Congratulations To Guy Zidago
Guy Zidago was once a seminarian in Guam RMS. He was also in a catechist team in Merizo. I have recently learned that he was ordained a priest on December 8, 2018 in Vancouver. Congratulations! Fr. Guy Zidago is the person in the orange vestment.
I am sure the Guam communities are very happy for Guy. Congratulations Guy!
ReplyDeleteYet another seminarian formed at RMS Guam ordained a priest at a diocese outside of Guam. Vancouver's gain. Archdiocese of Agana's loss.
I think there were about 30 seminarians at RMS Guam when Coadjutor Archbishop Byrnes closed the seminary. Imagine that, 30 priests could have ministered to our Catholic faithful here in Guam. At least 30!
Yes, it is indeed Guam's loss as a result of Archbishop Byrnes' decision to close the Guam RMS Seminary in Yona. These 30 plus Guam Seminarians and some RMS Ordained Priest were warmly received by the Archdioceses of Denver, Miami, Philadelphia, Newark, Boston, Brooklyn and Samoa and are being treated very well so consider them as disciples of the "Mission of the 72" who have been sent to evangelize the Good News of Jesus Christ. Felis Kumple'anos Jesu Kristo"
ReplyDeleteAs I said, we are already struggling to pay for the formation of four seminarians. It is only going to be a matter of time when Guam will be borrowing more priests from the Philippines. We will be back to where we started.
ReplyDeleteWe shouldn't place all blame on AB Byrnes. He was manipulated and deceived by CCOG and JW.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous at 10:08 am,
DeleteI also think he was manipulated and deceived by CCOG and the jungle. But at the end of the day, the final decision to close the seminary was Archbishop Byrnes. And because it was his decision, I am glad to see that he is taking the responsibility for financially supporting our Guam seminarians through the golf fundraiser.
Archbishop Byrnes said, “The main reason for closing the seminary is that it’s just not a sustainable model for the Archdiocese of Agaña.” From Umatuna Si Yu’os:
ReplyDeletehttps://umatuna.org/news/featured/redemptoris-mater-seminary-to-close-doors-by-december/
But Bishops from other dioceses welcomed the former RMS Guam seminarians and ordained them priests.
'Not a sustainable model for the Archdiocese of Agana'. 17 RMS Guam formed seminarians ordained as priests on Guam. The remaining 30 seminarians accepted by dioceses and then one by one being ordained as priests. I don't understand the logic behind 'not sustainable'.
All ordained priests vow obedience to their bishops and will serve wherever the Bishop sends them - even outside their diocese. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gave the great Commission 'Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, 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 always, until the end of the age.”'
Dear Anonymous at 1:38 pm,
DeleteAccording to the Umatuna:
"“The main reason for closing the seminary is that it’s just not a sustainable model for the Archdiocese of Agaña,” the archbishop said.
The Redemptoris Mater Seminary model is a missionary seminary model whereby priests are formed at a diocese and are then sent as missionaries to other places, the archbishop explained.
That model could work and be very sustainable in other places, in particularly large dioceses like Denver or Miami where Catholic faithful number in the millions, the archbishop said. However, it is not sustainable on a small island like Guam, he said."
His logic behind "not sustainable" is the same logic that Tim Rohr had expressed in his blog. This is why I think he was manipulated and deceived by the jungle and CCOG. According to Tim Rohr dated January 5, 2014:
"Even if we did construct a building, it would be difficult to locally establish and sustain the actual educational opportunities necessary for forming men thoroughly for the priesthood. We would do better to send our men to the best seminaries in the world and have them return to us highly educated and prepared. The sale of the property would allow us to afford this (and the donor would probably agree)."
http://www.junglewatch.info/2014/01/catholic-extension-society-response-to.html#more
Rohr has always expressed that Guam's population is too small to have a very large and palatial seminary. See his posts below:
http://www.junglewatch.info/2014/01/letter-to-catholic-extension-society.html
http://www.junglewatch.info/2014/03/why-so-many-seminarians.html
A news reporter asked Archbishop Byrnes how much money the Archdiocese would save if RMS was closed down. He told the reporter that he didn't have that information on hand. I am sure by now he realized that the cost of sending a seminarian off-island is far more costly. Archbishop Apuron never had to fundraise for a seminarian in RMS, and RMS produced 17 priests for Guam. Now that RMS is closed, Archbishop Byrnes is working very hard in fundraising for Guam's seminarians.
"The sale of the property would allow us to afford this (and the donor would probably agree)."
DeleteSo, Rohr mentioned the sale of the seminary since 2014. That statement was made on his blog on January 5, 2014. That was before Mon. James was removed from the Cathedral for financial mismanagement.
Dear Jane Doe,
DeleteSelling of assets is what businesses do when they are going out of business. To say RMS is not a sustainable model is to say Guam has no faith, since as Catholics we don't deal in money we deal in faith. "If you had the faith of a mustard seed you would tell the mountain to move and it would move".
I firmly believe the faith of the communities would of continued to sustain RMS as long as the communities were allowed to grow and more and more people would be allowed to see first hand the providence of God in both material and spiritual goods.
Wonder if Archbishop Byrnes would consider reopening the RMS Guam...
ReplyDelete