The Experience of Father Maurizio

As you know, Father Maurizio Pallu was the RMS priest who was kidnapped in Nigeria.  He was later released by his kidnappers.  Below is his experience and a photograph of him doing missionary work in Nigeria and elsewhere: 
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Fr Maurizio greets all the brothers and sisters in the UK, saying: “Dear Brother and Sisters, I thank you all from the depth of my heart for your nearness in this difficult moment. I felt the strength of your prayers and your love. Christ is truly risen and with him we will evangelise Nigeria, Africa and the world! Pray for me a sinner. Maurizio” 

The experience of Fr Maurizio: his homily on 19 Oct 2017 at the Eucharist in Scandicci, Florence, on the day he arrived.

Italian recording on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDlinArl0Uc

 Firstly when I got to the Church and saw so many people I thought: “but all these brothers and sisters didn’t come here for a fool like me?” and I see this… sincerely. We all came here to celebrate our faith, and our faith is the Risen Christ so I wanted to speak about the Risen Christ through my experience. 

First of all I am touched, moved by your presence, your participations and your prayers I say it sincerely because I’m sure that these prayers, vigils, sacrifices you made saved my life.

We were in the forest for 6 days and we did not move, only in the first days we moved a little… and there, I experienced a total impotence of my being. I had no Bible or breviary, they only left me a rosary. I prayed the rosary a lot. 

I am very devoted to the Virgin of Fatima because already in Holland she (the Virgin of Fatima) saved my life allowing me to do a work of Christianization in the parish and I consecrated the parish to the Madonna of Fatima 

But last year I had an even stronger experience because on 13 Oct 2016 we were attacked by bandits in another city of Nigeria and we were kidnapped by bandits who were pointing a gun on us for an hour and a half and who stole the little money we had, but we managed to survive 

This year the attack happened on the vigil of the feast of the Madonna of Fatima - the Miracle of the Sun, 13 Oct, and the Madonna pulled us out.

Now, my first conclusion is this: If the devil unleashes such a big battle for 4 poor people, a cretin like me who goes to announce the Gospel, it means that what is behind is immense, I can’t even evaluate it because every time we go out to Evangelize, there is an attack, and then there is an intervention by the Madonna who is stronger that the devil’s attack, and it frees us - but it doesn’t just free us but it also doubles up our strength. 

In truth, this evening I am a little tired because I arrived this morning from Nigeria. I am falling asleep… I was 7, 8 days practically awake most of the time… 

One thing is certain: after this experience my faith has grown, my hope has grown and my charity has grown, and I know that I did nothing there 

We were 3 hostages, a Nigerian (female) student and a Nigerian accountant… 

I discovered the total impotence of my being, I discovered my fear. I did not want to die. I prayed so much for my persecutors and I prayed so much that the Lord will free me. 

I did my examination of conscience. I said “Am I ready to die now? “No, Lord I am not ready to die because I still have not expiated my sins, and not done sufficient contrition”. “If you, Lord, concede me a few more years of life, I promise to multiply my zeal to bring many souls to you”

 …this is what I said: “Let me live because I want to fight the devil so much with the help of the Virgin Mary” This is what I prayed constantly. I prayed for my colleagues, I tried to assist them, they were a little more worried than me. I mean I was so afraid inside… 

…and I saw a response from the Lord. The response from the Lord was as follows: that on the 13th October, the day after our kidnapping, the feast of the Miracle of the Sun, the heart of the bandits’ leader softened, became a little more tender. We started to maintain a dialogue… I told him “you are my brother I pray for you, you are not my enemies, I pray for all of you” “Pray, Pray, for me”, he said, and we started establishing a relationship… 

because one thing that I discovered in all these years of life is that the contrapositions we make are inexorably wrong. When we say: “Muslims, Christians, good, bad, adulterous, pure…” I could go on… because in any of us, at least in me, perhaps also in you, there is a little bit of everything. There may be a violent man who is capable of killing... I saw that at some point of my life I was capable of killing somebody, and you?... and at other times I was capable of sleeping with somebody else’s wife, and you?... and we could go on… 

hence this pharisaic attitude is always dangerous: to divide in good and bad, dividing in half creating a cast of pure ones

I was not pure in that situation in the forest, my intentions were not necessarily pure… what I said to the leader of the robbers… he was the only one who spoke English, the others were speaking Hausa, a language from the North of Nigeria… In this endemic corruption in Nigeria perhaps I’d be violent… I am very violent… You can ask my mother that sometimes I was throwing objects in the air… What did I throw in the air today? I was a bit annoyed… …maybe I threw the telephone in the air… so I am a violent person. How can I judge you…? 

I saw that they did not feel judged because at the end of the day either we think that Saint Francis was a fool in his approach to the Muslim robbers who took him prisoner, or we think that San Francesco was making Jesus Christ present 

I’d like to make it clear that I have nothing in common with Saint Francis, not even the name… 

but the following is certain: it is not true what the World says that if you are like the sheep you will be eaten alive. The one who is like the sheep, wins. He wins because he may lose in this world but wins in the world to come.

I said: Lord, if you want us to die, take us all to heaven, me and the others. I offer my life for their salvation even though I’d like to remain here… 

…so the leader offered me a cigarette, on 13 October, and said “smoke, smoke” “I don’t like these cigarettes, the cigarettes in Tuscany are better”, I said…. 

Then on Sunday it was a very difficult day because there was a blood-thirsty member of the gang and, I gather he was possessed by the devil, for various reasons that I noticed. He really wanted to kill. (It was obvious that) he wanted to kill because he would grab a stick and hit this other Muslim hostage brother who was with me and the student, in an inhumane way, with his stick… At night we were in chains and he was hitting him inhumanely… 

The leader realised this and said: “He is a very evil man, a very wicked man, he is bad…” I thought if this one doesn’t go away… so I prayed, I implored Carmen and the Madonna. “Father please take this blood-thirsty man away because this one will kill us all, he is not interested in money… he is interested in spilling blood…” and on Sunday the leader sent him home. This is a fact. You can interpret this fact anyway you want but this is a fact. There were 8 bandits, and then they became 5 and most importantly without the dangerous one. 

On Sunday I started thinking that perhaps we will manage to come out alive. Also because I saw that this was a Triduum. Friday, Saturday a real death, and Sunday the resurrection. I couldn’t celebrate the Eucharist but I lived it spiritually. 

In the evening they were so happy that they went out to hunt, they killed some wild rabbits, they roasted them, and they gave some to us so we had a BBQ, only the beer was missing. Basically overall we ate pretty badly, but in truth food was the least of our preoccupations. They gave us some kind of polenta and sugar and lots of water of a brown colour, we will probably get the hepatitis… … The doctors are now carrying out some analysis, I hope they’ll hurry up a little because they are a bit slow… so this is what we ate, but the hunger was not the main issue… I was never really hungry even though I normally have an appetite… then yesterday it was my birthday and at the Embassy in Abuja they offered me wine, cognac… we smoked Tuscan cigars.. but in the preceding days I wasn’t hungry because with the adrenaline, the fear of dying is really strong and you are not hungry. What affects you is thirst... so we drunk the water they had. They were drinking and eating the same drink and food that they were giving us. 

Alright, so this was my experience. Then on Monday, Tuesday I managed to pray the lauds because this protestant girl had a Bible so I said: “can you lend me the Bible”? 

What struck me was that on Sunday I was still too afraid.... I prayed the rosary a lot… but on Monday I relaxed a little… and I took the Bible. I took the Psalms at random. The 1st Psalm was number 18, is what you were singing, the psalms helped me a so much in captivity, then I skipped forward 5 psalms to Psalm 23… “the Lord is my shepherd, I don’t need anything even if walk in the dark, I do not fear because You are with me…” and then further four psalms forward: Psalm 27: “The LORD is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? even if an army besiege me… I will be confident”.

Then I opened the New Testament at random: Acts of Apostles 10, Cornelius: God regards all the men in front of Him as pure. 

Here all men in front of Him were Muslim. This wasn’t a religiously inspired kidnapping, nothing to do with religion but they were all Muslim. Every man is pure in front of Him pure because he was purified by Christ’s blood.

This helped me. This was my experience. On Tuesday we were freed and left near the road. To conclude I’ll say: my experience is that I did nothing these days. I absolutely don’t feel like a hero, absolutely not. I was very afraid. I was an obstacle to the actions of the Lord, but I saw the power of our Lord’s grace. No-one will take this away from my heart. The power of the Lord’s grace which acted in my poverty and saved me. 

I conclude with an anecdote: have you seen “The Lord of the Rings”? because when I go to Africa and ask the neocatechumens, no-one saw it. “Have you seen the Lord of the Rings?” and they answer “Noooo”. 

To finish I’ll say this, what sustained me was the Christian community, the prayers… Here we do not have great evangelizers, I’m certainly not one of them, here there are no great preachers, big stars, we are all small potatoes, but there is a body, there is a community of the poor, sinners where the sin, the weakness illuminated and sustained by the grace of God becomes a force, and creates communion, and this is what I wanted to testify with my experience. I didn’t do anything heroic, I am grateful to God, I thank Him for His actions through the Community because this is where the force is.

Without the Community you are lost because the man who is alone gets devoured in the World with so many attractions that make him even more alone… let’s leave it at that. 

“The Lord of the Rings” touches me because there is this community of Hobbits, people of short stature, similar to us who are in a sense short in stature, and these persons of short stature save the World. So much so that the great hero Aragorn, you remember this beautiful hero, the man, this great hero, says that the only thing that we have to do is to wait for this half-slave* to take the ring and throw it inside. We just have to gain some time.

This is what I felt profoundly in these days. I can only gain time by praying, awaiting that Christ, through the poor, will destroy the work of the devil and… "CHRIST HAS DESTROYED THE WORK OF THE DEVIL! CHRIST IS DESTROYING THE WORK OF THE DEVIL! Although it seemed that the devil dominates the World, this is not true. CHRIST IS RISEN!

Interview on Vatican Radio (you can listen to it in italian at: 

http://it.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/18/don_maurizio_pall%C3%B9_sto_bene,_ho_sentito_la_vicinanza_di_ mar/1343612 

18 October 2017: (English translation) 

Fr Maurizio Pallù was released last night, 63-year-old Italian diocesan priest in Rome, kidnapped last Thursday in Nigeria where he is a missionary as a catechist of the Neocatechumenal Way. Today, among other things, is his birthday. The Diocese of Rome rejoices at his liberation and expresses gratitude to the Lord. So many prayers these days for the missionary, beginning with Pope Francis. 

Fr Maurizio is well as he tells in the exclusive interview of Debora Donnini : 

A. In the three of us taken as hostages, we were a Nigerian brother, a Nigerian student, and myself. They released us around 10 in the evening. 

Q. - How are you doing? 

A. - Well, happy! The Lord has risen, accompanied me, I have had moments of fear but I must say I have felt very much the assistance of the saints, of the Virgin Mary. and of Carmen Hernandez (initiator of the Neocatechumenal Way - ndr) ... We have entrusted our mission in Nigeria to the Virgin Mary, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to Saint Daniele Comboni, and to St. John Paul II ... so it's an iron team! In fact, it's the second time in a year they have kidnapped me, not the first; this was more difficult than the first time, but I saw the miracles that the Lord did, just great miracles that the Lord did to keep us alive. It means that the Lord has a big plan in this country because the devil is attacking with great force to destroy the work of God in this nation. In a year I was kidnapped twice but I am convinced that God will destroy the work of the devil. Another important fact to point out is this: the two abductions both occurred in the feast of Our Lady of Fatima on the 13th of October. Last year we were kidnapped on October 13th and through a miracle of Our Lady we were released after an hour and a half. This year we were kidnapped on October 12th, the eve of the miracle of the sun in Fatima. In fact, I was going to Benin City where the bishops of Nigeria celebrated once again Nigeria's consecration to the Virgin Mary and I wanted to be there on October 13th for this great Eucharist and instead on October 13th I had to go into the forest where I received a sign of Mary's maternal attention. And then on Sunday I received the confirmation that Our Lady and all the saints would pull us out of this situation. We did not give up! 

Q. - Are you now returning to Abuja? 

A. Yes, we are returning to Abuja.

Q. And will you return to Rome? 

A. - They told me to come back to Italy. I would like to stay here [in Nigeria] because we defeat the devil by staying here; the devil is cowardly, he wants us to be scared but he has chosen the wrong way. We are poor men, so we are afraid, but we are supported by the grace of God. And the devil is keeping millions of people slaves here using lies, cowardice and corruption, and when they allow me to return, I will return to here very happy and offer my poor person for the evangelization of Nigeria.

Q. - You were picked up on October 12th, how did these days go? 

R. - On October 12th we were picked up on the road, they came out shooting and then they took us to the forest. There were three of us, it was a band of kidnappers, we walked quite a long way to a lonely place, and then we were there, they had little to eat, they gave us what they had, we went ahead, we drank the water of the creek, a water of brown colour ... and anyway we are alive!

Arrival in Florence on youtube https://youtu.be/rLW2bDfE46E 

Ending with his message to us and the press “with the risen Christ we will evangelize Nigeria, all over Africa and ALL THE WORLD”

Photographs of Maurizio Pallu during his missionary work in Nigeria and elsewhere

Children: The Future of the Church

In the Neocatechumenal Way, couples are taught to be open to life and that children are a gift from God.  Families are taught to do morning prayer together.  Morning prayer has brought the families closer to each other. The children and the spouses become more open to each other and communication is fostered in a more positive way.  The following article is from Zenith news:

During Meeting with Neocatechumenal Community at Roman Parish, Reminds Them That Children Are the ‘Future of the Church’

Roman parish of San Pier Damiani ai Monti di San Paolo in Casal Bernocchi, Acilia (on the southern periphery of Rome) on the afternoon of Sunday, May 21, 2017.

Upon his arrival, at 3:40 p.m., the Pope met in the Sports Center of Casal Bernocchi with the catechism children and young people and with all who frequent the center. During the meeting, the Holy Father answered some of the children’s questions.

Then, after going by car to the parish buildings, at 4:15 p.m., the Pontiff greeted the sick, the Neocatechumenal Community and the poor helped by Caritas. Finally, he heard the Confession of four penitents.

At 5:55 p.m. the Holy Father presided over the celebration of Holy Mass in the parish church. After the proclamation of the Gospel, the Pope gave an off-the-cuff homily.

Here is a working translation of the Pope’s greeting to the parish’s Neocatechumenal Community:

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Parish Priest:

Holy Father, welcome among us – a brief presentation.

This meeting we are having briefly is with the reality of the Neocatechumenal Way, which was born here, in this parish, about 30 years ago. There have been various evangelizations: there are five communities in addition to two communities on mission, which your Predecessor Benedict XVI sent eight years ago, and invited them here, to this periphery of Rome, to evangelize those who were distant. They are two communities: one comes from Piazza Bologna, so they travel 50 kilometers to come here every Wednesday and Saturday; and another from Saint Leonard of Murialdo: every Tuesday they go to homes to visit families, to pray with them, to say a word, to listen, and this has borne much fruit. Not too many frequent this parish of ours: you see so many people now, today, but what you see today I think is the fruit of all that has been done in these years, first by my predecessors and also by this reality of our parish. I am truly grateful to the Lord – I also come from theRedemptoris Mater, I did my seminary years there, I was itinerant at first; now I have been in this parish for 12 years as parish priest. I am happy. I have had many difficulties but also many joys. I must say that these brethren have witnessed  — not only they but also others – the faith, they have given their life and they have reinforced my vocation. When I was in crisis in these years, it was they – it moves me – who supported me, because I think I should not be here. Therefore, I thank God, I am grateful to be a presbyter, to be a priest and to serve the Church of Rome. And, first of all is obedience to you, as Successor of Peter.

Pope Francis:

One of you said that if the Way is in this parish, it is thanks to this person [the parish priest]. But it’s something good: he didn’t say: “if the Way or this parish is strong, if we have so many children, if we have such a community and also missionaries, it is because we have had missionary priests, no. [He said that] you were the missionaries. Because the grace of mission comes from Baptism: it is Baptism that gives us the strength for the mission, and the lay people, who are baptized, are those who must be missionaries, then us, the priests, the Sisters, the Bishops also, all. But the lay people must go ahead. This is what the parish priest said: the fact of visiting families, of listening to them . . . This isn’t in Canon Law, but it’s very important: the “apostolate of the ear”: to listen. “But Father, much time is lost . . .” No, it’s gained! You listen, then, at a certain moment you will say a word and that word will germinate, it will be a seed, it will go on. However, [first it is necessary] to listen. Today people have the need to be heard. All speak, they speak of everything . . . But let us think . . . I’ll tell you a personal experience – I can also give a personal testimony: you like testimonies, no? [He laughs, they laugh] –: how many times I’ve heard people who have come to me to ask for advice, and I have remained silent, I’ve let them talk, talk, talk . . . and then they have said: “Yes, it’s true, you are right,” <and> I had not spoken! But it was the Holy Spirit that they had within, who spoke and they found the way. But they had need of an ear, and all of you have had this experience. And if one begins to speak, don’t say: “No, but this . . .” Don’t explain anything, until the moment the Spirit tells you: “Speak.” Recall the Apostle Philip: he was baptizing, evangelizing and the Spirit said to him: “Go, on that road . . .” And he found a carriage there, where there was a gentleman, Minister of the Economy of the Queen of Ethiopia. However, he was a Jew and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And Philip didn’t say a word; he only approached the carriage and <the gentleman> looked at him and Philip asked him: “Tell me, do you understand this?” “How can I understand it if no one explains it to me?” He was the one who asked. Philip was silent. <The Minister> made him get into the carriage, and <Philip> explained to him . . . And <the Minister>, when they found some water in the desert, <said> . . . “Why can’t I be baptized?” Listening. Initially they listened and then they said a word. But if you go to a house, knock on the door , and they open the door and you say: “I come to proclaim the Gospel to you, Christ’s salvation,” they will throw you out  and ruin the work of the Holy Spirit. Listen. Then, while you listen, pray: “Lord, give me the right word.” This does so much good in visits to families: to let the right word fall. But after the outburst, after they have explained themselves well. And then go ahead, in community, bring people close, so that they feel well . . . The mission done this way. One of the most beautiful images that Jesus uses for the mission is that of the sower: to sow. The seed of the Word is scattered … And in a passage the Gospel states: “Then the sower goes to sleep and doesn’t know what’s happening, but it is the Lord who makes it grow.” Always work with the Lord, always. Please, don’t be proselytizers, but evangelizers. It’s awful to go to a family to add one more member to this ecclesiastical list: it’s not <about> this. Proselytism doesn’t work. Pope Benedict said a phrase that we must not forget: “The Church does not grow by proselytism but by attraction,” namely, by witness, by service. Be servants of all and thus things are good.

Then, there are the moments of crisis – the parish priest spoke of his, which he had. But I would like to ask you – I won’t do so! –: let him who has not had a crisis raise his hand. All had had one. All. And the Lord has always put someone by our side who has helped us. And when you are in crisis, let yourself be helped. Ask for help. Don’t shut yourself in; ask for help. Ask for the alms of grace, and the latter always comes through a brother, a sister, always, because the Gospel is like this. Angels do not preach: Angels praise God and guard us, but who should preach? We should. All of us, and this is the way.

I thank you for what you do. You are courageous. And also these jewels that are here, your children, are a promise for the future of the Church. Make them grow up to be good Christians. and I like the way you sing. Before giving you a blessing, you can sing a song to Our Lady . . . When I came in, you were singing one . . . If you know another . . .

[Song]

Thank you. Now I’ll give you the blessing.

[Blessing]

Please, pray for me: don’t forget!

Our Justice System

One would think that as we advanced into the 21st century, there would be an increase of knowledge as well as common sense.  But the opposite seems to take place.  Common sense is sorely lacking in the modern world.  Public Law 33-187 is an unjust law in that it violates the due process of the accused.  Statutes of limitations exist so that the truth can be determined and justice can prevail.  There is no justice when persons can even come out and bring lawsuits against the dead.  There is no justice when the law opens a door for scammers to defraud the Church for millions of dollars.  Archbishop Apuron never had immunity.  Only diplomats and politicians in Congress have immunity.  The lawsuits could have been brought against Archbishop Apuron in 2011 or at any time, but they chose to come out at a time when there was a controversy over the removal of two priests.  

Below is an interesting article written by Father Gordon MacRae, showing the lack of common sense in our judicial system.  You can find the article here. 
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Plea Deals or a Life Sentence in the Live Free or Die State

New Hampshire Judge Arthur Brennan sentenced this falsely accused Catholic priest to more than 30 times the plea deal he would have taken had he in fact been guilty.

In January, 2016, I wrote a post for These Stone Walls entitled, “American Crime Story: The People vs O.J. Simpson.” You can go read it if you want some deeper background, but to make a long story shorter, O.J. Simpson’s trial and mine were parallel dramas back in 1994.

O.J.’s trial extended a full year beyond mine and presented what Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti described as “a mountain of evidence” against O.J. Simpson charged with the murders of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman. After eleven full days of jury deliberation, Simpson was acquitted.

In contrast, my trial lasted one week and presented no evidence at all. It did not help that my bishop, and diocese, already deep into the settlement process, published a pre-trial press release that declared me guilty before I even set foot in any court. There was little left for a jury to do. I was convicted of all charges on September 23, 1994, after a jury deliberated for all of ninety minutes in a case brought twelve years after the fictitious crimes supposedly took place.

But what most TSW readers found surprising about parallels between these two trials was something that happened much later. Three years after the O.J. Simpson trial concluded, his chief prosecutor, former L.A. Assistant District Attorney Marcia Clark, tried to come to my defense. In late 1998, Ms. Clark wanted to profile my trial for an investigative report on wrongful convictions sponsored by FOX News. The production company, Mark Phillips Films & Television, wanted to interview me on camera at the New Hampshire State Prison.

The interviews were to culminate in a polygraph examination administered by a polygraph expert on national television. Having taken and conclusively passed two polygraph tests before my trial, I agreed to the proposal without hesitation. In 1998 Fox News proceeded to seek the necessary permissions for the interviews to take place. I requested that my accuser at trial also be asked to submit to the polygraph, but neither he nor his contingency lawyer would respond.

In the end, prison officials refused to allow these interviews. An attempt by FOX News to seek intervention from higher up the political ladder met with this reply from then Governor (now U.S. Senator D-NH) Jeanne Shaheen:

“I understand your company’s interest in an on-camera interview with Gordon MacRae, an inmate in the New Hampshire State Prison, but I will not interfere with the decision not to allow media access to Mr. MacRae.”

That was 1998. So why is this all coming up again now? Several years after his acquittal in the murder case, O.J. Simpson was charged and convicted in an unrelated case of armed robbery. After serving a prison sentence, O.J. was quietly granted parole in September 2017, and is now free.

But our stories seem destined to remain parallel dramas. On the same day that O.J. was paroled from prison, I had to do something that most readers of These Stone Walls will find to be perplexing, and maybe even appalling. It’s a complex matter that requires explanation before it will make any sense at all. I received notice from the New Hampshire Parole Board that I was scheduled for a parole hearing on September 21, 2017 – twenty-three years into my imprisonment – and I refused it.

THE EXTORTION OF PLEA DEAL JUSTICE

Here is what happened and why: As most readers know from our “ABOUT” page, I was sent to prison on September 23, 1994, after a trial with no evidence at all beyond the testimony of one man, Thomas Grover, with a long criminal record. Both his criminal record and the fact that he stood to gain $200,000 in settlement from the Diocese of Manchester were kept from the jury by Judge Arthur Brennan.

Having no evidence to review beyond the accusations themselves, the jury arrived at its verdict in ninety minutes after Judge Brennan instructed them that state law (NH RSA 632-A:6) requires no evidence or corroboration for a conviction in a case of rape or sexual abuse. The accusation is evidence enough to convict in a case that rests entirely on credibility. He also instructed the jury to “disregard inconsistencies in Mr. Grover’s testimony.” As Dorothy Rabinowitz later wrote in The Wall Street Journal, “they had much to disregard.”

It was also kept from the jury that on three occasions – twice before my trial and once during trial just after Grover’s testimony – I was presented with plea bargain offers by the two prosecutors in the case. Right up to the moment the jury began deliberation, I could have stopped the trial and entered a plea of guilty in exchange for one year in prison. A good deal if I were guilty, but if innocent, not so much.

I refused these plea bargain offers three times in succession. Each time it felt as though the weight of false witness was crushing me. In ‘The Trials of Father MacRae,” Dorothy Rabinowitz laid out pointedly the nature of this case and the perversion of justice I would have been admitting to had I accepted the plea bargain offers.

Thomas Grover testified that he came to me five times for counseling for his drug addiction in the months preceding his 16th birthday in 1983. He described being verbally assaulted, made to cry, and then forcibly raped in my highly visible rectory office during each of these sessions. He testified that each week he “repressed” the memory of these vicious assaults so that he returned from week to week not remembering that he was raped the week before.

Grover spoke vaguely of having out-of-body experiences that suppressed his memory of the assaults. Ryan MacDonald covered the scene of these fictitious crimes with photos in an article that had most readers shaking their heads in disbelief entitled, “Justice and a Priest’s Right of Defense in the Diocese of Manchester.”

Most Americans simply do not understand the injustice of this aspect of American justice. Over 90 percent of criminal cases end with plea bargains instead of trials. A guilty defendant would leap upon a plea deal like the ones presented to me, but an innocent defendant falsely accused of rape or sexual abuse just cannot fathom standing before a judge and saying that word – “guilty” – even if just one year later it will let him off the hook entirely.

Most people just don’t get it that plea bargains can result in the truly guilty spending far less time in prison than the truly innocent for the same charge.

WHY I HAD TO REFUSE PAROLE

Faced with these deals then, as now, the image that kept playing in my mind was that of Violet Amirault of Massachusetts. She and her adult son and daughter were the now notorious defendants in the infamous Fells Acres Day Care case. In what was later exposed as a classic Massachusetts witch hunt by Dorothy Rabinowitz and The Wall Street Journal, Violet, Gerald, and Cheryl Amirault were tried and convicted in a media-fueled early 1980s climate of hysteria over child sexual abuse.

This case was at the core of Dorothy Rabinowitz’s courageous, compelling, but truly haunting book, No Crueler Tyrannies: Accusation, False Witness, and Other Terrors of Our Time. I will never be able to forget that one shattering news footage scene of the elderly Violet Amirault, distraught and overcome as she was led to prison in chains. When asked by a reporter if the charges were true she sobbed loudly, “I NEVER did this’ I NEVER did this’ I NEVER, NEVER, NEVER did this!”

I believed her. I believe that every thinking, feeling, rational human being in Massachusetts who witnessed that scene believed her. Violet died of cancer in prison, eaten away from the inside because the Salem Witch Trials had found their ugly way back into a New England court of law. In response to the growing public realization that the Amirault trials were a travesty, politician-prosecutors like Martha Coakley and Scott Harshbarger doubled down on their efforts to silence the Amiraults and keep them in prison.

I thought of Violet Amirault and that scene – in fact, I thought of little else – when I refused the one-year plea deal during trial in 1994. I thought of her again 23 years later when I refused a parole hearing that required an inference that I did what I never, never, never did.

The parole hearing offered to me was meaningless, and simple math will explain why. After reprimanding me for refusing plea bargains and insisting upon a trial in 1994, Superior Court Judge Arthur Brennan imposed the maximum possible sentence and declared he would have imposed more if the law permitted it. He ridiculed the one priest who spoke out, stating his informed belief that the charges were false. “He tried to deceive this court,” Judge Brennan said.

Then the judge imposed one prison term of three-and-one-half to seven years to be followed by four prison terms of seven-and-one-half to fifteen years, all to be served consecutively. This was an aggregate total of 33 ½ to 67 years in prison.

This means that every seven-and-one-half years I am invited to appear before the New Hampshire Parole Board and present an inference that I am guilty, that I am remorseful, and that I will, when the time comes, enroll myself in a prison-based sexual offender program which requires an open admission of guilt and the cessation of any effort to challenge a conviction or sentence. I could have done this 23 years ago when it would have had me released after just one year. But I am not guilty, and I cannot do this. Not now! Not ever!

As for the prison sex offender treatment requirement, I would not even be eligible for it until two years before the end of my last aggregate sentence in the year 2032. I would be 79 years of age recalling and addressing the lurid details of offenses claimed to have happened when I was 29, but in reality never happened at all. Does any of this make any sense to anyone?

In November 2017, Thomas Grover, the sole accuser at my 1994 trial, will be 50 years old. This man and three of his brothers who also accused me and obtained settlements were victims of nothing more than their own greed. They perpetrated the crime of fraud and the sin of false witness from behind the shield of a Catholic sex abuse moral panic.

PROSECUTORIAL JUDGES

What Judge Arthur Brennan and prosecutors did to me, however, is what advocates for a more sane and just criminal justice system call a “trial penalty.” To entice the guilty into lenient plea deals that bolster conviction records, the justice system threatens astronomical sentences if a defendant balks at the deal.

Judges have some discretion, however, for defendants with no prior felony record. Judges can impose harsh sentences concurrently instead of consecutively. Judge Brennan had that option, but ignored it. Had he opted for a concurrent sentence, I would have left prison without having to admit guilt after fifteen years. If his sentence stands, I will be 108 years old upon completion at a cost to the taxpayers of New Hampshire in excess of $2.4 million.

The entire justice system has grown oblivious to the fact that innocent defendants do exist and often cannot fathom accepting a plea bargain. The guilty readily can, but many prosecutors and judges never even consider that there is such a thing as an innocent defendant falsely accused.

In 2015, The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed column by Lucian E. Dervan entitled, “The Injustice of the Plea Bargain System” (Dec 4, 2015). The author wrote, “It is common for sentences after trial to be far more severe than those offered to induce guilty pleas.” The author called this the “trial penalty,” a grave injustice when inflicted on innocent defendants.

In the WSJ “Letters to the Editor” column (Dec 16, 2015), the op-ed drew some sharp criticism from prosecutors and judges Spenser Lawton, Jr. of Savannah, Georgia identified himself as a “retired career prosecutor.” His published letter defended the practice and effectiveness of plea bargains:

“The whole idea is that the sentence on a plea deal will be less severe than the one risked at trial. That’s called an incentive without which the option would be meaningless. What Mr. Dervan calls the ‘trial penalty’ might better be called the ‘plea benefit’.”

It is distressing that this former prosecutor’s defense of the plea bargain system seems to reveal no awareness that a defendant might actually be innocent. However, the far more disturbing rebuttal was this one from Larry Stirling of San Diego, a retired California Superior Court judge:

“The high conviction rate via plea bargaining results from the fact that the offer is a good deal for the defendants or they wouldn’t take them. They might be criminals, but they aren’t all dumb.”

This former judge evidences a cynical denial that a defendant standing before his court might be innocent. Instead of facing a prosecutor and a judge, defendants before Judge Larry Stirling seem to have been facing two prosecutors.

Former prosecutors are far too highly represented among the ranks of criminal court judges. In fact, a judicial nominee in New Hampshire was denied confirmation two years ago for the stated reason that he once served as a public defender. The judge who denied my last appeal while refusing any hearing on evidence or testimony was a career federal prosecutor.

With all due respect to Judge Larry Stirling, I am not a criminal and I am certainly not ‘dumb.” But the plea bargain presented to me 23 years ago was not a good deal at all. There was just one problem with it, and I owe a debt to the memory of Mrs. Violet Amirault, a martyr for truth, who voiced it for me:

“I NEVER did this! I NEVER did this!
I NEVER, NEVER, NEVER did this!”

Editor’s Note: Arm yourself with the whole truth of this story with these posts by Ryan A. MacDonald.

The Recognition of Kiko Arguello

Over the years, Kiko Arguello, the Founder of the Neocatechumenal Way has been recognized by the Holy See for his contribution to the Catholic Church.  The jungle can call Kiko evil and a heretic, but the recognition he received from the Pope and institutions tell a very different story.  These are his following recognition. 





1.  In May 2009, Kiko Arguello was awarded a Doctorate by the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.  According to news article:

The institute, situated at Rome’s Lateran University with other locations around the world, announced that on May 13 it will invest as doctors “Honoris Causa” both the Spanish founder, Francisco (Kiko) Argüello, and an Italian sociology professor, Pierpaolo Donati.

A statement from the institute notes that the contributions of both men to the field of family studies are valued as “authoritative references for its own teaching and research work.”

 2.  In June 2013, Kiko Arguello was given an honorary doctorate from the John Paul II Catholic University in Poland for his contribution in the renewal of the Church.  According to news report:

Kiko Argüello, initiator and responsible of the Neocatechumenal Way, was formally invested with an honorary doctorate in Sacred Theology by the Catholic University of John Paul II in Lublin, Poland yesterday.

According to the University, Argüello was awarded the honorary doctorate “for his valuable contribution to the renewal of the Church, carefully following the indications of the Second Vatican Council, bringing back Christians who have strayed from the ecclesial community to the sources of faith that come from the Bible and from the liturgy, in having initiated, with Mrs. Carmen Hernández, a Post-baptismal institution, an extremely precious work for today’s world, known worldwide as the Neocatechumenal Way. This form of Christian initiation, enhanced by the beauty of the new aesthetic, places today a work of evangelization and re-evangelization, all over the world; it prepares the missio ad gentes; actively intervenes so that Christianity and Judaism can come close to one another, defends the values ​​of life and human dignity, marriage and the Christian family. 

3.  In August 2014, Kiko Arguello was confirmed as the Consultor for the Pontifical Council of the Laity by Pope Francis for another five years.  According to news report:

Pope Francis has confirmed the initiator and leader of the international lay movement the Neocatechumenal Way, as a consultor for the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

Kiko Argüello will serve for a five-year term. This confirmation is in addition to his nomination in 2011 as consultor of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization. 

The international leader of the Neocatechumenal Way has belonged to the laity council since his appointment in 1993 by Blessed John Paul II, a nomination that continued for the rest of that pontificate and later on, under Benedict XVI. 

Argüello has participated as an Auditor in various Synods in the past several years, the most recent being the Synod on the Eucharist (2005), the Synod on “the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church” (2008) and the Synod on “The New Evangelization for the transmission of the Christian faith” in 2012.

  4.  In May 2015, Kiko Arguello and Carmen Hernandez received honorary degrees by the Catholic University of America. According to news report:

The Catholic University of America (CUA) has announced that they will confer honorary degrees on Kiko Argüello and Carmen Hernandez, the initiators of the Neocatechumenal Way on Saturday, May 16th, 2015.

The conferral of the honoris causa by the only Pontifical University in the United States was proposed several years ago and was decided following Pope Francis’ meeting with the Neocatechumenal Way on March 6th.

During that meeting, in which 250 families were sent in mission, the Holy Father defined the itinerary of Christian formation as “a true gift of Providence to the Church of our time.”

The Effectiveness of Small Communities

Over the years, the Catholic Church has seen its parish attendance decreased.  Some Catholic parishioners have been enticed to join other Christian denominations while others decide to attend Mass only on Christmas and Easter.  To revitalize the parish, some are now taking the advice of St. Pope John Paul II.  St. Pope John Paul II had always endorsed small communities during the 20 years that he was Pope.  According to Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia in Africa" in 1995.

“The Church as Family cannot reach all her possibilities as Church unless she is divided into communities small enough to foster close human relationships. The characteristics of such communities are:

• they should be places engaged in evangelizing themselves, so that subsequently they can bring the Good News to others;
• they should be communities which pray and listen to God’s Word;
• they must encourage the members themselves to take on responsibility and to learn to live as Church;
• they reflect on different human problems in light of the Gospel;
• these communities are to be committed to living Christ’s love for everybody, a love which transcends the limits of the natural solidarity of clans, tribes or other interest groups.”

Some parishes are now doing just that. They are turning parishes into small communities similar to the Neocatechumenal Way.  According to the Catholic Herald:

Small communities are where the parish system really works. In a town with more than one parish, people will often choose a church based on time of Mass or the character of the parish. This has led to our churches becoming more eclectic. The whole concept of a parish then is often diminished in people’s consciousness and reinforces a consumer model of Church attendance.

People attend our little church because it is the local church rooted in the community. We have a strong identity as a parish church. Many non-Catholics seek support from St Joseph’s at certain times in their lives and this is because a community centred church becomes the natural place for people to gather to mark life events.

A small community also places far more emphasis upon the faithful taking their place as part of the body of Christ. Small parishes often have more people involved in the life of the worshiping community than in larger ones. People know, support and care for each other, but also recognise that if things are to get done then individuals need to step up to the mark.

Such communities therefore can become communities of nurture and growth. New people are noticed and welcomed. Parishioners who are ill and away from church are spotted and people grow in the life of the Church because they are involved and engaged. This cannot easily happen in a large parish where a significant proportion of people remain anonymous to the priest and other parishioners.

This community mentioned in the Catholic Herald is NOT the Neocatechumenal Way, but it is remarkably the same.  Catholic Churches across America are encouraging their parishioners to sign up for Small Christian groups, which usually consist of 12 people (See the weblink here).  Like the Neocatechumenal Way, these small groups meet in the homes, pray together, read the bible together, share their experiences, and even have "agapes"  It is these small communities that makes them stronger to participate in the larger parishes.  

Today, there are many members of the Neocatechumenal Way who actively participate in the larger parishes by being Eucharistic ministers, lectors, altar servers, and CCD instructors.  They do volunteer work in the parish, cleaning the church and maintaining the parish grounds.  Churches that formed small group communities have also seen this kind of active participation in their parish. People who formed small communities have come to know and care for each other. However, the most important thing is that these small communities help each other in their conversion to being true Christians and in knowing Jesus Christ.  

The Tripod

From now on, I will be subscribing to the Guam Daily Post rather than the PDN.  The Guam Daily post was the only newspaper that mentioned the Vatican Insider article despite that they did not print the entire article.  Nevertheless, they provided a weblink to the Vatican Insider article in their online news report. I also liked the fact that they reported both viewpoints rather than one side.  The jungle has been having a field day with Ric Eusebio's comment quoted in the Guam Daily Post, which stated: 

"He cannot stop the Way even though he doesn't like us,"Eusebio told the Post. "He can prevent us from meeting in the Church, but we can always meet in homes."  

The jungle interpreted Dr. Eusebio's comment as "being outside the Church." This is false.  Our walk in the Neocatechumenal Way is based on the Tripod.  The first of the Tripod is the celebration of the Word.  The celebration of the Word is essentially the reading of the Holy Bible.  No Bishop is going to tell a Catholic not to read the Holy Bible.  All Catholics have a right to read the Holy Bible.  In fact, it is highly encouraged by the Church. The celebration of the Word is held at the Church.  If the Archbishop does not want the NCW to read the Holy Bible in the Church, they can always read it in the homes.  But no bishop can tell a Catholic not to read the Holy Bible. And reading the Holy Bible in the homes does NOT put the NCW outside the Catholic Church.

The second is the Eucharist.  The Archbishop has instructed us to have the Eucharist in the church before a consecrated altar and the NCW obeyed.  The Archbishop can stop the NCW from holding the Eucharist, but that does not stop the NCW from attending the Eucharist in any of the Sunday Masses.  As long as the NCW attends the Eucharist, they are still walking the tripod.  Furthermore, now that the NCW celebrates the Eucharist inside the Church before a consecrated altar, it would not look very good on the Archbishop to stop the Eucharist.
   
The third is the monthly convivience.  In the monthly convivience, the communities gather together for morning prayer.  No bishop can tell a Catholic not to gather together to pray.  In fact, it is encouraged that Catholics gather together to pray.  They can pray the rosary if they want.  In our case, we gather together as a community to pray the morning prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours or Christian Prayer Book and even share our experiences. 

So, what does it means to be at the disposition of the Bishop?  According to the approved statutes of the NCW: 

The Neocatechumenal Way is at the service of the bishop as one of the forms of diocesan implementation of Christian initiation and of ongoing education in faith.    

Therefore, the members of the NCW can still continue walking the Tripod, that is: Reading the Holy Bible, attending the Eucharist, and praying the morning prayers as a group.  Reading the Holy Bible, attending the Eucharist, and praying together as a group is a right given to all Catholics regardless of whether they walk in the Way or not. The NCW can continue its activities even if the Archbishop does not like us.  He cannot stop the Way because the foundation of the Way is on the Tripod: the reading of Sacred Scripture, attending the Eucharist, and praying the morning prayers together.  All these are Catholic. 

However, the Bishop can stop the NCW from evangelizating in Guam, but he cannot stop the evangelization outside of Guam because it is out of his jurisdiction.  After all, how else did Christianity spread?  When Jerusalem refused the evangelization of the Apostles of Christ, they shook the dust off their feet and evangelized outside Jerusalem.  As a result of the evangelization, there is now a community in Palau and the communities in Saipan continue to grow.      

Beginning Of The Year Convivience 2017

Our annual Beginning of the Year Convivience began on Thursday night, October 19th and ended on Sunday, October 22nd.  As usual, the retreat took place at the hotel.

We will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the NCW.  All communities worldwide are invited to Rome to have an audience with Pope Francis.  An estimated number of 300,000-400,000 brothers and sisters are expected to participate in this celebration, which will take place sometime in May 2018.  Many of the brothers we spoke with are interested in going to Rome to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Way.  The Way was born on December 8th, and inspired by the Blessed Virgin Mary through Kiko Arguello. The month of May was chosen because it is also the month of our Blessed Mother.

Nine Redemptoris Mater Seminaries are being opened. This indicates that many in the NCW are being called to the priesthood.  

Another good news is that God has built new communities in the Pacific. The NCW catechists in Guam held catechesis in Palau at the invitation of the Bishop of Palau. The first community in Palau was born, and they were able to join us in this year's Beginning of the Year Convivience. There were 13 brothers in the first community of Palau.  A new community was also born in Saipan, which consisted of 30 brothers.  

Listening to the Kerygma and the Magisterium of the Church was beautiful.  It explained that the liturgy practiced by the NCW was never invented by Kiko Arguello or Carmen Hernandez.  The liturgy came from the Second Vatican Council.  Pope Paul VI was the first to recognize that the Neocatechumenal Way was the fruit of the Second Vatican Council.  The liturgies that the Way practices came from the Second Vatican Council.  

Before Archbishop Byrnes came to Guam as the Coadjutor  Archbishop, the NCW would receive the Body of Christ together with the priest. Today, the document was produced showing that the liturgy practiced in the Way was approved.  According to the document SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM (the bold is mine):

47. At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to His beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, [1] a paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us. [2]

48. The Church, therefore, earnestly desires that Christ's faithful, when present at this mystery of faith, should not be there as strangers or silent spectators. On the contrary, through a good understanding of the rites and prayers they should take part in the sacred action, conscious of what they are doing, with devotion and full collaboration. They should be instructed by God's word, and be nourished at the table of the Lord's Body. They should give thanks to God. Offering the immaculate victim, not only through the hands of the priest but also together with him, they should learn to offer themselves. 

 This document from the Second Vatican Council stated that "we can receive the "immaculate victim" (Body of Christ) not only through the hands of the priest, but also TOGETHER with him.  What I placed in red showed that the the document was discussed in the context of the Eucharist.....there is no mistake about that. Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II celebrated the Eucharist exactly the same way as the NCW had always celebrated....receiving the Body of Christ together with the priests.

The only change that was made in 2008 regarding the way we do the Eucharist was to consume the Body of Christ standing like the rest of the universal Church. That was the issue addressed by the Holy See. The issue was not the fact that we receive the Body of Christ together with the priest because that was already addressed and accepted by Second Vatican Council. However, since Archbishop Byrnes decided to change the instructions on how we receive the Eucharist, we followed his instruction simply because he is the Coadjutor Archbishop.     

The Magisterium was about two hours long, and the rest of the information will be transmitted to the brothers.  Another important thing we learned in the retreat was that receiving communion by hand came from St. John Chrysostom, who lived in the third century.  According to EWTN:

Repeating instructions given by St. John Chrysostom (d. 407) to newly baptized catechumens, the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship stated that the faithful should extend both hands making with "the left hand a throne for the right hand, which receives the King." The person then steps to the side, faces the altar, and consumes the sacred Host. 

When it came time for the calling, 19 families stood up for the mission, some of them were Chamorro families. Two men stood up for the priesthood and two women stood up to be assigned to a monastery.  Five men and eight women stood up to be itinerant.

The Case Against Father Raymond Cepeda

There has been a few alleged victims who came forward claiming that they were sexually abused by Father Raymond Cepeda, who was defrocked on December, 2009.  The latest alleged victim to come out was a 40 year old with the initials P.P.  He claimed that the sexual allegations took place between 1992-1999 at the Santa Barbara Catholic parish in Dededo.  P.P. claimed that he informed Archbishop Apuron and Father Adrian Crisotobal, but was shunned away.  P.P. is being represented by Attorney David Lujan and is suing the Archdiocese for 5 million dollars. According to Pacific News Center:

It is perhaps the longest period of sexual assault that has been reported since the scores of sex abuse lawsuits have been filed, and it appears to be the most recent–the allegations took place between 1992 to 1999.

Filed by now 40-year-old P.P., the alleged sexual assault happened at the Santa Barbara Catholic parish in Dededo—the alleged abuser, now defrocked priest Raymond Cepeda.

The question is.... where was Father Raymond Cepeda assigned during 1992-1999?  In 1997, he was on duty outside the Archdiocese, and he was not assigned to the Dededo parish until 2001.  The following is Father Ray's assignments taken from the Guam Sex Abuse Attorney:

1984-85           Santa Barbara Church                                     Dededo, Guam

1986-87           San Vicente Ferrer                                          Barrigada, Guam

1988-89           Cathedral of Dulce Nombre de Maria            Agana, Guam

1997                On duty outside the Archdiocese                    Agana, Guam

2001-05           Santa Barbara Church                                     Dededo, Guam

2009                Laicized

Furthermore, according to KUAM news dated April 23, 2010 (the bold is mine):

The Guam Catholic Church says abuse allegations against former priest Father Raymond Cepeda date back over five years. Deacon Jeff Barcinas, spokesman for Archbishop Anthony Apuron, tells KUAM News that only one victim that he knows of reported abuse by Fr. Cepeda and he says the victim was not a minor.

Barcinas says the process to laicize Cepeda took several years and required the consent of the Pope. Cepeda, a former priest at the Santa Barbara Church in Dededo, was officially removed from the clergy last December.

"All I know from when the alleged incident was from when the incident was first reported to the Archbishop.  At that time the archbishop did take the necessary action to suspend that time Father Ray Cepeda from any ministry for whoever the victims; and whoever is affected would not be affected by his presence."

I do not think that Deacon Jeff Barcinas (now deceased) would lie that only one sexual abuse was reported against Father Ray Cepeda.  The person whom Father Ray had sexual relations with was an adult.  Nevertheless, Archbishop Apuron removed him anyway.  If the Archbishop would remove a priest from ministry because of a sexual relation with an adult, how much more a minor?  

While it is true that Father Ray broke his vow of celibacy, it is not considered a crime to have sexual relations with a consenting adult in the eyes of civil law. The allegation was not reported to child protective services because the person was an adult. The fact that the incident was not reported to the police also indicates that the sexual act was consensual.