of a shame. First, we give the money to the church and they use it. Now we have to raise our own money again to be able to get it back," he (Rohr) said. 
As I pointed out in my previous entry post:  One wonders what CCOG meant when they made this statement.  How exactly is the RMS supposed to improve the Archdiocese's debt situation?  What are they planning?  To sell the property and pay off the debts of the Archdiocese? The RMS property is worth more than the debts of the Archdiocese.  Where is the rest of the money going, and who is going to profit from this sale?  
The anonymous commenter also raised an interesting point.  Rohr stated in the Guam Daily Post that they gave money to the church, which we already know is false.    See the weblink below:  

Recalling St. John's Seminary

According to an Anonymous commenter, which can be found here.  I told the commenter that I would accept his/her dare:  

I dare you to google the phrase "corporation sole with a Board of Directors" and see what you get, Diana. You will only need one hand to count the results. And three quarters of the results are your own blog pages!! Try again, dear Diana.
This is my response:  
St. John's Seminary in the Southwestern United States is a corporation sole, and the Archbishop of Los Angeles is the "corporate sole" and legal owner.  St. John's Seminary has a Board of Directors. This is the same as RMS.  The Archdiocese of Agana has been saying that RMS is a corporation sole with the Archbishop Apuron as the "corporate sole."   RMS has a Board of Directors just like St. John's Seminary.  According to the weblink below (the bold is mine):  
Like most Catholic diocesan seminaries St. John's is a "corporation sole," and the archbishop of Los Angeles is the "corporate sole," the single legal owner, who passes authority to his successor in office. At St. John's, the archbishop also serves as chair of the board of directors, which is legally an advisory group, not a board of trustees with final authority. Patrick Nichelson is president of the board.
http://www.junglewatch.info/2015/07/apuron-is-footnote.html

Notice what I placed in bold......Like most Catholic diocesan seminaries.  St. John Seminary compares itself to other Catholic diocesan seminaries that is also a "corporation sole" with a Board of Directors. The RM Seminary is one of them. In his blog, Tim Rohr stated the following, which can be found here:  

As for St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, it is a school, and like most schools it has a school board. But it does not have a corporate board of directors because it is not a corporation. It remains the property of the Archbishop of Los Angeles, who is a corporation sole. 


This is false.  What Mr. Rohr does not know is that St. John's Seminary was filed as a corporation. According to the weblink below (the bold is mine):  
St. John's Seminary In California is a California Domestic Corporation filed on May 20, 1940. The company's filing status is listed as Active and its File Number is C0183931. 
The Registered Agent on file for this company is Randolph E. Steiner and is located at Archdiocese Of Los Angeles 3424 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90010. The company's principal address is 5012 Seminary Road, Camarillo, CA 93012. 
The company has 1 principal on record. The principal is Jose Horacio Gomez from Los Angeles CA.


As for the Declaration of Deed Restriction, which CCOG has been relying on as their evidence that the RMS property was deeded over, the office recorder at Land Management filed it as a "Declaration" with a check mark.  It is also stated in the document as a "declaration".    

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Archdiocese Responds To CCOG

The following came from the Pacific News Center, which can be found here.  The following came from Attorney Jacqueline Terlaje, which was submitted for press release.  However, I would also like to point out a comment that was published in today's Guam Daily Post by CCOG.  According to the Guam Daily Post :

The Catholic group said if Apuron signs the documents and returns the property to the archdiocese, the archdiocese can gain an asset which may improve the archdiocese's debt situation. 

One wonders what CCOG meant when they made this statement.  How exactly is the RMS supposed to improve the Archdiocese's debt situation?  What are they planning?  To sell the property and pay off the debts of the Archdiocese? The RMS property is worth more than the debts of the Archdiocese.  Where is the rest of the money going, and who is going to profit from this sale?  The Archdiocese have always been saying that the RMS property belongs to the Archdiocese of Agana. 

CCOG claims that the RMS property is not under the Archdiocese of Agana.  Do they have the title stating who it actually belongs to?  Of course not.  But the Archbishop has the title, which specifically names the ownership of the RMS property.  

The following is a press release from Jacqueline Terlaje:  
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ARCHDIOCESE OF AGANA IS THE OWNER OF THE SEMINARY PROPERTY DESPITE NAYSAYERS 

HagÃ¥tña, Guam (November 17, 2015) - I am a trained lawyer, and have practiced law on Guam for more than 16 years. However, I do not need the benefit of my legal expertise to understand that one simply does not go knocking on the door of his neighbor’s house and insist that the house does not belong to him, nor does one demand by media frenzy that he will insist on an execution of a grant deed to compel compliance. I am a Chamorro woman, and my extremely local response to this insanity would be “HÃ¥yi hÃ¥o?” (“Who are you?”) 

Archbishop Anthony Apuron’s declaration, granting the Redemptoris Mater Seminary and Theological Institute of Oceania, a right to perpetually use the former “Accion Hotel” property for the formation of priests is a gift to our island. While certain persons continue to insist that the Seminary Property does not belong to the Archdiocese of Agana (hereinafter “Archdiocese”), and have insisted that the Archbishop return the title to the Archdiocese, their speculations, theories, and self-induced hysteria, are simply incorrect. It is not possible to “return” title to the Archdiocese because the Archdiocese is the legal owner of the Seminary Property.

 Let me explain from a legal perspective why the Archdiocese of Agana remains the owner of the Seminary property. 

The Declaration of Deed Restriction, which decreed the use of the property for the Redemptoris Mater seminary and for the Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores Theological Institute for Oceania, did not transfer nor alienate the Seminary property, but merely granted to the Seminary a perpetual use right in the Property. One need only look to the first line of the document, “Declaration of Deed Restriction”; the declaration itself does not profess to be a grant deed, quitclaim deed, warranty deed or other similar deed document, which conveys in whole the property to a grantee. The declaration professes to be a document of a limited purpose to grant a right of perpetual use. In fact, the declaration declares that the Archbishop of Agana, A Corporate Sole, is the “Owner” of the property, imposing on itself a restriction. By imposing on itself a restriction, the Archbishop, in the same way, can impose further conditions on himself as the Owner of both the Seminary Property, and the seminary itself. It is not necessary to be a legal scholar to know that the same authority who issued an administrative decree, can immediately issue the day after another administrative decree saying exactly the contrary. Thus, the continued attempts to fire rumors of a controversy over the title of the Seminary Property simply have no merit. 

In order to address concerns about the ownership of the Seminary Property, over the course of time, the Archbishop has taken many steps to ensure that the ownership, control, and authority over the Seminary and the Seminary Property are in his hands: 
1. Obtaining title reports which show that the title is in the name of the Archdiocese of Agana by the Archbishop of Agana, A Corporate Sole.  
2. Seeking an opinion from the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts (which is the highest judicial authority in the Roman Curia, who serves in the name of the Pope) which, regarding the claim of alienation or sale, concluded that “based on what has been said, it seems therefore “formalistic” and devoid of truth to speak of a “sale” or “alienation of a diocesan patrimony in this context” 
 3. Seeking the legal opinion of Lewis Roca Rothgerber, LLP (“Lewis Roca”) (a law firm with more than 250 attorneys), a preeminent authority in the U.S. dealing in non profit corporations law, operating in nine offices, in six states, which concluded, regarding the alleged loss of control on the property because of the Board of Guarantors, that “the Ordinary/sole member has kept all the powers including the faculty to exchange, to sell or not, to give as guarantee, to amend the statutes, to appoint/remove directors or guarantors, etc.”
It is noteworthy, that Lewis Roca represents numerous religious organizations, including organizations within the Catholic Church, in the states of Colorado, Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, and other states, related to general corporate matters, corporate governance, civil incorporation, real estate and other areas related to the intersection of, and relationship between, canonical law and civil law.

 Regarding the contrary legal opinion presented by attorney Jacques Bronze, Lewis Roca has declared that few legal offices are able to evaluate this specific area of law, “For those lawyers who regularly practice in this specialized area of religious institutions law, including the intersection of canon and secular law, the conclusion reached here that the Archbishop is in control of the Property would not be at all controversial.” Thus, while a legal opinion is simply an opinion of one, the Bronze opinion is simply wrong.

 In every instance, the conclusion has been consistent – the Archdiocese is the legal owner of the Seminary Property; the Seminary holds a right to beneficial use of the property; and as the corporate sole member of the Seminary, the Archbishop retains complete authority over the Seminary; as the corporate sole member, he has absolute authority to appoint and/or terminate directors, trustees or guarantors, without the need of any further approval.

 The Archdiocese of Agana is the legal owner of a property on which two institutions are located which are of immense importance for the future of our Archdiocese and for the whole Pacific region:
1. The Theological Institute of Oceania affiliated with the Lateran University, where 50 seminarians are now studying: 5 from the St. John Paul II Seminary, 45 from the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of which 20 are coming from other dioceses of the Pacific (and paid for by their own dioceses). 
 2. The Redemptoris Mater Seminary which has already produced 17 priests for Guam in 16 years. 
These two institutions, thanks to the courage and the foresight of the Archbishop, guarantee the future of our Catholic Church here on Guam and also of other diocese which before were obliged to send the seminarians away, at an enormous cost. In many other dioceses of the Pacific, the Church is at great risk for the lack of priests. These invaluable gifts have been overshadowed by the repeated references to the monetary value of this property, as opposed to the intrinsic value that has already given much to our island and to other dioceses. 

This then begs the question, “Why? Why do these people continue in this false charade? Is it ignorance, or is it malice?” Neither one is an acceptable answer. Or perhaps, the answer is somewhat more simplistic – perhaps the obvious explanation is greed; that there are some who prefer their blindness and prefer to remain in darkness, because there is a desire to cash in on the sale of the Seminary Property (for which a handsome commission would be garnished). Greed can easily blind even the smartest man from seeing the absolute truth to what this Seminary truly is for Guam and the Pacific, a vital organ of our Church. 

Monday, November 16, 2015

Responding To Eileen

The following comment was made by Ellen or Eileen, which can be found here.  The red belongs to Ellen while mine are in black.   

Diana,
According to the archbishop, the archdiocese of Agaña is a "poor mission diocese" and has been so for the past 30 years or it could not qualify for Catholic Extension funds. According to their website: 
"Catholic Extension uniquely contributes to the growth and vibrancy of the Church in the U.S. by strategically investing in POOR MISSION DIOCESES to unleash the power of faith that transforms hearts, lives and society."

The Archbishop never said that the Archdiocese of Agana is a poor mission diocese.  So, do not put words in the Archbishop's mouth. The goal of Catholic Extension is to provide funds and resources to churches or communities that are struggling to keep the Catholic faith alive and growing.  That applies to Guam and to many places in the United States.  Over the years, Catholicism on Guam have decreased from 98% to 85% as many of our brothers converted to other Christian denominations.  The number of church attendance on Guam have also dropped.  

The Catholic Church itself is a "mission" church in that we were instructed by Christ to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth.  Before the Way, the Archdiocese of Agana have been borrowing priests mainly from the Philippines because Guam was unable to produce enough priestly vocations to fill all the village churches.  In that sense, Guam struggled with inspiring priestly vocations and with evangelization.  I had more Pentecostals and Jehovah Witnesses knocking on my door.  The Catholics did a poor job in trying to get back our brothers who left the Church and in evangelizing non-Catholics.  

Our Catholic traditions have also disappeared over the years.  At one time, people in every village would bring the Fatima to people's homes and we would pray together. Now, I do not see that anymore.  At one time, families would gather around the Belen every Christmas to pray and sing songs.  Now, I do not see that anymore.  In fact, I do not even see people taking the time to make the Belen like in the good old days.  At one time, baby Jesus would go around during the Christmas season visiting people' homes with carolers singing Christmas songs.  Now, I do not see that in my village anymore. These beautiful Catholic traditions in our Chamorro culture have vanished as people became more busy with their jobs and other secular activities.  Our life has become more secular.    

In addition, Catholic Extension also recognizes outstanding individuals and awards them the Lumen Christi Award with a $50,000 grant to support the person's ministry.  Kevin An Delgado of Mangilao was one of the top ten finalists for the 2015 Lumen Christi Award.  

As a "poor mission diocese" how are religious expected to afford a $200 ticket to attend the archbishop's birthday gala?
"Ellen B. or Eilleen Benavente- Bles"


This is obviously your REAL gripe.....the Archbishop's birthday gala.  The fact that we had to hold a fundraiser for the Archdiocese of Agana plus the two seminaries shows that the Archdiocese and Seminaries are struggling with finances. However, we are still fortunate than some parishes in the United States who had to close down their doors due to a lack of priests.  

Holding a gala fundraiser for the poor is not a bad thing.  But holding a gala fundraiser to help the Church and seminaries is also NOT a bad thing.  A person does not protest things that are good.....only things that are bad.  A birthday celebration is not a bad thing.  A fundraiser to help our Church and seminaries is also not a bad thing.  The fact that many people came out to support the Archbishop shows their love and generosity for the Church and seminaries. Of course, this does not mean that we do not care for the poor.  

It simply means that you are in no position to tell the Archbishop how to celebrate his birthday and what to fundraise for.  If you wish to fundraise for the poor, then by all means.....organize your own gala dinner.  But by what authority do you have telling the Archbishop and others what they should fundraise for and how they should celebrate their birthday.  What really irks you is that people spent $200 each to help the Archdiocese and the two seminaries.  Why does that bother you so much?  Is it because you would like to see the Archdiocese of Agana suffer and the seminaries shut down?   
  

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Misleading the Readers


On November 14th, Tim Rohr posted the following photo with the title "Might as well start selling indulgences" on his blog: 



The title and photo of his blog misled SOME readers into believing that it was the Archbishop who placed the sign and collection box up.  However, some people who knew the sign had been there for a long time even when Monsignor James was there finally spoke up.  Under that thread, Tim Rohr made the following statement (the bold is mine): 
Correct.  It's not new.  And if Msgr. James had put up the same sign there wouldn't have been anyone who gave it a second thought.  The sign is not the issue.
http://www.junglewatch.info/2015/11/might-as-well-start-selling-indulgences.html 

Of course, the sign is not the issue because some people recognized that the same sign was there during Monsignor James' time at the Cathedral. Therefore, Tim said that the 20 million dollars debt was the real issue. According to Tim Rohr (bold is mine): 
Yes. And it was not a problem. I posted this because I want people to think about why it is now a problem. 
The archdiocese is 20 million in debt. The VG Is shaking down the insurers. Apuron just hit up "let the babies die Lou" for nearly another million bucks. and while the cathedral begs for dollars he hands over a mega million dollar asset and wings off to Colombia for some fun and frolic with his boytoys. 
That 20 million dollar debt is NOT new.  In fact, that debt goes back to the time when the former finance council was still there. In January, 2015, Tim Rohr wrote (bold is mine):  
$20 million is the figure estimated by the former AFC.  Note that the remainder of the debt incurred by the renovation of the Cathedral and the Cemeteries, a project overseen by Msgr. James, is only 1.7 million.
http://www.junglewatch.info/2015/01/setting-record-straight-really-straight.html

That 1.7 million incurred by Monsignor James was later increased to 7 million dollars on July 31, 2015.  According to Tim:  
The Archdiocese is 20 Million dollars in debt which means that even if Apuron can blame 7 million dollars of that debt on Msgr. James, the remaining 13 Million is all on Apuron.   The truth is of course that even the 7 million dollars that Msgr. James was tasked with paying back was actually Apuron's loan, not Msgr. James', for the simple reason that Msgr. James has no authority to sign for a loan.
http://www.junglewatch.info/2015/07/picking-on-second-thing.html#more

Furthermore, Tim Rohr stated:  "And if Msgr. James had put up the same sign there wouldn't have been anyone who gave it a second thought." Why did he make this statement especially when he already admitted back in February 1st that the collection box to charge the tourists $1.00 was his idea????  According to Tim's statement in February 1st:  
The idea for the collection box for the visitors at the Cathedral originated with me.

http://www.junglewatch.info/2015/02/the-ministry-of-bathroom.html#more  

A collection box charging the tourists was placed at the entrance of the Cathedral, and some people were blaming the Archbishop and Monsignor David for putting it there.  Some commenters came out and said that it was Monsignor James who put it there.  But Tim Rohr admitted in his blog that he was the one responsible for the collection box.  It was his idea.  

The question is why make an entry post with the photo of the collection box and a title that misled readers into thinking that the Cathedral is so much in debt that they are NOW RESORTING to charging $1.00 from the visiting tourists?    

UPDATE!!!!!!!  

Now, this is getting lovely.  This was published in the jungle under the thread "Might as well start selling indulgences" (the bold is mine): 


Was the donation box your idea in the first place Mr. Rohr? One that maybe you pitched to Msgr. Benavente?
Reply




  1. LOL. Stupid. The sign is in the cathedral, not the gift shop - or at least that's where it was when I was still there over 2 years ago. And my job was only to manage purchases. The cathedral had a policy which charged tourists $1 to use the bathroom, and even that was a policy I opposed. LOL. Thanks for that. Shows me your side has NOTHING. But then we know that. LOL.

Mr. Rohr stated on November 15, 2015 at 9:57 am that the cathedral had a policy which charged tourists $1.00 to use the bathroom, and that he was OPPOSED to this policy.  However, on February 1, 2015, this is what Mr. Rohr wrote in his blog:  


The idea for the collection box for the visitors at the Cathedral originated with me. When I became affiliated with the Gift Shop in 2009, I became aware of the problem of "bathrooms". The Plaza de Espana and the Cathedral was a major tourist stop and sometimes there would be several buses of tourists frequenting these locations..............

However, I know how important having access to a restroom is when you're on a bus tour, so I proposed "the ministry of the bathroom".   It worked like this:

  • A flyer was made in Japanese with a map to the bathroom.
  • A key would be provided.
  • A dollar would be charged to cover maintenance.
  • Some form of ID would be left at the Gift Shop counter.
  • The ID would be returned when the key was returned.
  • The maintenance person would be made aware of the use of the bathroom and would continually check it to make sure there were always enough paper supplies and that the bathrooms would be clean throughout the day. 

Obviously all this took time. The cashier at the store often had to interrupt a sale in order to process the request for the key, a request which could occur several times with the sudden presence of 30 to 40 tourists. And the maintenance and the paper supplies would require the maintenance person to service the restrooms several times a day. 

We tried this for awhile but it really did become a burden. At the same time there was a need to police the tourists inside the cathedral. Tourists would often go up on the sanctuary to have their pictures taken. Security cameras inside the Cathedral would alert which ever staff was on duty and one of the staff would have to stop doing what they were doing to go and ask the tourists to stay off the sanctuary. (The tour guides were supposed to do this but usually they did not.)

To fund the extra costs of running a public restroom for several busloads of tourists on a daily basis and to assist with the costs of constantly monitoring the activities of the tourists in the cathedral, it was decided that it would be easier to set up a donation box at the entrance of the Cathedral rather than task the Gift Shop employees with having to charge $1.00 every time they were asked about a bathroom. 

http://www.junglewatch.info/2015/02/the-ministry-of-bathroom.html#more

As anyone can see, Tim Rohr stated today in his blog that he OPPOSED the $1.00 fee to use the bathroom.  Yet, nine months ago, he admitted in his blog that he was the one who proposed the $1.00 fee to use of the bathroom.  This is very deceptive.