Rome Pilgrimage

We are currently on our way to Rome.  Some of us are already there.  During the time we are on the Pilgrimage, I will not have much time to blog until we return.   Christ is risen, everyone!!!  

Top 5 Dioceses With High Ordination

A research by a sociology professor at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio listed the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey as one of the top five dioceses in the United States with the highest number of ordination.  It should also be noted that during Archbishop Apuron's tenure, there was a constant flow of priestly ordinations....something unheard of before and unheard still.  Guam was the envy of all the islands of the Pacific. According to the article below: 

When Hendershott began her research, she noted how some dioceses had many priestly ordinations, while others had none. “I started analyzing the data, and the news was better than I thought,” she said. “I think the No. 1 reason for vocations in most of these ‘superstar dioceses’ is their bishop and vocations director.  

Although Archbishop Byrnes has been in Guam for a little over a year, no ordination took place under his tenure.  Instead of ordination, he closed down two seminaries and rejected most of the seminarians including four Chamorro seminarians.  Two of the seminarians he rejected have recently been ordained Deacons in another Diocese in the United States. The people of Detroit and Guam need to pray harder for Archbishop Byrnes.  You can find the following article here (the bold is mine):

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STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — What makes a diocese fertile ground for encouraging men to follow a path to the Catholic priesthood?

When Anne Hendershott, a sociology professor at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, began to do research on the dioceses in the United States that have consistently ordained the largest numbers of men to the priesthood, she was able to identify the top five: the Archdioceses of Newark (New Jersey), St. Louis and Atlanta and the Dioceses of Paterson, New Jersey, and Arlington, Virginia.

Over a 10-year period (2006-2016), those dioceses produced the most priests per 100,000 people.

Why these dioceses have full seminaries year after year is an important question. While some dioceses languish with zero ordinations, these “superstar dioceses” are vibrant and flourishing.

Father Chris Martin, the vocation director for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, believes it is important that all men who consider the priesthood do so with a healthy sense of freedom.

He tells the story of a young man of 18 who had been on discernment retreats in St. Louis. He came to Father Martin last year for some advice.

“He was torn, because on the one hand, he wanted to go out on a date with a girl, but on the other, he was thinking about the priesthood,” said Father Martin. “I asked him if she was nice. He said, ‘Yes.’ Then I asked if she was the kind of girl who would lead him astray? He said, ‘No.’”

Father Martin reached into his desk and took out a $25 gift card to Appleby’s.

“I gave him the assignment to take this girl out on a date. He had his freedom,” said Father Martin.

That young man ended up dating the girl for a short time, but eventually broke it off. He said that dating her actually gave him clarity about his vocation to the priesthood. In fact, he recently submitted his application to St. Louis’ Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.

“We tell the guys who are discerning: ‘If you can’t go out on a date, don’t ask the Church for a date.’ You need to be self-possessed in order to be a priest. We want to attract solid, healthy young men,” said Father Martin.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis has 53 seminarians. (Its seminary currently has 132 seminarians total from various dioceses.) Many give credit to Archbishop Robert Carlson for this high number. “Archbishop Carlson is very good with vocations. Wherever he has been appointed, the number of vocations has gone up,” said Father Martin.

“He spends time with the seminarians. He often says that he will never ordain a man whom he doesn’t know. He goes to the discernment retreats, and he is very accessible.”

Another factor is that St. Louis has the largest Serra Club in the United States. The Serra Club works to promote vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life. The organization’s members provide parishes with posters about the priesthood and essay contests about vocations. They organize financial and prayer support for vocations and seminarians
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The archdiocese also has a well-developed youth office directed toward teens and young adults.

“Our youth office is phenomenal,” said Father Martin. “They are intentional about vocational support in all of its outreach, both at the parish level and the diocesan level. I often give talks to youth ministers and train them on vocation promotion.”

Other factors that seem to support vocations are the witness of young, energetic and happy priests. These priests are encouraged to share their vocation stories during homilies. The Fishers of Men Summit in St. Louis is an annual dinner that awards pastors who foster vocations.

Many vocations come from parishes that have perpetual Eucharistic adoration coupled with a strong youth ministry. Every year, the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, holds several “Quo Vadis” events for high-school young men. Under this program, there is a discernment summer camp. The diocese is in its 11th year of holding the camp. Quo Vadis also sponsors a ropes course with seminarians, a visit to the seminary and a basketball game called “Hoops Challenge vs. Seminarians.”

“We set the limit to 115 boys per camp, but we usually get 170 applications of boys who want to go. We end up having to decide on who gets to go by lottery,” said Father J.D. Jaffe, vocation director for the Diocese of Arlington.

Each applicant must make a statement that he is open to the vocation of the priesthood. “We have seen a couple of boys who went to all four years of Quo Vadis. In the beginning, they were really into the sports. By their second year, they became more accustomed to the prayer, and by the third and fourth year, they developed a tremendous desire to become a priest,” said Father Jaffe.

The growth of vocations in Arlington has been described as “organic.” It comes from good liturgies, strong families and solid parish-based ministries.

“It is more than just the case of a good pastor or parish. It has been, really, faithfully practicing Catholics who have been promoting the faith for 30 years,” he said.

There are 44 seminarians in Arlington. They come from home-schooling families, Catholic schools and public schools, with the breakdown being, roughly: 40%, 40% and 20%, respectively.

Father Edgar Rivera, vocation director of Paterson, New Jersey, which has sent the most men to seminary from 2006 to 2016, attributes his diocese’s success in priestly vocations to the fact that his bishop, Bishop Arthur Serratelli, is a “good shepherd.”

“He is passionate about vocations. He has a heart for international students, and not only for seminarians, but for priests, as well,” said Father Rivera.

Bishop Serratelli hosts several “pizza nights” a year for vocations.

“We do this three times a year at different Catholic high schools. Bishop Serratelli will read from the Bible and then give a talk about vocations. After this, we have adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Finally, we have the pizza dinner, during which the kids can ask our bishop any question they want,” said Father Rivera.

Another tradition in Paterson is an annual fundraising dinner for seminarians; a video is always shown at the event. Last year, the video was titled “Get to Know Your Seminarian.” In it, seminarians were interviewed about their vocations. This year, the video will be about thanking seminarians. “During our ordinations to the diaconate this year, we decided to have all the seminarians process in together. This will be a witness,” said Father Rivera.

There are 55 men in Paterson’s seminary right now. They hail from the Philippines, Poland, Colombia, India and the U.S. For those who do not speak English, they are given one year of language lessons before official seminary studies. All foreign priests remain in the diocese after ordination.

According to Anne Hendershott, the author of this study with her assistant Makenzie White, there are several factors that can account for high ordinations in a diocese: a “transformational” bishop; a culture of promoting vocations in the diocese; a seminary where orthodoxy is a given; and a solid rector for the seminary who does not allow dissent from Catholic doctrine.

Not all dioceses have all four factors. According to Father Frank Fano of the Newark Archdiocese, the seminary there is evenly split between American seminarians and foreign seminarians.

“You also have to look at the role of the Neocatechumenal Way. They came in the mid-1990s and spiked vocations up ever since,” he said.

The Neocatechumenal Way is a charism within the Catholic Church dedicated to the formation of adults. The movement is responsible for the formation of communities called “families in mission.” It is also known to attract many vocations to the priesthood.

When Hendershott began her research, she noted how some dioceses had many priestly ordinations, while others had none. “I started analyzing the data, and the news was better than I thought,” she said. “I think the No. 1 reason for vocations in most of these ‘superstar dioceses’ is their bishop and vocations director. These bishops are faithful. I call them transformational. They are not questioning Catholic doctrine or calling for female priests. The men who answer the call to the priesthood want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.”

Bishop Arthur Bishop Serratelli poses with the six men of various backgrounds, life experiences and ages whom he ordained to the priesthood of the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, June 19, 2010, in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. The priests are (from left): Father Benjamin Williams, Father Stephen Sniscak, Father Brian Quinn, Father Amadito Flores, Father Manuel Guevara and Father Daniel O’Mullane. 

  

Congratulations Martin Munoz!

Congratulations to Martin Munoz.  He was ordained a deacon!  Blessed be to God.  Below is a photo of Martin Munoz during his diaconal ordination.  The RMS in Guam formed our seminarians so well that they were able to become deacons in the United States of America.  Both Victor and Martin are on their way to the priesthood.  We pray for you and may God always protect you in your vocation!  I am sure that the Bishop in Miami is thankful for Guam for producing such dedicated men to the priesthood. 

Martin and Victor are the fruits of RMS Guam, and there will be many more of them to come. Congratulations.  As we have been saying all along......RMS Guam was a true seminary.  

UPDATE:

Martin Munoz was ordained  by Bishop Felipe Estevez from St. Agustin in Palm Beach. All deacons from Florida were ordained there this year.

The Good Shepherd

Sunday was the feast of the Good Shepherd.  The Good Shepherd is Jesus Christ.  However, the name "shepherd" has also been given to the bishops and priests who are leaders of the Church. The shepherd has several responsibilities toward his flock, which includes feeding, watering, grooming, leading, and providing protection.  He intimately knows every member of his flock and is willing to put his life in line for each and everyone of them.  Unfortunately, that is not true for every shepherd.  Sometimes, the shepherd does not know every person in his flock.  A true bishop and priest imitates Jesus Christ.  He serves not to be served, is protective of his sheep, does not oppress nor exploit them, and at all times is willing to subordinate his interest for the good of his flock.  

In the Philippines, the priests who were formed in the Redemptoris Mater Seminary were also recognized along with other priests in Manila.  According to a news article in Manila dated April 23, 2018:

Our pastors in the Neocatechumenal Way have also been good shepherds. I am especially grateful to Fr. Paolo Benetton, Rector of Redemptoris Mater Mission Seminary of Manila and his fellow formators for the priests that have been formed in that seminary. Teaching philosophy to its seminarians have been an immense source of joy for me.

I also appreciate very much Redemptorist Brother Karl Gaspar for his wisdom and example that has guided me through the years. This includes his work as lay leader in the Mindanao Church. Indeed, lay leaders have also been good shepherds.

This article in the Philippines showed that the priests are able to get along well with each other regardless of whether they are diocesan or religious priests. All priests (regardless of whether they are RMS, Jesuits, Capuchisn, Franciscans, Carmelites, etc.) are all called by God.  They are all shepherds and are called to imitate Christ.  

The Good Shepherd left the 99 sheep in search for that one lost sheep to bring back into his fold.  Christ's ministry did not end with his death nor the death of his Apostles.  He commanded His Apostles to spread the Good News to all the nations so that all can come together as one flock.  As the article pointed out, God is not only the Shepherd of the Israelites, but the Shepherd of all nations.

However, the Old Evangelization is gone.  Today, there is a New Evangelization.  Some bishops and priests think that they no longer need to evangelize in the New Evangelization, Some believe that the laity are the ones who evangelize and that the role of the shepherd (priests and bishops) are diminished in evangelization.  This is incorrect.

What makes the Neocatechumenal Way extremely effective in their evangelization is the fact that the NCW did not leave the shepherds out in the evangelization.  As anyone can see even in the International Team, Father Mario is with Kiko Arguello and Maria Ascension Romero.  There is a shepherd (priest or bishop) in every catechist team.  The New Evangelization did not diminish the role of the shepherd.  Evangelization is the work of the whole parish, of individuals, and of the priest.......this is the New Evangelization. 

Jeremiah 3:15   I will appoint over you shepherds after my own heart, who will shepherd you wisely and prudently.  

Plainfield Students Invited To Meet Pope Francis In Rome

Only in Guam, certain people get anxious because the Neocatechumenal Way is traveling to Rome to meet Pope Francis.  Other places, they rejoice and place it in their local news.  

About 300 people from Guam will be traveling to Rome to meet Pope Francis to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Neocatechumenal Way.  You will not find that in our local news.  Nevertheless, we will be carrying the Guam flag with us to represent our island.  

The following news article can be found here.

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A religious pilgrimage to celebrate a new movement within their church in Plainfield

PLAINFIELD, NJ - Oliver Corona and Christian Menjivar, both 16 and students at Plainfield Public School’s Barack Obama Academy for Academic & Civic Development (BOAACD), will meet Pope Francis in Rome.

The students were invited by their church, Saint Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Plainfield, and will be part of 250 families who will make the pilgrimage to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Neocatechumenal Way’s presence in the Vatican.  This is a celebration of a new movement in the Catholic church that encourages lay people to be more active in their neighborhoods.

The students will travel from April 30 to May 7.

For Menjivar, the possibility of seeing Pope Francis, “feels like it’s a once in a life time opportunity because you never know if it can happen again.” He said, “Seeing the Pope is like seeing someone that is mentioned a lot and is always talked about in church.  It’s like seeing the President.  It’s someone you only hear people talk about but you never think you are going to see them.”

This is the second time Corona will get the opportunity to see the Pope. He previously traveled to Poland on World Youth Day. This time he will travel with his two older sisters, Guadalupe, 21, and Yamilet, 17.  He says for his family, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico, “This trip is a great experience because seeing the Pope has brought his family closer.”

Both students are able to travel to see the Pope with the help of their parents, their own work, and the church.  Menjivar, whose parents came from El Salvador, lives at home with his mother and three siblings, and aspires to become an architect. 

Corona, who dreams of becoming an electrician, also lives with his parents and two siblings and is looking forward to seeing the Pope once more. “I want to be in the moment, you never know what’s going to happen.”

Congratulations To Victor Vitug!

Congratulations to Victor Vitug.  He is in the news!  Victor was from Guam.  He would have been a priest by now if it wasn't for Archbishop Hon and Archbishop Byrnes.  Nevertheless, Victor has been ordained a deacon and is on the road to priesthood.  

Victor was not the only one who was ordained a deacon.  According to an anonymous poster, Martin Munoz, who was also from Guam, was ordained a deacon by the Bishop of Miami.  Congratulations to Victor and Martin.  If anyone can find a news report on Martin, please give us the weblink, so I can publish it.  Congratulations to these two men.  Guam has lost, but these men have won.  They have proven themselves when they were ordained in the great United States of America.   

You can find the following story here.

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LOWELL -- Taking the last major step in a long journey towards priesthood, 14 men were ordained transitional deacons in the presence of family, friends, fellow seminarians, clergy, and religious during a standing-room-only Mass April 14 in Immaculate Conception Church in Lowell.

"Today, we're celebrating not just the quantity of this class -- this is the largest class we've had in a long time -- but the quality of these wonderful men, who are giving their lives to the service of God," said Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley in his homily.

Ordained during the Mass were Deacons Joseph Almeida, Maciej Kazimierz Araszkiewicz, Corey Bassett-Tirrell, Marcos Enrique, Timothy Paul Hynes, Przemyslaw Kasprzak, Brother John Edward Koelle OFM Cap., Brian Peter O'Hanlon, Mark Teodor Olejnik, Francis Huy Duc Pham, William Henry Robinson, Carignan Langlois Rouse, Victor Luna Vitug II, and James Paul Wargovich.

The deacon, from the Greek word "diakonos" meaning servant or minister, is the first of three ranks of ordained ministry in the Church. Among the many functions they perform in parishes, deacons may preside at baptisms, weddings, and rites of Christian burial, as well as aid the priest at Mass, proclaim the Gospel, and deliver homilies.

The 14 men will serve for one full year as transitional deacons before being ordained priests.

The Benefits of a Pilgrimage

In one Beginning of the Year Convivience, a calling was made to the brothers who felt God calling him to the priesthood.  I remember that one 13 year old boy stood up.  He felt a calling from God to the priesthood.  Although he was too young to enter the seminary, he was told to continue to keep that calling in his heart.  One day, when he is older he may still feel that same calling to the priesthood.  Many youth his age would often say they want to be a doctor or a lawyer.  It is not everyday that you see a 13 year old wanting to be a priest because he felt that calling from God.  

The reason the Neocatechumenal Way has produced many priests and nuns is because we inspire the youth to different vocations, whether it be a vocation of marriage, a vocation of a single itinerant, or a religious vocation into the priesthood or convent. These inspirations come when they experience a pilgrimage such as the one we will be going to in Rome.  When rich people spend their money to go on these pilgrimages, you do not hear any complaints.  They have the money, but how many rich people do you actually see on these pilgrimages?  When the average citizen and family decides to go to the pilgrimage in Rome, we hear complaints.  They think it is a waste of time and money.  

Seeing a 13 year old boy stand up for the calling of the priesthood shows that a pilgrimage is not a waste of time and money.  It was in a pilgrimage during World Youth day that the 13 year old boy heard God's voice calling him to the priesthood.  It is the same with some of the young girls who stood up.  They also heard God calling them to be a nun.  The pilgrimage is a way to help people grow in faith as they encounter Christ.  According to an article on pilgrimage:

To experience something different from other trips, the pilgrim must be different and live differently in the simplicity of faith. Otherwise, the pilgrimage does not contribute to real change. The pilgrim moves within the geography of faith, along the path on which are scattered traces of holiness, in places where God’s grace has been shown with particular splendor and produced abundant fruits of conversion and holiness.

One goes on a pilgrimage to ask God for help needed to live more generously your own Christian vocation once back in your home, explains the Vatican’s Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy. Therefore, the pilgrimage is not, and never should be, just “a journey to a place of religious interest.” Alone or with others, it is a physical component of the path of one’s heart toward God. 

The brothers and sisters in the Neocatechumenal Way are no better than those who are not walking in the Way.  We are sinners, and we struggle with sin.  However, we participate in pilgrimages because we are different.  There are people who see this difference in us and became inspired to imitate it.  For example, Father Paul Gofigan established the Rainbows of Mercy for youth interested in traveling to the World Youth Day in Poland.  According to the Rainbows of Mercy website (the bold is mine):

Objectives for which the Association is formed:

A) To draw youth and young adults closer to God.
B) To embody and promote exercising the Corporal and Spiritual works of Mercy.
C) To raise funds the group to participate in the 2016 World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland and beyond.

I do not know how many youth Father Paul brought to the World Youth Day in Poland; nevertheless, Father Paul did not see it as a waste of time and money to bring these youth to Poland to see the Pope.   

Ready For Rome

We had our last pilgrimage meeting on Monday. Information on which hotels we are staying was given to us.  Because there are 300 of us, we are all not staying in the same hotel, which makes the pilgrimage more complicated.  But God provides and he makes the way. Before meeting the Pope, we will be going to certain places, but the Catechists will not tell us.  The pilgrimage will be from May 1st to May 6th, and we will be meeting the Pope on May 5th.  We will also meet the rest of the brothers from other countries. There will be approximately more than 400,000 brothers in the NCW. After the meeting, we got our shirts for the pilgrimage. Although our Catechist did not say when to wear it, I assume it would be on the day we meet the Pope. Next week, my children will be receiving their make-up work to take with them on the trip so they do not lag behind in their classes. 

As for the brothers who will be staying back, they continue to walk the tripod: Liturgy, Eucharist, and Community. Remember brothers that God calls us to be holy.  Be humble. Truth and humility. We will be on a pilgrimage to Rome. There we will meet our Pope, Pope Francis and the International Team.

Worth Reading

The following article was written by Ryan A. MacDonald.  You can find the story here.  As I read the article, it reminded me of the certain events happening today.  The bold red is mine.  I placed them in bold red because (as we usually say in the celebration of the Word) it touched me for some reason.   

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Jonathan Edward Grover died in Scottsdale Arizona just before his 49th birthday. His role in the case against Father Gordon MacRae leaves many unanswered questions.

Editor’s Note: The following is a guest post by independent writer Ryan A. MacDonald whose previous articles include “The Post-Trial Extortion of Father Gordon MacRae”and “A Grievous Error in Judge Joseph Laplante’s Court.”

When I read Father Gordon MacRae’s Holy Week post on These Stone Walls this year, I was struck by a revelation that he offered Mass in his prison cell for the soul of a man who helped put him there by falsely accusing him. I do not know that I could have done the same in his shoes, and even if I could, I am not so certain that I would. His post took a high road that most only strive for.

The unnamed subject of that post about Judas Iscariot was Jonathan Edward Grover who died in Arizona in February two weeks before his 49th birthday. An obituary indicated that he died “peacefully,” and cited ‘a “long career in the financial industry.” Police determined the cause of death to be an accidental overdose of self-injected opiates weeks after leaving rehab. In Arizona, he had charges for theft, criminal trespass, and multiple arrests for driving under the influence of drugs. A police report described him as “homeless.”

In the early 1990s, Jonathan Grover was one of Father MacRae’s accusers. MacRae first learned of Mr. Grover’s death from a letter written by a woman who had been a young adult friend of Grover at the time of MacRae’s trial in 1994. She wrote that she is now a social worker with “expertise in PTSD” (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). The letter accused MacRae of having “murdered” 48-year-old Grover. This requires a rational and factual response. 

Of interest, Mr. Grover’s obituary – despite his being 48 years old at the time of death – featured his 1987 Keene High School (NH) graduation photograph when Grover was 18 years old. I had seen this photo before. It was among the discovery materials in MacRae’s defense files in preparation for his 1994 trial. The photograph raised the first of many doubts about Grover’s claims.

At age 18 in 1987, Grover gave Father Gordon MacRae, his parish priest and friend at the time, a nicely framed copy of that photo with a letter written on the back. It thanked MacRae for his “friendship and support,” and “for always being there for me.” It was a typically touching letter from a young man to someone he obviously admired. It was written before addiction and the inevitable justification of enablers took hold in his life.

Five years later, apparently forgetting that he ever wrote that letter, Jonathan Grover became the first of four adult brothers to accuse MacRae of a series of sexual assaults alleged to have occurred more than a decade earlier. So what happened between writing that letter in 1987 and accusing MacRae five years later in 1992? It is one of the burning questions left behind in this story.

The framed high school photograph and its accompanying letter never found their way into MacRae’s 1994 trial, or into the public record, because the trial dealt only with the claims of Jonathan’s brother, Thomas Grover. Jonathan was the first to accuse MacRae, but a trial on his claims was deferred. His story had many holes that did not reconcile with the facts. Investigators have since uncovered a different story from the one Grover and his brothers first told.

BOMBSHELLS AND BLACK OPS

The two common denominators in the case against Father Gordon MacRae were expectations of money and James F. McLaughlin. In the 1980s, the city of Keene, New Hampshire, with a population then of about 26,000, employed a full-time sex crimes detective on its small police force. In 1988, McLaughlin launched investigations of at least three, and possibly more, Catholic priests in the area including Father Gordon MacRae.  

His targeting of MacRae seems to have begun with a bizarre and explosive letter. In September 1988, Detective McLaughlin received a letter from Sylvia Gale, a social worker with the Division of Children, Youth and Families, the New Hampshire agency tasked with investigating child abuse. Ms. Gale’s letter to McLaughlin revealed that she had uncovered information about “a man in your area, a Catholic priest named Gordon MacRae.”

The letter described explosive information from an unnamed employee of Catholic Social Services in the Diocese of Manchester, who developed a slanderous tale that MacRae had been “a priest in Florida where he molested two boys, one of whom was murdered and his body mutilated.” The letter went on to claim that the case was still unsolved, and that MacRae was removed from Florida by Catholic Church officials to avoid that investigation.

The libelous letter also named a Church official, Monsignor John Quinn, as the source of this information reportedly told to an unnamed Church employee on the condition that she would be fired if she ever divulged it. The 1988 letter generated a secret 70-page report developed by Detective James McLaughlin. He launched a dogged pursuit of MacRae who was unaware at the time that any of this was going on.

This all began to unfold one year after Jonathan Grover graduated from Keene High School and presented Father MacRae with that framed photograph and letter of thanks. Armed with Sylvia Gale’s letter, Detective McLaughlin proceeded to question 26 Keene area adolescents and their parents who had known MacRae including members of the Grover family.

Up to that point, not one person had ever actually contacted McLaughlin with a complaint against MacRae, but rather it was McLaughlin who initiated these contacts. As reported below, some of them today claim to have been solicited by McLaughlin to accuse MacRae, some with the enticement of money.

I had to read up to page 54 of McLaughlin’s 1988 report before I came across any effort to corroborate the Florida “murder and mutilation” story with Florida law enforcement officials. By the time he learned that MacRae had never served as a priest in Florida and that no such crime had been committed there, the damage to MacRae’s reputation was already done, and the seeds were sown for the Grover brothers to ponder claims yet to come.

Among those approached by McLaughlin armed with Sylvia Gale’s slanderous letter was Mrs. Patricia Grover, Jonathan’s mother. A parishioner of Saint Bernard Parish in Keene where MacRae had served from 1983 to 1987, Mrs. Grover was also a DCYF social worker and an acquaintance of Sylvia Gale. She had previously worked with McLaughlin in the handling of other cases.

Mrs. Grover also knew Father MacRae. According to McLaughlin’s 1988 report, she was alarmed by the Sylvia Gale letter but doubted that MacRae had ever served as a priest in Florida. She nonetheless vowed to talk with her young adult sons about their relationship with MacRae. Four more years passed before the first of them, Jonathan Grover, accused him.

The “fake news” in the 1988 Sylvia Gale letter set this community abuzz with anxiety and gossip about the potentially lecherous and murderous priest in its midst. Later, Monsignor John Quinn and other Diocese of Manchester officials denied having any involvement in the untrue information about MacRae. They also denied that there was ever any priest who relocated from Florida to New Hampshire under the circumstances described.

Four years later in late 1992, Jonathan Grover became the first of four members of the Grover family to accuse Father Gordon MacRae of sexual abuse dating back to approximately the early 1980s. I use the word “approximately” because Grover and his brothers each presented highly conflicting and multiple versions of their stories and the relevant time frames.

As becomes clear below, Jonathan Grover’s claims became problematic for the prosecution of MacRae, but instead of questioning Grover’s veracity, the police detective engaged a contingency lawyer on Grover’s behalf. In a September 30, 1992 letter from McLaughlin to Jonathan Grover, the detective detailed his conversations with Keene attorney William Cleary who ultimately obtained a nearly $200,000 settlement for Grover from the Diocese of Manchester. From McLaughlin’s letter to Grover:

“As agreed, I contacted William Cleary about your case. Bill believes the statute of limitations has lapsed for a civil action, but this does not rule out the church being financially responsible Bill [Cleary] states he would like to meet with you for a conference. You would not be charged for this. Your options could then be outlined and discussed.”

There is reason to question Detective McLaughlin’s police reports in this case. In most of McLaughlin’s prior cases, he practiced a protocol of audio recording every interview with complainants. In many of his other reports that I have read, he made a point of explaining that he records interviews to protect the integrity of the investigation.

Two years prior to the Grover claims, for example, McLaughlin investigated a complaint against another former Keene area priest, Father Stephen Scruton. From the outset, his reports took pains to document his practice of securing both video and audio recordings of his interviews. He even administered a polygraph test on the accuser. All were standard protocol, but McLaughlin did not create a single recording of any type with any accuser in the case of Father Gordon MacRae. This is suspect, at best, and it has never been explained.

It is made more suspicious by the emergence of other information that has been developed by former FBI Special Agent Supervisor James Abbott who spent three years investigating the MacRae case. One of MacRae’s accusers, a high school classmate of Jonathan Grover, recanted his story when questioned by Mr. Abbott in 2008. An excerpt of Steven Wollschlager’s statement may shed light on why Detective McLaughlin chose not to record these interviews.

“In 1994 I was contacted by Keene Police Detective McLaughlin… I was aware at the time of Father MacRae’s trial knowing full well that it was bogus and having heard of the lawsuits and money involved and also the reputations of those who were making accusations… The lawsuits and money were of greatest discussion, and I was left feeling that if I would go along with the story I could reap the rewards as well. McLaughlin had me believing that all I had to do was make up a story about this priest and I could receive a large sum of money as others already had.

“McLaughlin reminded me of the young child and girlfriend I had and referenced that life could go easier for us with a large amount of money… I was at the time using drugs and would have been influenced to say anything they wanted for money.”

In “The Trials of Father MacRae,” a 2013 article by Dorothy Rabinowitz in The Wall Street Journal, Detective McLaughlin described the above account simply as “a fabrication.” What struck me about Mr. Wollschlager’s statement, besides the fact that he had nothing whatsoever to gain by lying, is that he never went to Detective McLaughlin with an accusation. Instead, he alleges that it was McLaughlin who approached him, and the approach alleges the enticement of money.

Steven Wollschlager was not the first person to report such an overture. Given the nature of his account and others, it is unclear today whether Jonathan Grover and his brothers initiated their first contacts with this detective. This suspicion was a contentious issue in MacRae’s 1994 trial. Thomas Grover, the brother of Jonathan Grover, was asked under oath to reveal to whom he went first with his claims, the police or a personal injury lawyer, but he refused to answer. To this very day, that question has never been answered.

What became clear, however, is hard evidence that placed Detective James McLaughlin investigating at least some of this case, not from his office in the Keene Police Department, but from the Concord, NH office of Thomas Grover’s contingency lawyer, Robert Upton, before MacRae was even charged in the case.

A CONSPIRACY OF FRAUD 

In a report labeled Case No. 93010850, Detective McLaughlin produced the first of several conflicting accounts of untaped interviews with Jonathan Grover. Note that the first two digits of McLaughlin’s report, “93,” seem to indicate the year it was typed, but the date on the report is August 27, 1992. The content of this report is sexually explicit so I will paraphrase. The report has Grover claiming that when he was 12 or 13 years old he “would spend nights in the St. Bernard rectory in Keene.” During those nights, he alleged, he was sexually assaulted by both Father Gordon MacRae and Father Stephen Scruton.

But there was an immediate problem. MacRae was never at St. Bernard’s Parish in Keene until being assigned there on June 15, 1983, when Grover was 14 years old. Father Stephen Scruton was never there before June of 1985 when Grover was 16 years old. These dates were easily determined from diocesan files, but McLaughlin never investigated this. The report continued with claims alleged to have taken place in the Keene YMCA hot tub:

“It was during these times that Grover would be seated in the whirlpool and both Father MacRae and Father Scruton would be joined in conversation and they would alternate in rubbing their foot against his genitals. Grover was unsure if the priests were acting in concert or if they were unaware of each other’s actions.”

This report is highly suspicious. Just months earlier, Detective McLaughlin had previously investigated Father Stephen Scruton for an identical claim brought by another person alleged to have occurred in 1985 after Scruton’s arrival at this parish. “Todd,” the person who brought that claim against Scruton, was also a high school classmate of Jonathan Grover.

After McLaughlin’s investigation, “Todd” obtained an undisclosed sum of money in settlement from the Diocese of Manchester. That interview with “Todd” was labeled Case No. 90035705 dated just 18 months before Jonathan Grover’s identical claims emerged. Unlike the Grover interviews, the interview with Todd was tape recorded by McLaughlin. Here is an excerpt from the report:

“Father Scruton was a regular at the YMCA. Todd went to the YMCA with Father Scruton. They decided to use the hot tub… At one point, Father Scruton took one of his feet and placed it between Todd’s legs and rubbed his genitals… The touching was intentional and not a mistake. A rubbing motion was used by Father Scruton… I asked Todd where he stood on civil lawsuits.”

It defies belief that a small town police detective could write a report about a Catholic priest (Scruton) fondling a teenager’s genitals in a YMCA hot tub, then 18 months later write virtually the same report with the same claims of doing the same things in the same place, only this time adding a second priest, but nothing in the second report seemed to even vaguely remind the detective of the first report.

After “Todd’s” YMCA hot tub complaint in 1990 – 18 months before Jon Grover’s own YMCA hot tub story – Father Stephen Scruton was charged by McLaughlin with misdemeanor sexual assault. He pled guilty and received a suspended sentence and probation. One year later, McLaughlin has someone else repeat the same story, only now involving both Scruton and MacRae, but two to four years before either of them was present in Keene.

What is most suspect about this claim of Jonathan Grover involving both priests is that in 1994, one year after writing the report, McLaughlin responded to a question under oath:

“On occasion, I have had conversations with Reverend Stephen Scruton, however I have no recollection of ever discussing any actions of Gordon MacRae with the Reverend Scruton.” (Cited in USDC-NM 1504-JB)

But this all becomes more suspicious still. In the investigation file on these claims was found a transcript of a November 1988 Geraldo Rivera Show entitled “The Church’s Sexual Watergate.” It was faxed by the Geraldo Show in New York to Detective McLaughlin at the Keene Police Department two months after his 1988 receipt of the Sylvia Gale “Florida letter.” It was two years before “Todd’s” YMCA hot tub claim about Father Scruton and four years before Jonathan Grover’s claims. Here is an excerpt:

Geraldo Rivera: What did the priest do to you Greg?
Greg Ridel: Around the age of 12 or so, he and I went to a YMCA. And I was an altar boy at the time. And the first time I was ever touched… he began stroking my penis in a hot tub, I believe it was, at a YMCA. From there it went to what you might call role playing in the rectory where the priests stay.” (“The Church’s Sexual Watergate,” Geraldo Show, Nov. 14, 1988)

Detective McLaughlin’s 1993 police report also had Jonathan Grover claiming that Father MacRae paid him money in the form of checks from his own and parish checking accounts in even amounts of $50 to $100 in order to maintain his silence about the abuse. McLaughlin never investigated this, but Father MacRae’s lawyer did investigate. Father MacRae’s personal checking account was researched from between 1979 to 1988. It revealed no checks issued to Jonathan or Thomas Grover.

However, the attorney uncovered several checks written from parish accounts to both Jonathan Grover and Thomas Grover. All were in even amounts between $40 and $100 and dated between 1985 and 1987 when these two brothers were 16 to 20 years of age respectively. The checks were filled out and signed by Rev. Stephen Scruton.

Days before Father Gordon MacRae’s 1994 trial commenced, his attorney sought Father Scruton for questioning. He declined to respond. When the lawyer sought a subpoena to force his deposition, Scruton fled the state. During trial, the jury heard none of this. Because the trial involved the shady claims of Thomas Grover alone, the defense could not introduce anything involving his brother, Jonathan.

In April, 2005, The Wall Street Journal published an extensive two-part investigation report of the Father MacRae case (“A Priest’s Story” Parts One and Two), but it omitted Father Stephen Scruton’s role in the story – perhaps because he could not be located. Diocese of Manchester officials reported for years that they had no awareness of Scruton’s whereabouts.

In November 2008, former FBI Special Agent Supervisor James Abbott was retained to investigate this case. He located Father Scruton at an address in Newburyport, Massachusetts just over the New Hampshire State Line First reached by telephone, Scruton was reportedly agitated and nervous when he learned the reason for the call. The investigator heard a clear male voice in the background saying, “Steve if this is something that might help Gordon I think you should do it.” Scruton reluctantly agreed to meet.

The former FBI agent drove from his New York office to Newburyport, MA on the agreed-upon date and time, but Scruton refused to open the door. He said only that he had “consulted with someone” and now declines to answer any questions. The investigator then sent Scruton a summary of his involvement in this case and requested his cooperation by telling the simple truth.

Days after receiving it, Stephen Scruton suffered a mysterious fall down a flight of stairs and never regained consciousness. Father Stephen Scruton died a month later in January of 2009. He took the truth with him, and now Jonathan Grover has done the same. But facts speak a truth of their own. Readers can today form their own conclusions about this story.

I have formed mine, and I remain more than ever convinced that an innocent man is in prison in New Hampshire, a blight on the American justice system. Having thus far served 24 years of wrongful imprisonment for crimes that never took place, Father Gordon MacRae still prays for the dead.

“After three years of investigation of this case, I have found no evidence that Father MacRae committed these crimes, or any crimes.” Affidavit of former FBI Special Agent Supervisor James Abbot.

Six RMS Priests Will Be Ordain By Pope Francis

There are 16 deacons in Rome who will be ordained by Pope Francis on April 22nd.  Eleven priests will be for the Diocese of Rome.  Six of them came from the Redemptoris Mater Seminary.  You can find the story below here.

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Pope Francis orders Sunday 16 priests, there is also a former lawyer

His name is Renato Tarantelli, 41, a relative of the economist killed by the Br in 85. Others come from Redemptoris Mater, Major Roman Seminary, Family of Disciples and Small Work of Divine Providence

There are 16 deacons who will be ordained priests in the Mass presided over by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica on the 22nd of April, the fourth Sunday of Easter, also called "of the Good Shepherd". Of the new eleven priests will be for the diocese of Rome, as a note from the Vicariate informs. Six of them were trained at the Diocesan College Redemptoris Mater, five studied at the Roman Major Seminary, four belong to the Family of the Disciples and one to the Little Work of Divine Providence (Don Orione). 

They have origins, life experiences and different charisms. Among them is Renato Tarantelli Baccari, from the parish of San Giuseppe al Trionfale, 41 years old: he is the greatest of the five ordinands of the Romano Major Seminary, a former lawyer and also a relative of Ezio Tarantelli, the economist killed by the Red Brigades in 1985 "My late vocation - tells the diocesan weekly RomaSette- came after I had already marked my emotional and professional life as a professor of tax law "; nine years ago "a disruptive experience", such as the journey from Lourdes to Santiago, "made me realize that I wanted, and I was, something different". Even Gabriele Nasca, from the parish of Our Lady of Sorrows, 29, says he has heard "fall defenses and collapse fears in the face of the Lord's call"; as well as Emilio Cenani, 32, and deacons Massimo Cunsolo, 28, and Michele Ferrari, 26. 

"It is to say my" thank you "to God that I have chosen the path of the priesthood," says Thierry Randrianantenaina, 27, originally from Madagascar, "the marriage of my parents has indeed been saved by pure grace". The father has had a problem of alcoholism that has weighed on the family balance but "the accompaniment of the Church, in particular with the experience of the Neocatechumenal Way - he explains - has made us experience the mercy of God".  

Even the vocation of Juraj Baskovic, 37, Croatian, has matured within the Neocatechumenal Way along with that of four other ordinands: the thirty-seven Phaolo Do Van Tan, native of Vietnam, the same age Thein Lwin, of Myanmar, the Colombian Fabio Alejandro Perdomo Lizcano, born in 1982, and Moises Pineda Zacarias, born in San Salvador in 1990. 

In view of the papal mass, on Friday 20 April, at 7.30 pm, the vicar Angelo De Donatis will preside at the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary a prayer vigil for vocations. 

The Facts: The Removal of Monsignor James

On July 26, 2014, the Umatuna read that Monsignor James would be transferred to the Tamuning Church and Monsignor David Quitugua would be the Rector of the Cathedral.  The Umatuna did not mention anything about financial mismanagement.  Financial mismanagement was mentioned in Junglewatch, dated July 26, 2014, the same day.  A letter signed by Monsignor James was also posted in the jungle blog.  KUAM news later picked up the story that Monsignor James was removed for possible financial mismanagement.  

After serving 20 years as rector of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica, Monsignor James was removed on July 25, 2014 for financial mismanagement.  The jungle claimed that it was all a lie.  And again, the NCW was blamed for the removal of Monsignor James.  According to Tim Rohr: 

• Archbishop Apuron is not in control.
• All decisions are made for this archdiocese, including who becomes a priest at RMS, by Giuseppe Gennarini, the lead "responsible" for the NCW in the United States. Gennarini is Fr. Pius' immediate superior, and Fr. Pius is the Archbishop's immediate superior. Gennarini's immediate superior is Kiko. This is the hierarchy controlling our church on Guam!
• Both Fr. Paul and Msgr. James were fired at Kiko & Gennarini's order. 

Several reasons were suggested by the jungle for the removal of Monsignor James.  Whatever reason they came up with always had to do with the NCW.  For example, one story was concocted by the jungle that the NCW removed Monsignor James because he was most likely to be the next Archbishop of Agana.  Therefore, he was removed, and the NCW planned to install Father Adrian as the next Archbishop of Agana.  According to Tim Rohr (the bold is mine): 

Apuron was really nothing more than a thirty year joke we were all willing to tolerate. But Pius has brought real evil, thanks to that perfect combination of "dunce and vengeance," Adrian the Pathetic - who apparently still thinks he will make us all his footstool when he is crowned the next emperor of Agana. 

That there might be someone else made bishop is the real reason Apuron decreed the removal of Fr. Paul and Msgr. James - and the real reason he still won't lift those decrees, now that - thanks to The Diana - we know that he can. 

Whatever reason they came up with, it was never "financial mismanagement".  Instead, they blamed the NCW for it.  And the jungle demanded the Archdiocese to show proof. The Archdiocese then cited the Deloitte and Touche report.  An internal review was also conducted, and the findings were published six months later in January 2015. Some of the findings in the Internal Review included the following: 

• Between January 2009 and July 2014, Monsignor James received payments of $326,913.61 by simultaneously drawing payroll and stipends from the Catholic Cemeteries, and sipend payments from the Cathedral-Basilica.
•  Upon the change of administration, credit cards in the name of the Archdiocese were discovered holding balances in excess of $60,000; the credit card in the name of the Catholic Cemeteries was specifically used by Monsignor James for restaurants, air fare, the Shangi-La Hotel in Manila and other five star hotels.
• In the same period, the Catholic Cemeteries and the Cathedral-Basilica expended more than $123,000 towards credit card payments to First Hawaiian Bank and American Express. 
• Other payments for a credit card in the name of Monsignor James, a gas card, and cellular/data phone privileges, which were paid for by the Catholic Cemeteries, accounted for an additional amount $23,000.
• $13,000 of cemetery funds were paid for Monsignor James 20th Anniversary reception. 
• Total advances documented between January 2009 and July 2014 by both entities for Monsignor James are nearly $475,000.
• Cemetery family crypts valued at $380,000 were gifted by Monsignor James to his close friend and family.  

After the Internal Review Report was made public, Rohr did not deny any of the findings.  Instead, he found excuses for them.  Here are some examples of those excuses (the bold is mine):

Comment 1:

The mistake Msgr. James made was technical. Because the Catholic Cemeteries is incorporated, a board resolution to approve a "loan" to Joshua Perez would have been the correct way to go. However, within church organizations, it is not uncommon for one fund to "lend" to another, if only, as we see here, to facilitate the coordination of an event until the funds can be reimbursed. 

It was a technical mistake?????  In the first place, a loan to pay for an anniversary party would never have been approved because such funds are not slated for personal use. It is against the law to use a corporation's funds for personal use. Monsignor James took it upon himself to take the money from Catholic Cemeteries without any approval from the board or Archbishop Apuron to pay for his personal use. That was the issue.

Comment 2: 

The accusation about cemetery crypts or plots being give to friends and family as favors is a lie.  Plots and/or crypts were given to two families for services they have done in exchange for them. The exchange was based on value for value. The "Benavente" plot cost less than $10,000. 

What were those services?  Where is the paperwork on it?  No such paperwork existed showing that in exchange for so and so services, Catholic Cemeteries will provide plot/crypt number xxxxxxx located at xxxxxx.  The documents only show the plots/crypts were given and the cost waived.  It did not even state the reason for the waiver.  

Comment 3:

The credit cards used by Msgr. James were not procured privately or secretly by Msgr. James. The were ISSUED by the Archdiocese of Agana........  

• Msgr. James regularly used his personal credit card to pay for the Cathedral Basilica's power bill, allowing for an additional 30 days to pay off the bill, which he always did.

The problem was NOT that the credit card was issued by the Archdiocese.  The problem was that Monsignor James did not use it responsibly.  Credit cards were also issued by the Archdiocese to other priests, but they used it responsibly.  

Monsignor James used his personal credit card to pay for the Cathedral's power bill???  How is that supposed to be beneficial to the Cathedral????  By the time the next month rolls in, the Cathedral still owes Monsignor James' credit card for the previous month and another month to the Guam Power Authority.  

Comment 4:

Five Star Hotels. The report says "Five star hotels". However it only notes the Shangri-La in Manila. It only notes the Shangri-La because that was the only "five star hotel" which was used by Msgr. James. Yet, Apuron et al try to make it look like Msgr. James availed himself to five star hotels around the world (as does Apuron). The reason Msgr. James stays at the Shangri-La is because he has a special rate of $130 a day which is the equivalent of a mid-range hotel. 

• Archbishop Apuron often stayed at the Shangri-La himself and whenever he stayed with Msgr. James, Msgr. James picked up the hotel tab for the archbishop. 

The report specifically said "The Shangri-La Hotel AND other five-star hotels. 

Monsignor James picked up the hotel tab for Archbishop Apuron?  Perhaps, Rohr got the wrong bishop.  We all know how close Monsignor James is to Cardinal Tagle.  Archbishop Apuron is not known to travel with Monsignor James.  

As you can see, Rohr never denied the Deloitte and Touche  report nor the findings in the Internal Review. He simply found excuses for them. Archbishop Apuron removed Monsignor James for financial mismanagement.  The NCW never had anything to do with it.