NCW Saipan in Church News

How beautiful that the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa in Saipan published the NCW pilgrimage to Rome.  There were 50 pilgrims from Saipan who attended the 50th anniversary of the NCW in Rome.  And how beautiful that the pilgrims received a "send off blessing" from Bishop Ryan Jimenez before they left to Rome.  

Guam, on the other hand, did not receive any recognition from our Archdiocese.  We did not even receive any "send off blessing" from Archbishop Michael Byrnes.  Such shame, and there were 300 pilgrims from Guam.  Such shame.....well, so much for the year of reparation in Guam. Nevertheless, despite the fact that we did not receive any "send off blessing" from Archbishop Byrnes, we received a much higher and greater blessing in the end.  We represented the Church of Guam and received the blessing from Pope Francis.  

Congratulations to the brothers in Saipan and to your Bishop.  You can find the following article here.

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Saipan Pilgrims Travelled to Rome for the 50th Anniversary of the Neocatechumenal Way

By: Julie Anne Loong

If you ask any of the pilgrims who participated early this month in the pilgrimage to Rome, to describe it in one word, they would reply with, “Beautiful.” In fact, it was more than beautiful. It was perfect.

On April 26, 2018, Bishop Ryan Jimenez bestowed a send- off blessing on 50 pilgrims from the parishes of Nuestra Señora Bethen De Los Remedios and San Vicente de Ferrer, including the parish priest Father Jason Granado, who travelled with them to participate in the meeting with Pope Francis and the initiators and international team of the Way, Kiko Arguello, Father Mario Pezzi, and Maria Ascension Romero, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Neocatechumenal Way in Italy.

These brothers and sisters joined over 200 more from communities in Guam, Palau, and Hawaii.

The pilgrimage officially began on the early morning of Sunday, April 29. The pilgrims embarked on roughly 48 hours of travel time including layovers and actual flight time; however, upon arrival at the Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy the joy and excitement on everyone’s faces were evident. Despite the bags under their eyes and obvious jet lag, they were all smiling.

About 150,000 people in communities around the world gathered on May 5 in the University of Tor Vergata, in the outskirts of Rome to give thanks to God for opening the Way. The flags of over 130 countries waved in the air under the perfectly blue sky.

Spending a week in Rome is an obvious bucket list goal, but being there during that time served a different purpose. It was to simply, as Pope Francis said in his speech, “Go!” It was to leave comfort zones by becoming a part of the mission and to go to announce the good news of the love of God to everyone.

“Go. The mission demands that we leave. But in life, there is a strong temptation to remain, not to take risks, to be content with having the situation under control. It is easier to stay at home, surrounded by those who love us, but it is not Jesus’ way. He sends us out: ‘Go’. He does not use half measures. He does not authorize reduced transfers or reimbursed trips, but he says to His disciples, to all his disciples one word only: ‘Go!’. Go: a powerful call that resonates in every corner of Christian life; a clear invitation always to be outbound, pilgrims in the world in the search for the brother who still does not know the joy of God’s love.”

Pope Francis also sent out 34 new missio ad gentes, communities consisting of a priest and three to five families with children, to various countries as well as 25 communities to parishes in the Diocese of Rome.

At the end of the meeting, Kiko led the assembly in singing the Te Deum in order to give praise to God.

The architecture of the buildings dating back to as early as the 11th century were a drastic change from the fruiting mango trees and tin roofs back home.

The pilgrims were given the opportunity to see the incorrupt bodies and tombs of numerous saints and former popes, world-famous buildings and art pieces created by Renaissance artists.

During a 10am mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, four youth from Saipan (Julius Reyes, Trinity Camacho, Leveque Iguel, and Margo Quitugua) had the grace of being selected to bring up the water, ciborium, and chalice during the offertory. They were given blessings by the cardinal who presided the mass along a mixture of more than 20 other archbishops, priests, and cardinals, and were seated on the farthest front pew below the Chair of St. Peter with hundreds of parishioners behind them.

The tomb of Saint Francis Assisi, St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, St. Paul’s Basilica, and The Basilica of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem where a fragment of the true cross of Jesus Christ and other holy relics are on display were a few of the main destinations visited during their stay in Italy.

They returned almost two weeks later, carrying happiness and unforgettable experiences.

“We thank all our benefactors and brothers who continuously supported us and helped us go on this pilgrimage through generous donations and prayers. Most of all, we thank God for yet another year of the Neocatechumenal Way, another year of miracles, for the pilgrimage, and for the countless blessings he has given us through it.”

(Julie is a parishioner of Santa Remedios, Tanapag) 

Letter From Galilee

The following was emailed to me.  It is a letter from the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Galilee and addressed to friends of the seminary.  The RMS in Galilee is producing many fruits.  

Nowadays, Satan wants priests to stay home and to be comfortable inside the parish.  But Pope Francis, the Vicar of Christ, says this is not the way of the Lord.  The way of Jesus Christ is to go outside of the parish.  It is to GO, not stay comfortable in your parish, in your homeland, evangelizing through the Internet in the comforts of your living room.  The way of Jesus is to go outside and meet the people face to face.  

The RMS in Galilee sends out itinerants and priests in the surrounding areas of the Middle East.  This is what the devil hates.  The goal of Satan is to destroy seminaries that produces many priests.  Our brothers in Galilee face more violence and persecution that we do in Guam, but God is faithful.  Satan has not prevailed in closing the RMS in Galilee so he attacks the Christian seminarians and priests in the Middle East. It was beautiful to see the entire NCW in the Middle East stand together as one at the 50th anniversary in Rome.     

The RMS in Guam was also supposed to send out itinerants and priests to the Pacific region.....a region sorely lacking in priests.  Guam had experienced the same pain as our brothers in the Pacific as they look for priests.  Previously, Guam had to borrow priests mainly from the Philippines.  After RMS was erected in Guam, it produced 17 priests and many more could have been ordained.  Satan is angry at seminaries that produces priests, which is why he attacked the RMS in Guam.  However, God is faithful.  The death of RMS in Guam only produced more life elsewhere.  The first community of Palau was born and a new community in Saipan was also born. Satan cannot stop God's will in evangelizing the Pacific region. Our Guam seminarians are also being ordain as deacons and priests in the United States. May God bless them as they GO out, bringing the love of God to all people.     



Prot. n.216.2018                      Korazym,nMay, 24, 2018

Dear friends of the Seminary,

in this period in which, as the liturgy proclaims, we have lived a day of immense joy in the city of God (Hymn of the lauds of Pentecost), we could not forget all of you that have accompanied us, supporting our mission in the Holy Land through the comfort of your prayers and the solicitude of the help, which the Providence, through your generosity, has never failed us. In fact, celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, we live in the joy of the fulfillment of the paschal promises, which the Lord gives us to transmit in our mission in the Middle East, in times more than ever marked by violence and painful conflicts.

On May 5, we had the joy of meeting Pope Francis in Rome, together with 500 
brothers and sisters from the Holy Land and from the Persian Gulf countries along with 150,000 brothers and sisters from all over the world, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of the Neocatechumenal Way in Rome. The Holy Father confirmed us in the faith and among with many other things he told us in the mission, spoke to us these wonderful words: “The mission asks to leave. But in life there is a strong temptation to stay, not to take risks, to be content with having the situation under control. It is easier to stay home, surrounded by those who love us, but it is not the way of Jesus. He sends: «Go!». He does not use half-measures. He does not authorize reduced transfers or reimbursed travel fare, but he tells his disciples, to all his disciples, one sole word: «Go!»”.

Pope Francis thus concluded: “Dear brothers and sisters, your charism is a great gift of God for the Church of our time. We thank the Lord for these fifty years: a round of applause to these fifty years! And, looking at his paternal, fraternal, and loving fidelity, do not ever lose trust: He will guard you, urging you at the same time to go, as beloved disciples, to all peoples, with humble simplicity. I accompany you and encourage you: go forward!”. It is truly wonderful to see how a small seed planted in 1968 by the initiators of the Way has become today, by the power of God, a lush tree that extends its own branches throughout the entire world. The Holy Father has then sent 34 new missio ad gentes and 25 communities on mission in the suburbs of Rome.


During Easter time, we continued our work of sustaining the churches of the Middle East, by helping the parishes and celebrating with them throughout the different rites, not only here in Galilee and in the rest of Israel, but also in Palestine, Cyprus, Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain. This is in fact, where some of our seminarians are living their time of itinerancy, announcing the Gospel to the Arab and other Christian minorities, often made up of immigrants having gone there to look for work and who live in difficult conditions, by which it is essential for them to live the faith in a community.

In these days our seminarians, apart from completing the last exams session of the present academic year, they are also preparing the event of the priestly ordination of three brothers, Sliman from Israel (the first Arab-Israeli to be ordained), Miguel from Spain and Marek from Poland; an ordination that we will have the joy of celebrating on June 16th. The presbyters formed in our seminary will thus reach thirteen. Among them, Paolo our vice-rector in the seminary, Carlos and Leandro who are in mission respectively in Kuwait and in Jordan; while Cristian, Juan David and Rodi are parish priests, Matheus and Giovanni are parish vicars, and Juan Manuel is secretary of the auxiliary bishop of Jordan, meanwhile Davide is finishing his studies for a license in Theology in Rome.


As you can understand from the news we send you, the work that the Lord is
accomplishing through this seminary is extending more and more. While we are amazed that despite our unworthiness, the miracle of evangelization is renewed before our eyes, just as it occurred the first time on this mountain: “The eleven disciples, in the meantime, went to Galilee, on the mountain that Jesus had indicated to them. Go therefore and make disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you every day, until the end of the world”. (Mt 28, 16.19-20). We ask the Spirit that you can rejoice and taste a little these “first fruits” through our letters of the Seminary, to the glory of God and to the service of the Church, which you also have helped to sow. May the Lord give you a hundredfold for your generosity and may He bless you together with your families! We are praying for you!



The formators of the Seminary,
Fr. Francesco Giosuè Voltaggio
Fr. Paolo Alfieri
Fr. Germano Lori
Fr. Antonio Martin Carrasco

More Priestly Ordinations From The NCW

Here are more ordinations from the Neocatechumenal Way communities.  Sadly, Guam will no longer have these ordinations because the devil prevailed in closing down the seminary.  Nevertheless, the death of Guam's RMS gave life to Brooklyn.  A new RMS was erected in Brooklyn.  Father Julio has been appointed the Rector of that new RMS.  And Father Miguel has been appointed the Spiritual Director.  

The Neocatechumenal Way continues to inspire its members into the priesthood.  According to the article:

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[This is the seventh in a series of articles profiling each of the seven men who will be ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Mission Church) on May 19.]

"When I was seven years old, I lost my father, and it was in the Church that I found hope," stated Deacon Andrea Povero.

The youngest of four children, without a father figure at home, Deacon Povero recalls that his childhood was filled with anxiety and insecurity.

Growing up in Ivrea, a city near Turin, Italy, Deacon Povero remembers the first time the thought of entering the priesthood came to him.

"I was in Porto San Giorgio (a town on the Adriatic coast), on the beach, and the thought just came to me," he smiled. "It was just a thought, but it was one that would not go away."

He was only 13.

Although he felt called to the priesthood, he never shared that with anyone, for fear that people would either push him into entering the seminary, or dissuade him from pursuing his vocation.

As Deacon Povero got a little older though, he "threw himself" into his studies and was what he described as a "typical teenager" in Italy.

"I had friends, sports, etc., but the thought of the priesthood was always there," he said.

When he was 16, Deacon Povero met a girl and fell in love.

"There were many fears that blocked this relationship though," he said, "and one of them was that I felt called to the priesthood very strongly. I was afraid to lose the Church and to lose God, and so I was always holding back in the relationship."

This reluctance ultimately caused him his relationship, he said. And upon graduating high school, he found himself living away from his family, studying physical therapy at university and completely alone.

"God was creating a desert all around me," the 30-year-old said. "I had no friends, no father. I was confused. I even stopped going to church for a while, but I knew God was calling me ... After two months of living like this, this idea of the priesthood would not leave me alone," he said.

Still in a state of indecision, Deacon Povero attended the wedding of a cousin whose brother was Father Emanuele De Nigris, now the rector of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of the Archdiocese of Miami.

"In the middle of the wedding, he walked up to me and said, 'What are you waiting for? The priesthood awaits you.' I hadn't told anyone -- not one person -- and he said this to me. I couldn't believe it," he said, shaking his head.

"I knew I had to listen," he added.

Deacon Povero attended an international retreat of men from the Neocatechumenal Way who are thinking of entering the priesthood and within two weeks he was sent to study at the Redemptoris Mater Diocesan Missionary Seminary of Boston.

"In the seminary, I have really experienced that God is my father," he said. "I have found my place, and I don't feel like an orphan anymore. I am not abandoned."

"If I have ever felt an absence in my life because of the death of my father, now I have a presence of God the Father in my life," continued Deacon Povero. "It is because of my loss that I experience God the Father in a deeper way than many people. I feel precious."

Having this experience has helped him in his time as a deacon, he said. Because he was assigned to St. Patrick Church in Brockton, a place where more than 85 percent of teens live without a father, he has been able to relate to the young people he meets in a way that is "very meaningful" to them, he said.

"I realize that my life is lived in preparation for a mission," he said, adding that he knows God will use the experiences of his life to better serve those he is called to serve.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how God will surprise me in this mission of the priesthood," he said. "I have gotten to this point of my life because God, with little steps, has gotten me here. Now I can't wait to see what else he will do."

Deacon Povero understands that there will be challenges ahead, but he knows that any challenges are "opportunities to lean on God."

"We live in a time that everything is about independence," he mused. "Life goes at a very high speed and, in front of problems, we have a mentality that we can solve problems immediately and alone. I know that I will always be called to be dependent on God -- as a priest, and as a person. I must live in the truth with God at all times."

News Update

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio has canonically erected the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Brooklyn on Pentecost Vigil, May 19, 2018.  Bishop DiMarzio has also appointed Father Julio Cesar as Rector and Father Miguel Angel as Spiritual Director.  As you know, Father Julio was Rector of the seminary in Guam when it was closed down.  Father Miguel Angel has a doctorate in Sacred Theology 'summa cum laude.'  

Below is a photo of Bishop DiMarzio: 

Furthermore, Victor Vitug II was ordained a deacon on April 14, 2018. As you know, Victor was a former seminarian of Guam.  Congratulations to Victor.  Below is a card of Victor's diaconate ordination.  

Abused By SNAP

It should come as no surprise that SNAP who pretends to help victims of sexual abuse are abusers themselves especially when it comes to priests (such as Father Jiang) who were falsely accused.  SNAP is also anti-Catholic.  It is important to note that the Junglewatch Nation supported this anti-Catholic organization as they went on their witch hunt against Archbishop Apuron, labeling him already guilty without due process of a trial. 

The following article was written by Father Gordon MacRae (the bold red are mine).  Notice what I placed in red.     
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If there exists a Catholic priest still in denial about the agenda of SNAP, it’s because he has lived with his head in the sand blind to the threat lying in wait for him.

In 2009, at the same time I began writing for These Stone Walls, Catholic League President Bill Donohue invited me to write a feature article for the Catholic League Journal, Catalyst. My article, “Due Process for Accused Priests,” began by describing an important phenomenon.

In 2002, just as the national story of Catholic priests and sexual abuse emerged out of Boston to sweep the country, psychologist Daniel Kahneman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his work on a phenomenon called “availability bias.” It revealed the power of the media to not just report the news, but to reshape it to fit media bias, to cultivate it, to take a story’s small microphone and turn it into a megaphone.

Activist organizations have trained people to harness this force to sway what others adopt as a bias. It is not new, just newly analyzed. One of the most potent deployments of “availability bias” is one I have quoted before in these pages. It comes from Mein Kampf, the 1926 book by Adolf Hitler that gave rise to the Nazi party in Germany:

“The great mass of people will more easily fall prey to a big lie than to a small one.”

After my 2009 Catalyst article was published, I was subjected to an open assault by David Clohessy, Executive Director of the activist organization, SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Matt Abbott at Renew America forwarded my article to Mr. Clohessy and invited a response posted at Renew America entitled, “Imprisoned Priest, Sex Abuse Victim Clash.”

David Clohessy was obviously perturbed by what I exposed about the law suit settlement process and how it is advanced and cultivated by “self-serving contingency lawyers and various agenda driven groups using scandal for their own ends.” Mr. Clohessy had long derided Church officials for entering into secrecy agreements to keep settlement amounts from public view.

On January 17, 2017, former SNAP employee Gretchen Rachel Hammond filed a lawsuit against SNAP in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. Ms. Hammond had been SNAP’s Director of Development before leaving the organization and filing her lawsuit. The named parties in the suit included David Clohessy, SNAP’s Executive Director, and Barbara Blaine, SNAP’s founder and president, and a member of SNAP’s board of directors.

Ms. Hammond’s lawsuit alleged that she was a victim of retaliatory discharge for questioning the allegedly corrupt practices of this organization. These included claims that SNAP and its leaders received substantial kickbacks in the form of “donations” from attorneys to whom SNAP officials referred clients or potential clients.

The lawsuit exposed that lawyers in California, Chicago, Seattle, and Delaware made major “donations,” some of them in six-figure amounts, and that SNAP leaders “concocted a scheme to have other attorneys make donations to a front foundation” to mask “attorneys’ kickbacks” to the organization.

The lawsuit also alleged a pattern of collusion between SNAP officials and plaintiff lawyers to maximize publicity for the purpose of fueling bigger payouts. It accused SNAP officials of callous disregard for the real interests of real sexual abuse survivors. Among the lawsuit’s other allegations were these:

• SNAP engaged in a commercial enterprise motivated by its directors’ and officers’ personal and ideological animus against the Catholic Church.
• SNAP conducted business premised on farming out abuse survivors as clients for specific attorneys who file lawsuits and collect settlements from the Catholic Church.
• Attorneys routinely gave SNAP confidential plaintiff claims and other privileged information in order for SNAP to maximize payouts with sensational press releases.
• SNAP claimed that it existed to provide support for survivors of clergy sexual abuse, however at all relevant times, SNAP did not have a single grief counselor or rape counselor on its payroll. SNAP would ignore survivors who reached out to SNAP for legitimate counseling.
• Ms. Hammond alleged that she was told by SNAP official Barbara Dorris to ignore calls from survivors who were seeking only counseling.
• Despite accepting funds for counseling and aiding survivors of sexual abuse, SNAP squandered those funds to advance its own interests and those of its leadership.
• SNAP set out to deliberately jeopardize the ability of accused priests to receive due process and fair trials.
• In 2011, SNAP oversaw fundraising for a charge brought against Pope Benedict XVI at the International Court at The Hague; however SNAP used the funds to pay for lavish hotels and other extravagant travel expenses for its leadership.

THE FALLOUT

When the lawsuit became public, David Clohessy resigned as Executive Director, and SNAP founder and president, Barbara Blaine also resigned. They have since settled the lawsuit by a secrecy clause just like the ones for which Mr. Clohessy had railed against Catholic bishops over the last two decades.

After the settlement, others among SNAP’s more notorious leaders also resigned as reported by David F. Pierre, Jr. at The Media Report in “SNAP R.I.P.” Barbara Dorris, who replaced David Clohessy as Executive Director, and Regional Director Joelle Casteix both resigned. Among the revelations uncovered by David Pierre was that SNAP published the email addresses and personal phone numbers of accused, priests to generate harassment.

Ms. Hammond’s lawsuit was only one of several brought against SNAP, but it was the one that appeared to finally expose what had long been suspected of SNAP and its leaders. Simultaneously in 2017, Father Joseph Jiang, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, filed a defamation lawsuit against SNAP.

Charges brought against Father Jiang were heavily promoted by SNAP leaders who, as they do whenever a priest is accused, issued a public call for anyone else who wants to accuse the priest. When Father Jiang passed a polygraph test [I did, too, by the way, twice] the charges were dismissed in 2015.

In 2016 a federal judge ruled that SNAP made false statements against Father Jiang “negligently and with reckless disregard for the truth.” SNAP and the parents of the minor who had falsely accused him settled the lawsuit.

As part of its settlement, SNAP issued a public apology, but the ever complicit news media failed to mention that SNAP was forced to do so in the wake of a false claim and lawsuit SNAP’s apology, written by its legal counsel, included this statement:

“The SNAP defendants never want to see anyone falsely accused of a crime Admittedly, false reports of clergy sexual abuse do occur. SNAP apologizes for false or inaccurate statements… its representatives made which in any way disparaged Father Joseph Jiang.”

In reporting this story, some Catholic media outlets continued to refer to SNAP as “a victims’ support group” or “a victim advocacy group.” It’s a bad habit that blindly gives legitimacy of purpose to SNAP which it does not have, and has never had.

POPE BENEDICT’S “CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY”

The most important and visible source exposing SNAP’s corruption and reckless disregard for truth is a document by Catholic League President Bill Donohue entitled, “SNAP Implodes.” It provides a comprehensive and compelling account of the path of destruction SNAP and its leaders have left in the Church and priesthood under the false guise of advocating for real victims.

Among the most manipulative of David Clohessy’s “advocacy” was an instruction to accusers to attend SNAP press conferences. To play on the emotions of reporters, Clohessy urged those awaiting settlements to “display holy childhood photos” before the news cameras, and… if you don’t have compelling holy childhood photos we can provide you with photos of other kids that can be held up for the cameras.”

If that doesn’t infuriate Catholics who have any regard left for truth, then what would? SNAP had a much worse perversion of justice that was first hyped, and then covered up, by the news media. It was the most destructive publicity stunt SNAP and its leaders have devised or condoned to date.

Both Bill Donohue and the Hammond lawsuit cited this one (see the final bullet point in Ms. Hammond’s lawsuit above). What they do not reveal is that SNAP used the false case against me to help bring it about.

I first wrote of this story in October 2011 in “SNAP’S Last Gasp! The Pope’s Crimes Against Humanity.” That was before I even knew that I was a part of this story. In 2011, SNAP and the Center for Constitutional Rights – located at 666 Broadway in Manhattan – jointly filed a “crimes against humanity” charge against Pope Benedict XVI at the International Criminal Court.

The ICC is an independent judicial institution with the power to hold trials and impose sentences for the most serious crimes of international concern: genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The ICC was approved by international treaty in 1998 and officially came into being on July 1, 2002, after 60 countries ratified the treaty.

The court is headquartered in The Hague, The Netherlands. Of interest, in May of 2002, President George Bush declined to sign the treaty and refused to allow the ICC to have jurisdiction over United States cases. So SNAP’s target was not U.S. Catholic priests and bishops, but the Pope himself.

SNAP duped the left-leaning Center for Constitutional Rights to compose and file the briefs with information provided by SNAP in collaboration with plaintiff lawyers hoping for a precedent to tap Vatican assets in their never-ending quest for big bucks. I first learned of my involvement in this story from an article by journalist JoAnn Wypijewski, in “Spotlight Oscar Hangover: Why ‘Spotlight’ Is a Terrible Film.” Here is an excerpt:

“The Center for Constitutional Rights [CCR] . . . joined with SNAP to file a grotesque brief to the International Criminal Court demanding ‘investigation and prosecution’ of the Vatican for crimes against humanity… To CCR’s shame, Father [Gordon] MacRae is specifically mentioned in that brief with respect to allegations… which prosecutors threw in at sentencing but for which there is no evidence according to the lead detective in the case [as] cited by [Dorothy] Rabinowitz.”

SNAP, apparently in retaliation for my Catalyst articles calling for independent investigation of dubious claims, fed information to the Center for Constitutional Rights that would fuel a case against the Vatican. They made no attempt to contact me or my defense, nor did they contact Dorothy Rabinowitz at The Wall Street Journal who researched and published extensively on the same story, but with a polar opposite conclusion.

And SNAP did this without attempting to contact James Abbott, the former FBI Special Agent who spent three years investigating this case before dismissing it as a fraud. (Agent Abbott’s affidavit is cited at the end of Ryan MacDonald’s recent post, “#MeToo & #HimToo: Jonathan Grover & Father Gordon MacRae” which also lays out the fraud behind this story).

In the end, to its great credit, the International Criminal Court declined to accept jurisdiction or the crimes against humanity charge against Pope Benedict XVI, but that was no surprise. Everyone involved knew that this fiasco would go nowhere, and it was never really SNAP’s goal. It was merely a publicity stunt for David Clohessy and SNAP to heighten pressure for quick and lucrative financial settlements.

The people who terrorized American Catholic priests for the last quarter century are gone now. Their fraud is exposed. Their coffers are empty. Their leaders have fled. In “SNAP Implodes,” Catholic League President Bill Donohue summed up what I had come to know at a very personal level in this moral panic that SNAP promoted and extorted for profit over the last 25 years:

“SNAP officials function as borderline gangsters out to destroy innocent persons. It is motivated by hate and exploits the very people it claims to serve Justice demands that it be shut down by the authorities before it does any more harm.”

Note from Father Gordon MacRae: Once again, you would serve the cause of truth and justice if you share this post and ask your contacts to do the same. Eyes may also be opened by these related posts from These Stone Walls:

More Ordinations From NCW Communities

As I mentioned before, the NCW has been known to inspire priestly ordinations.  It has also inspired young women to enter the convent as well.  We have always encouraged the NCW members and youths to go on pilgrimages and World Youth Day.  Before the NCW came to Guam, how many pilgrimages were offered to the parishioners of Guam?  How many youths were inspired to go on World Youth Days before the NCW came to Guam?  After arriving on Guam, the NCW has done much good on this island.  Those who have eyes can see.  

A pilgrimage is a journey of spiritual significance.  It is not a vacation, and we do not act as tourists in a pilgrimage.  We pray, reflect, have Mass, meet the Pope, and evangelize.  To evangelize means to spread the word that God loves you.  You do not need to have a theology degree to tell people that God loves you, died for the forgiveness of sins, and rose from the dead.

The following article is on Deacon Eric Velazquez.  Congratulations on his ordination to the priesthood.  Once again, the NCW communities have inspired a young man into the priesthood.  You can read the following article here.
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[This is the fifth in a series of articles profiling each of the seven men who will be ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Mission Church) on May 19.]

"When I look back at my life, the times that I was happiest was when my family was in the missions," mused Deacon Eric Velazquez.

The second of five siblings, Deacon Velazquez traveled through much of his native Honduras during his childhood because his parents were missionaries, often spending several months ministering to people in different parts of the country.

As a missionary family, "priests were always a big part of my life," he said, adding that as a little boy he would often pray "to be a shepherd with real sheep, a priest and Superman" -- all at the same time.

All that changed as Deacon Velazquez got older. 

"At a certain time in my life, I actively decided, 'No -- I will not be a priest,'" he recalled.

Instead, Deacon Velazquez turned his attention to his future. He had a girlfriend, moved out of his parent's home and began to study electrical engineering in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

"I had many friends, both in church and in school, but I was sad," he recounted. "There was nothing out of place in my life, but I was just sad."

Unable to lift himself out of this sadness, Deacon Velazquez turned to his father.

"My father is a typical father," Deacon Velazquez said, "but I learned what faith was by what he did, not necessarily by what he said. So, when I needed someone to help me, I knew to turn to him."

His father suggested that he attend a vocational center in Honduras for one year, asking God for discernment.

"I didn't want to do it," Deacon Velazquez admitted, "But for a whole year I prayed. I kept saying, 'Either give me a vocation to the priesthood or a vocation to marriage.' And then God answered."

After attending a vocational retreat in Italy, Deacon Velazquez was assigned to the Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary in Boston.

"To be honest, I didn't think I would last," he said sheepishly. "But because of the witness of my father and his life, I was open to come to the seminary and see if this was where I belonged."

"I am not away from my family because I want (to be), but because God called me," he added.

Thinking back on his years in the seminary, the 31-year-old noted that his years there have been invaluable.

The seminary "has helped me to mature, to be less judgmental of others and to want to give to others the faith that I have received in the Church," he said.

Deacon Velazquez then added with a chuckle, "I also wanted brothers my whole life -- I only had four sisters, so you can imagine -- and then I went to the seminary and I got so many brothers! See how God always gives me exactly what my heart desires!"

Thinking ahead to his ordination, Deacon Velazquez knows he will miss his time at the Redemptoris Mater seminary.

"I will miss the rhythm and the protection," he said pensively. "And I will also miss the communion with my brother seminarians, but I am really looking forward to bringing the presence of God to others."

"I really want to work with people. I really want to walk with people," he said, stressing that in order to be a good priest, he first must continue to develop and maintain his relationship with God.

"We are living in a society that has no faith," he said. "Faith is not an indoctrination, it's a way of living with Jesus Christ. And I have to have faith in order to give faith -- this is what I want to give to the people I serve," he said.

Pope Francis Sends Out NCW On Evangelical Mission

During the 50th anniversary celebration, Pope Francis sent out the NCW on an evangelical mission as Australia watches along with the rest of the world.  You can find the following article here.

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EVANGELISATION is a priority mission for the Church, Pope Francis told a mass gathering of members of the Neocatechumenal Way, including about 500 Australians, to mark the 50th anniversary of the group’s arrival in Rome.

“It is easier to stay home,” Pope Francis told 150,000 people at the Tor Vergata university campus on the outskirts of Rome on May 5, but this “is not the way of Jesus”, who sends out his disciples with the word, “Go!”

“Go. The mission demands that we leave,” Pope Francis urged the rally.

“Go. A powerful call that resonates in every corner of Christian life; a clear invitation always to be outbound, pilgrims in the world in the search for the brother who still does not know the joy of God’s love.”

On stage with cardinals and bishops from around the world, Pope Francis described the charism of the Neocatechumenal Way as “a great gift from God for the Church of our time”.

Faithful from 135 countries were present, including the hundreds of cheering Australians, waving national flags and applauding the Pope’s message.

“The atmosphere at the meeting was wonderful – very relaxed and joyful,” Fr Anthony Trafford, one of the national “Responsibles” for the Neocatechumenal Way in Australia, said.

“We are very pleased at what the Pope said – it gives us great joy.”

The Neocatechumenal Way is a Catholic community founded in 1964 in Madrid by Spanish artist Kiko Argüello, dedicated to post and pre-baptismal formation of Christians, based on the Word of God, the Eucharist and the Christian community.

The “Way” engages families who through their witness and life serve to establish the presence of the Church in countries where the Church is absent or tiny, or to revive and strengthen the presence of Catholic communities in difficult and highly secularised areas.

About 40,000 parish-based communities have grown worldwide, and there are about 70 communities in 13 dioceses across Australia.

Among the Australian contingent in Rome were scores of young Catholics and families from every capital.

During the encounter, Pope Francis blessed and handed out crosses to the leaders of 34 new “missio ad gentes”, which are groups made up of families and a priest sent to live in various parts of the world to evangelise the local community through what they call an “itinerant church”.

He said when a missionary went out, he left with “only the baggage of trust” in the poor Jesus who did not have anywhere to lay His head.

“To go, you must be light. To proclaim, it is necessary to renounce,” the Pope told the mass gathering, stressing that a heart freed of attachments broadens and becomes available to God and to others.

One who renounced transitory things out of love, embraced the great treasure of freedom, he said.

Pope Francis also pointed out the important role and vocation of the family, which had in its “DNA” the ability to bring a family atmosphere into “so many desolate and unconcerned places”.

“Following the example of the Holy Family: in humility, simplicity, and praise … let yourselves be recognised as the friends of Jesus,” he said.

Neocatechumenal communities across Australia also gathered to celebrate the Pope’s address streamed live on the internet.

At Loganholme, south-east of Brisbane, a big-screen event hosted by parish priest Fr Rodrigo Tomala turned into a celebration for about 100 people in St Matthew’s Church hall.

“For me, my experience is that the Neocatechumenal experience has floated my boat, and so I am happy to be celebrating – because this is the way God used to give me hope, to experience salvation,” Fr Tomala said.

In the Loganholme crowd, Johanne Keys and her husband Richard joined the community in Melbourne’s St Luke’s parish of Lalor 40 years ago and have been a missionary family in Darwin and Brisbane.

“If somebody had said to me that we would be going on mission, I would have said that it was definitely not in my plan and certainly wouldn’t happen,” Mrs Keys said.

“But God’s done a history with me and I see everything that he’s done has been good.”

In living out the mission, Pope Francis also encouraged detachment from material things, which he said were only burdens keeping people from true freedom in Christ.

“Only a Church that renounces the world announces the Lord well,” he said. “Only a Church freed from power and money, free from triumphalism and clericalism, testifies in a credible way that Christ liberates man.”

The person who through love “learns to renounce the things that pass, embraces this great treasure: freedom”, he said.

Pope Francis praised the relevance of Neocatechumenal Way.

“Dear brothers and sisters, your charism is a great gift from God for the Church of our time. Let us thank the Lord for these fifty years,” he said.

Pilgrims on the way: Brisbane youths, members of Neocatechumenal communities, on pilgrimage in Italy before meeting Pope Francis in Rome.

Papal gathering: Neocatechumenal Way catechist for Australia, Toto Piccolo, Maroubra parish priest Fr John Hayes and Brisbane doctor Alison Bignell.

Congratulations To Deacon Roberto!

Deacon Roberto was in Guam in the parish of Nino Perdido for one or two years as part f his formation. He was formed by the Neocatechumenal Way and joined the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Denver. Like all RMS seminaries, Guam's RMS has proven to be a great seminary, preparing men to the priesthood. :) One of the other deacons also came from Redemptoris Mater of Denver. On May 19, Deacon Roberto will be ordained a priest.  According to the article:
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On May 19, five men studying for the Archdiocese of Denver will be ordained to the priesthood. Interestingly enough, none of the men being ordained are from St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, and the average age of the five men is 41 years old.

Deacons Angel Perez-Brown, Roberto Rodríguez and Tomislav Tomic all hail from different parts of the world and have been studying for the priesthood at Redemptoris Mater Missionary Seminary. Deacons Darrick Leier and Shannon Thurman have been studying at St. John XXIII Seminary in Boston, Mass., a seminary specifically for men who discover a vocation to the priesthood later in life.

Get to know Denver’s newest priests, and pray for them as they prepare to be ordained next week.

Deacon Darrick Leier

Deacon Darrick Leier is 42 years old and spent several years working in the software and civil engineering fields before discovering his vocation. After college, he became a fallen-away Catholic, but that changed 6 years ago, when his mother Marvelyn died from cancer. “Through this sorrowful and life-changing event, the Lord pierced my heart and poured out his love an mercy upon me,” he hold the Denver Catholic. The Lord led him to join Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Northglenn, and after a year and a half of prayerful discernment, it became evident that he was being called to the priesthood. “Jesus has set my heart on fire, and as a priest, I most want to share that fire in others I meet,” he said. “The Lord has given me this great gift, and I can’t wait to be his alter Christus! 

Deacon Shannon Thurman

Deacon Shannon Thurman has spent most of his life in Colorado, and comes from a blended family. He was adopted by his stepfather at age 11 and had a pretty regular upbringing, he said. Throughout his life, he always felt tugs from the Lord that he was being called to the priesthood, but he largely ignored them up until 2012 when, after a period of absence from the Church, he felt the Lord calling him back and became an extraordinary minister of communion for the homebound. He finally answered the call of the Lord and entered St. John XXIII Seminary in Boston at the age of 43. When speaking about his vocation, Thurman cites St. Teresa of Calcutta’s famous line. “God draws straight with crooked lines. That would describe my journey to the priesthood,” he said.

Deacon Roberto Rodríguez

Deacon Roberto Rodriguez, originally from the Dominican Republic, has served at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Denver for a year, and will begin his priestly service at Ascension Parish upon ordination. Although he admits being “a bit nervous” before the big date, he is mostly excited for the mission he will undertake. “It will be a time of learning, adaptation and change,” he said. “I am looking forward to see how the Lord will ask me to serve him and his people.” Some of the biggest treasures he keeps from his time at St. Anthony of Padua Parish include “growing closer to parishioners, sharing in their joys and sorrows,” walking with grieving families and mostly, “growing closer to the Eucharist,” which he awaits to celebrate after his priestly ordination. Some of his favorite saints include Saint Therese of Lisieux, St. Theresa of Calcutta and St. John of Nepomuk.

Deacon Angel Perez-Brown

Deacon Angel Miguel Perez-Brown has served at St. John the Baptist in Johnstown and St. Nicholas in Platteville since his ordination in 2017. There he will continue his mission as parochial vicar upon priestly ordination. His pastoral work will focus on serving the immigrants who arrive to work on the fields. “I’m very excited. [There] I will find people who are thirsty, who want to encounter Christ,” he said. “They are like the people of Israel who left for Egypt, to an unknown land.” Originally from the Dominican Republic and a member of the Neocatecumenal Way, the deacon values the “warmth” of both parishes and communities, Hispanic and non-Hispanic. “I see the greatness of my vocation as something unattainable,” he said. “I went on a retreat two months ago and the Lord spoke to me clearly, saying that it is he who does all things.”

Deacon Tomislav Tomic

Deacon Tomislav Tomic was born and raised in a village in Bosnia. He is the youngest of nine children, and comes from a large family with several priests. Around the time he graduated high school, the Bosnian War had broken out. Four days after graduating, he enlisted in the military for a period of three years. After fulfilling his military duties, Tomic found himself feeling extremely isolated in his life. Around that time, the pastor of his parish invited him to a Neocatechumenal Way gathering. This had a profound effect on him. Tomic eventually submitted to the Lord’s call for him to the priesthood. Entering seminary was the biggest risk he’d taken in 34 years, Tomic said, and now, at 43, Deacon Tomic God has restored his human dignity and completely changed his life. “Now that I am here, I see that God transformed my life completely,” Deacon Tomic said. “God is incredible. What he doing with me is a miracle.”

Vocations Revival

The Neocatechumenal Way has inspired vocations in the priesthood. It has also inspired young women into the monastery.  According to the article provided by an anonymous poster:

BARLETTA, Italy - The investiture of Sister Maria Vittoria della Croce last month marked the first ceremony of its kind to be held in the Italian city of Barletta since the 1940s.

“The monastery of San Ruggero [in Barletta] had been reduced to a very few elderly nuns, but three years ago it was re-founded with the arrival of several young sisters, which revitalized it in terms of vocations,” explained Deacon Riccardo Losappio, head of communications for the Archdiocese of Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie.

Losappio told ACI Prensa, CNA‘s Spanish language sister agency, that these new religious, including the current abbess, come from the Santa Maria delle Rose (Saint Mary of the Roses) Benedictine monastery located in the town of Sant’Angelo in Pontano in the Marche region in eastern Italy.

Now, with the admission of Sister Maria Vittoria della Croce, “the Benedictine monastic community of San Ruggero is comprised of six nuns that have made solemn vows, four nuns who have made temporary vows, two novices and one postulant,” he said.

Sister Maria Vittoria della Croce - whose baptismal name is Carmen D’Agostino - is 27 years old.

Her induction ceremony into the San Ruggero Benedictine monastery took place April 27 in the co-cathedral Basilica of Saint Mary Major and was presided over by the Archbishop of Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie, Leonardo D’Ascenzo.

The photographs of the event were posted by the archdiocese on its Facebook page, where they reached more than 2 million users and drew more than 11,000 shares, 3,700 “likes” and 650 comments.

Losappio explained that “for Benedictine nuns, presenting oneself dressed as a bride is part of the rite of investiture for the religious.”

“They always enter dressed that way because they are spouses of Christ who are going out to meet him and they become brides to anticipate in time what one day will be in the fullness of God.”

During the investiture ceremony, novices who were previously dressed in a wedding gown “have their hair cut, put on the Benedictine habit and receive the crucifix to indicate their joyful renunciation of all that is vain and ephemeral.”

During the ceremony, D’Ascenzo wished the new religious “the great beauty of this presence of Jesus maturing more and more in you and to express it as a witness to the outside world through the relationship with the Church and with your community. May you have a blessed path to holiness and I hope that you can be ever more beautiful in the sense of this witness to the Church and with your sisters.”

Sister Maria Vittoria della Croce shared her testimony in the archdiocesan newspaper In Comunione.

The new nun was born in January 1991 in the Italian town of Melfi and finished her studies in nursing at the University of Foggia in 2014. She grew up in a strong Catholic family belonging to the Neocatechumenal Way and has three siblings.

“When I was 15, my mother went to heaven after a long illness which she endured with faith. It was not easy for me, but I can bear witness that the Lord has always provided for my family and me,” she stated.

“Thinking about my mother made me look to heaven, to paradise. More than having made a choice, I was chosen by him: at a youth encounter, and then also through others, I felt the love of Christ manifested on the cross,” she said.

“I simply accepted this love, this call to fight for the kingdom of heaven, and with the help of the Church to discern this call, I entered the monastery,” she said.

For Sister Maria Vittoria della Croce, this vocational call “opened heaven to me” and she is certain that God “loves me as I am, and I am for him a precious pearl.”