“The past has to become the past so that we are able to move forward in peace and continue the real building of the church” and doing what Catholics depend on the church to do, “even on the nitty gritty, administrative, financial, pastoral infrastructure of the island,” he said.A few times, I have said that one cannot move forward without addressing the issues of the past. What started the controversy needed to be resolved. This statement made by Archbishop Byrnes was made on the same day that the year of reparation started. In that same press conference to the media in which he made this statement, he also said that Archbishop Apuron's return would be a disaster.
A year of reparation should start with compassion and forgiveness. There is no compassion when you judge a brother bishop behind his back to the public media.
So, in terms of healing and unity, what has been accomplished so far?
1. Archbishop Byrnes instructed the NCW to celebrate inside the Church building and follow the rubrics of the Mass. So, the NCW is doing that. And what is the jungle doing? They continue to tell their members NOT to contribute any money to the church. Is Archbishop Byrnes addressing that issue with them? Did he tell the jungle, "Come on guys. It's time to let go of the past and build up the Church. Contribute in helping your church."?
2. Archbishop Byrnes suspended the NCW from recruiting for a year while they review the catechetical directory of the Way, which was already approved by the Holy See. So, the NCW is currently not recruiting. And what is the jungle doing? They sent threatening emails to Father Danilo “Danny” Ferrandiz who was first appointed to be the delegate for the Way. The threatening emails caused Father Dan to resign. Did Archbishop Byrnes do anything to the jungle to help them move forward and put the past behind them? Actually, he appointed Deacon Steve Martinez to the position, but in no way did it help them move forward and forget the past. Instead, they jumped with joy. While many in the NCW disapprove of the appointment of Deacon Steve, they did not take up picket signs to protest in front of the cathedral. They moved forward.
3. Archbishop Byrnes gave 4 priests who walk in the Way positions in the Presbyterial Council and Council of Consulters. CCOG demanded the removal of Monsignor David and the other priests walking in the Way. Did the Archbishop say, "Come on guys. Let's move forward. It's time to let go of the past."? No. Instead, he asked Monsignor David to resign "in light of the current climate." Apparently, he was concerned about how CCOG felt. Did he feel any compassion for Monsignor David? Did he stood by and support his priest in this attack by CCOG? What is a bishop supposed to do when his priests are unjustly being attacked by CCOG simply because they walk in the Way? Did it ever occur to him to defend his own priests against an injustice rather than give in to the demands of a mob?
Unlike the jungle, I have never advocated for disobedience to the Bishop . The only time a priest can rightly disobey a bishop is when the bishop is commanding the priest to do an immoral act (steal, murder, etc.). I have not yet heard the side of those 4 priests. If they are indeed guilty of insubordination, then Archbishop Byrnes is within his right to remove them. Even David Sablan recognize this TODAY. How unfortunate that David Sablan did not recognize that Archbishop Apuron also had this same right when he removed Father Paul for disobedience. Such double standard. Perhaps, God allowed this to happen to show Sablan and the jungle their hypocrisy. De Ja Vu.......we are back to where we started.
Excellent post, Diana. Hon tried appeasing the jungle. He gave them what they wanted and that didn't bring any unity. The more they got what they wanted, the more they demanded. The Way has shown that they can move forward. JW has not shown anything.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous at 8:05 pm,
DeleteWe shall continue to move forward and to pray for our persecutors including for Archbishop Byrnes. Tomorrow, the constitutionality of the sex abuse law will be challenged. Let us pray also for Jackie's success.
Yes. Let's hope and pray that the law is declared unconstitutional. Remember Archbishop Apuron in your prayers too. Pray for him everyday.
Delete"What is a bishop supposed to do when his priests are unjustly being attacked by CCOG simply because they walk in the Way?"
ReplyDeleteDiana has a point here. Every priest is supposed to obey and support their bishop. But where was Byrne's support when CCOG demanded the removal of the neo priests? Is Byrnes supposed to support only the non-neo priests? De ja vu.....this time Byrnes is Apuron, only in reverse.
Dear Anonymous at 8:30 pm,
DeleteMy catechist once said that when you judge a brother, it has more to do with yourself than your brother. Archbishop Byrnes said that some priests felt neglected because Archbishop Apuron was in the Way and paid more attention to those in the Way. Now, you see Archbishop Byrne's doing the same thing. However, Archbishop Byrnes needs to see that too. God allows events to occur in our lives so that our eyes can be open to see who we really are.....sinners who are no better than our brother.
AB Byrnes wanted to unite the priests, and honestly, I think he was doing a good job of it until he started listening to CCOG. Putting the priests together was a good thing. He was on the right track. But CCOG wanted the neo priests out.
ReplyDeleteByrnes should have defended his own priests against the discrimination of CCOG. If he had, then those 4 priests would have trusted him. Byrnes told Mon. David to resign on June 18th. The letter to Filoni was written only 9 days later, June 27th. Obviously, Byrnes' action of not defending his priest from an injustice caused a loss of trust among the neo priests. So, yea, we're back to square one again. There's a loss of trust among the clergy, and this time it wasn't AB Apuron who caused it.
Yours very own words denounce you:
ReplyDelete“There is no compassion when you judge a brother bishop behind his back to the public media.”
“Pray for our persecutors including for Archbishop Byrnes.”
Your post is not reflecting what was published in the media.
Dear Anonymous at 2:45 am,
DeleteOn the contrary, I call it as it is. Criticizing the Archbishop of Agana is not the proper way to start off the year of reparation. That is plain simple common sense. According to the news report, Archbishop Byrnes stated:
“The past has to become the past so that we are able to move forward in peace and continue the real building of the church” and doing what Catholics depend on the church to do, “even on the nitty gritty, administrative, financial, pastoral infrastructure of the island,” he said.
“I’ve already seen come great changes, we’ve got awesome people with great hearts, but it’s going to take a lot,” he said."
Archbishop Apuron had to disciplined only one priest (Father Paul) for insubordination. When Archbishop Hon took over, he had to discipline 2 priests (Father Mike and Father Jeff) for insubordination. Now that Archbishop Byrnes has taken over, he had to disciplined 4 priests for insubordination. Is the increase in numbers supposed to be an improvement?
Last time I checked the "jungle" was a blog published on the internet. Not a priest. So what exactly is the archbishop supposed to do to an online blog?
ReplyDeleteUm like what archbishop Anthony did last year degree that ccog an illegal group and not pay attention to the blog
DeleteDear Anonymous at 5:11 am,
DeleteHe is not supposed to do anything to a blog. But one would think he should defend his priests from an injustice of hate.
God is one @ 6:52 AM when did archbishop Anthony degree that ccog is an illegal group???
DeleteThen why the insubordination from the 4 priests?
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous at 7:23 am,
DeleteFor some reason, the Archdiocese is backtracking itself and are not saying the reason they were fired. According to the Guam Daily Post:
"Archdiocese Director of Communications Tony Diaz would not confirm that the four were terminated due to insubordination for writing a letter about issues concerning the Archdiocese of Agana directly to the Vatican."
First, they were saying it was insubordination. Now, they do not want to confirm it. Apparently, the reason had something to do with a letter they wrote to the Vatican. Why they are backtracking and not confirming whether it was insubordination or not is unknown.
Stop lying about Fr Danny. He does not and never will support the NCW. He did not resign because of letters. And because you seem to think that you are an authority even though nobody knows who you are, I too am an authority on this matter.
ReplyDeleteStop using Fr. Danny's name for your own promotion. He does not support your ncw or this blog.
Dear Anonymous at 10:57 am,
DeleteWhere did I say that Father Dan supported the Way???? I am aware that he is not walking in the Way. Nevertheless, Father Dan's email was published in the jungle and these are the comments from the jungle regarding him. These are only a sample of their comments, which all came from the jungle. So why do you think Rohr published his email in his blog and encouraged the junglefolks to email him?:
TimApril 24, 2017 at 11:09 AM
Fr. Danny Ferrandiz may be contacted at ferrandizd@yahoo.com
AnonymousApril 23, 2017 at 2:27 PM
I pray Fr. Danny has turned a new leaf. He's known to be a BIG apuron and neo sympathizer. If he hasn't changed, then he'd be instrumental in keeping that neoCult alive.
Please, just get rid of the neos! You cannot change evil. They will just continue to ruin our Church here!
AnonymousApril 23, 2017 at 4:35 PM
Fr. Ferrandiz only supports Apuron because he wants to remain on Guam. Unless he is or becomes incardinated into the archdiocese he is not secure enough to do the right thing. That's the predicament all the Filipino priests who are not incardinated into the archdiocese are in. People, including priests, generally do what they must do to survive.
Agnes
AnonymousApril 28, 2017 at 10:14 PM
Don't be fool by Fr. Dan. He is a high maintenance priest brand name merchandise priest. He was kissing ....to Anthony Apuron, he snitch on Msgr. James Benavente and the Cathedral staff to Anthony for everything. He's a undercover Neo at Santa Bernadita Church.
he did go to catechesis to almost the end but he didn't attend the convivence
DeleteDear God is one,
DeleteGoing to the catechesis is not walking. At the end of the convivience, the person will be asked if they want to walk in a community.
I am discouraged with all happening in "my" Church. I see Byrnes as unapproachable and possibly quite prejudice. Byrnes listens only to the side that attacks.
ReplyDeleteBrother tony was unapproachable. Deja'vu
Delete@ Anon. 11:28. That's not true. Byrnes is approachable. Maybe those 4 priests find him unapproachable cuz they saw that he listens only to CCOG. But still they should approach him.
DeleteDear Anonymous at 7:46 am,
DeleteI am a stickler for protocol. I have people working under me in my office. If there is a problem, I would prefer they see me first before seeing my boss.
It is just unfortunate that Archbishop Byrnes would prefer to sacrifice his own priest to a hate mob rather than stand by and be persecuted with them. Had he defended his own priests, CCOG would have also persecuted him.
It's also unfortunate that some of those priests in the councils would like to see those priests step down for the sake of the hate mob rather than stand by them against the hate mob.
DeleteDear Anonymous at 8:41 am,
DeleteExactly. Martin Luther King Jr. (a non-Catholic) did a much better job of standing against the evils of hatred than our Coadjutor Archbishop and some of these "non-neo" priests have shown.
There's no concrete definition of what constitutes insubordination.Insubordination needn't be disrespectful
ReplyDeletePray now because the hearing is over and no decision
ReplyDeleteAtty.Terlaje presented excellent report to KUAM evening news.
Deleteto God is one... what hearing ..???
ReplyDeletethe dismissal case
DeleteWon't it be beneficial for the representative of the NEOSs and the representatives of the traditional Catholics to sit down and discuss the differences between the two? I have visited both blogs and the jungle seem to provide documents to prove their point. Diana's blog tend to produce verbiage that contradicts the jungle. I think that by having a summit will possibly clear a lot of misconception of the NCW. Just saying.
ReplyDeleteVomiting out documents is not the way to build bridges to bring about peace understanding between groups. Just saying.
ReplyDeleteThere has to be a better way of rectifying the problems our AD is facing between the NEOs and the traditional Catholics. We can't be bickering like little kids on the play ground. We have to project positive values to our future generations. Just saying.
ReplyDeleteDear 5EE445,
DeleteLet us look at the root of the problem. So, what is the root of the problem?
Well, I know for a fact that the jungle have cited the liturgy as being a problem. However, Archbishop Byrnes already took care of that. The NCW is now celebrating the Eucharist inside the Church building following the instructions he gave the RMS priests.
Nevertheless, you still hear them complaining. They still call out for end and the destruction of the NCW. Therefore, the liturgy could NOT be the root of the problem. So, what do you think is the root of the problem?
The problem is HATE. The calling for the end, demise, destruction, or death of a group of people is rooted in hate. So, now that you know the root of the problem, you can start thinking of solutions.
Diana, I already gave you a solution. Get the leadership of both groups to meet and discuss their differences. We are all adults rooted in the Catholic faith and yet we can not get along. At the present time, which group is causing the division in the church. I think that AB Byrnes is an intelligent and rational individual. He can make his own decisions consulting the CCOG or the LFM. Did Ric Esebuios group or any member of the NCW tried sitting down with AB Byrnes to discuss any of the problems the NCW is encountering here on Guam? What about AB Apuron, where is he at? Why isn't he communicating to his flock here on Guam. I think there is a lot of problems the NCW here on Guam has to address and it starts with AB Apuron. Just saying.
DeleteWhy not start with why do they hate the NCW? I would think that the answer to that question is rather personal than it is generalized.
DeleteDear 5EE445,
DeleteMy response is in the following weblink:
https://neocatechemunal.blogspot.com/2017/08/my-response-to-5ee445.html?m=0
Dear Anonymous at 6:06 pm,
Teach your children that there is no good reason to hate and know that hate is wrong.