Unity Amid A Crisis

Sadly, the COVID-19 virus has claimed a second person on Guam.  The first person was a 68 year old woman.  Today, a 79 year old man passed away at GMH (See story here).  

The United States also leads the world in having the most confirmed cases of corona virus, surpassing China and Italy.  They also have the most deaths recorded.  The United States currently has 164,359 of confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 3,173 deaths.  The state of New York has the most confirmed cases and the most deaths.  The health care system in the U.S. are reaching their capacity.  They are getting bombarded with so many patients, that some of these patients will be unable to receive proper care due to its health system being overwhelmed.    

People we need to come together united as one and do our part in ceasing the spread of this disease.  There are many information on the Internet on how to battle the corona viruses.  First and foremost, stay home.  Practice good hygiene and do not touch your face.  Many of us are used to touching our face.  Times are now different.  This is a time, we need to learn not to touch our face.  Take care of yourselves and others so we can get through this crisis.  We get through this crisis only if we stand together united.  

Furthermore, Father Alberto sent a message to the communities regarding Palm Sunday.  On April 5th, Palm Sunday, put a branch on the door of your house or on the window to celebrate Palm Sunday.  It could be any green branch.  Despite that we are physically isolated, we are not separated.  Remember always that we are united as the Body of Christ.  We can express this unity as we celebrate Palm Sunday despite our social isolation.  Thank you, Father Alberto for such a wonderful idea. 

The following video is a tribute to all the doctors, nurses, scientists, health care officials and all those on the front lines helping people stricken with the corona virus.  We can do our part in helping those on the front lines by staying home.  God bless you all!    

    

Rest In Peace Father Jorge Ortiz-Garay

Father Jorge Ortiz-Garay became a priest through the Neocatechumenal Way.  He was also the pastor in the Diocese of Brooklyn.  On March 24th, he was quarantined because he contracted the corona virus.  Sadly, on March 27th, he passed away.  He was the first priest who died in the United States as a result of COVID-19.  For those who knew him, he was described as a "good man with lots of zeal for evangelization, a true Pastor bringing the love of God to all. May he rest in peace for his good works precede him."  According to Catholic News Agency:

A Brooklyn parish announced the death of its pastor, Fr. Jorge Ortiz-Garay, who died of coronavirus at approximately 6 p.m Friday evening. The priest is the first in the U.S. known to have died from the virus.

Journalist Rocco Palmo was the first to report that the priest died from the virus, which is the cause of a global pandemic.

On March 24, the Diocese of Brooklyn announced that a priest at St. Brigid’s Parish in Brooklyn, where Ortiz was pastor, had contracted the coronavirus. On the same day, the parish posted on its Facebook page that Ortiz was “under observation in the hospital” and requested prayers “for his speedy recovery.”

On March 27, the parish posted on its Facebook page again:

“With a very sad heart, we inform you of the death of our dearest pastor, Father Jorge Ortiz Garay. We ask for your prayers for his eternal rest. We also ask you in a special way to pray for his parents, siblings, nieces and nephews who have lost a very special and loved person by his family, our community and many people around the country.”

Ortiz was born in Mexico City, and, according to his parish website, “At age 18, he joined the communities of the Neocatechumenal Way. It was through the involvement with this group that he felt his calling for the priesthood.”

He was ordained a priest in 2004 in Newark, and served parishes, along with missions of the Neocatechumenal Way, in New Jersey and New York City. He became pastor at St. Brigid's in 2019.

In addition to his parish and missionary work, Ortiz led Hispanic ministry initiatives in the Diocese of Brooklyn. He is remembered by friends as a fervent evangelist.

The first cleric in the U.S. known to have died of the virus was Deacon John-Sebastian Laird-Hammond, OFM, who died March 20. Worldwide, more than 60 priests and at least one bishop have died of the virus.

More than 100,000 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the US, and more than 1,700 have died. In the state of New York, which has become the epicenter of the pandemic of the virus in the US, more than 600 people have died. 

Stand Together As One

These are trying times as Guam battles the COVID-19 virus.  Thus far, there have been 12 people who have tested positive for COVID-19.  Doctors have come out trying to persuade the public to stay home.  However, as I stand outside my porch, I see many cars passing by my home.  There are also many people shopping in the stores.  People, we need to stand together as one.  We need to help each other because we all face the same enemy.....the COVID-19 virus, which has proven to be more deadly to our elderly and those with a weaker immune system.  

When shopping, one member of the family can go to the store.  It is not necessary to bring your spouse and entire family with you. With that said, do not live in fear by stocking up on hand sanitizers, hand soaps and cleaners.  No need to fear, so share by purchasing only what you need.  Remember the elderly and health care professionals who also need those things. But if possible, stay home and do not travel.  And most of all, pray. Pray together with your family. Our God is more powerful and larger than any virus.  We pray for all those who have contracted the virus, for the grieving families whose loved ones were taken by the virus, and for all people in every nation to stand together as one in doing our part in eliminating the virus that has wreck havoc on human lives.  

If there is anything positive that has come out of this virus, it has forced people to observe better hygiene, and it has also come to benefit the planet (see news report here).  It has also made us see some of the things we have taken for granted.  Both China and South Korea are returning to normal lives as the virus in their country declines.  So, stand together as one.  We all come together as God's children.  I believe the song below is appropriate at this time.   

Denver's New Deacons

There were six new transitional deacons in Denver.  One of them is Deacon John Almeida from the Neocatechumenal Way.  On this blog, I will only post about Deacon John Almeida's story.  However, you can read about the other five deacons including Almeida here.
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Deacon John Almeida

Deacon John Almeida was raised in the rural town of Heath in western Massachusetts. The fourth of eight children, he remembers faith being a central part of his family and his upbringing. His father taught him the value of hard work, praying and the importance of Sunday Mass.

At the age of 12, Deacon Almeida’s mother died in an automobile accident, leaving his father to raise the eight children on his own, whose ages ranged from 17 to one. This put a huge strain on Deacon Alemeida’s father, whose health began to decline, and it also put a strain on his own relationship with the Lord.

“I became very embittered and closed to the Lord and in many ways also to my family members,” Deacon Alemeida sad. “I still went to Mass and prayed at home, but my heart was far from the Lord.  I looked for happiness in having money, success, having friends and being educated, but I wasn’t at peace and couldn’t fill the void in my heart.”

This all changed when he became part of a Neocatechumenal Way community.

“It was through the Neocatechumenal Way community that I discovered my vocation,” Deacon Almeida said. “It was the place that I first ever heard the words that God loved me as a sinner.”

Deacon Almeida is excited to partake in the moments of grace which the Lord uses the priest to facilitate.

“I am really looking forward to being a part of the most precious moments of peoples’ lives, whether that is the baptism of a child, a wedding, or even a funeral, they are all special moments of grace where the love of God for man can be made manifest,” he said.

Big Graduating Class Brings Big Numbers

The COVID-19 virus has finally come to Guam.  We know that it would only be a matter of time.  But as our catechists tell us, do not fear.  God is in control.  This virus comes during Lent.  Due to the virus, we can no longer hold our meetings and celebrations.  All weekday and Sunday Masses in the parishes are also suspended.  Nevertheless, we can still pray in our homes.  Every brother and sister are asked to pray in their homes with their own family.  Fear not for God is in control.  

While we contend with this virus, not all is lost.  Life continues on as the NCW continues to bear fruit.  The following story can be found here.
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The Serra Club’s 2020 Ordinandi Dinner on March 3 was the biggest ever, celebrating the biggest St. Augustine’s Seminary graduating class in recent memory.

The 13 men to be ordained this spring, including seven for the Archdiocese of Toronto, drew a crowd of 1,839 to the Pearson Convention Centre in Brampton. The record attendance raised $35,000 in support of the seminary.

The biggest number of all was 2,642,239. That was the size of the spiritual bouquet of Mass intentions, rosaries and prayers the Catholic Women’s League presented to this year’s crop of future diocesan priests. Toronto Archdiocesan CWL Council president Hilarion Mitchell headed up a delegation of 210 CWL members attending the annual dinner. There were also 105 Knights of Columbus on hand.

“This is a joyful occasion,” said Cardinal Thomas Collins. “It is a time to reflect upon the call of God and, today in a particular way, we think of those who are called to serve us in the holy priesthood.”

The 2020 St. Augustine’s graduating class  includes two missionaries of the Neocatechumenal Way, whose studies at St. Augustine’s Seminary are supplemented by formation at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary. Both the Neocatechumenal Way missionaries, André Luis de Lima, 32, from Brazil, and Rafal Michal Bartosinski, 34, from Poland, will be ordained for service in the Archdiocese of Toronto.

Five other men who have been studying at St. Augustine’s are also being ordained for Canada’s largest archdiocese: Michael Nabor Corpus, 43; Martin Diciuangco, 31; Joshua Lobo, 29; Neil Pereira, 30; and John Steven Sutka, 42. The Diocese of Hamilton nets two new priests in Hayden Starczala, 28, and Pawel Stankiewicz, 29. Ottawa adds Jonathan Kelly, 30, while Pembroke gains Michael Coyne, 46.

Martin Santos Lugo Tapia, 31, will return to Memphis for his ordination. Jakub Mackowicz, 32, will be ordained for the Diocese of Orange in California.

The men celebrated at the Ordinandi Dinner got to choose the theme for the night. They chose “Jesus, I trust in you.”

In 13 short talks, each of the deacons demonstrated how putting their trust in Jesus led them to ordination.

Pereira said he was amazed to find he was still called to serve, “despite my sinfulness, despite my unworthiness, despite my attraction to the world.”

A walking pilgrimage to the Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ont., was the turning point in Dicuangco’s journey to the priesthood.

“On this pilgrimage, I really had an encounter with God,” he said. Instead of faith as an abstract notion, “Faith was now someone — a person who loved me and gave Himself up for me,” Dicuangco said.

Neocatechumenal missionary de Lima spoke frankly about his struggles in seminary — struggles that lasted 12 years.

“You’ve heard of permanent deacons. I thought I would be the first permanent seminarian,” de Lima said. “It was not 12 years of slavery.”

The spur to Sutka’s quest was a pair of Jehovah’s Witness missionaries who tried to talk him and his brother out of Catholicism.

“Because of them, I wanted to learn more about my faith and how to defend it,” Sutka said.

“No one’s call story is a single effort,” Coyne said.

Coyne, 46,  relied on his mother, his sister and the example of his fellow seminarians as he took the long way round to priesthood through teaching English abroad, a stint as a long-haul trucker and the experience of Christian community at Madonna House in Combermere, Ont.

“I thought the Church is good for old ladies. The Church was very boring to me,” was Bartosinski’s starting point.

Deeply affected by St. Pope John Paul II’s funeral, Bartosinski found his way to the Neocatechumenal community.

Stankiewicz praised his mother as he told his story. “Moms are the coolest people on Earth. Women have this warmth, this tenderness,” he said. “A mother reflects the tenderness of God.”

Former CN Tower finance officer Corpus emphasized how his shift to priesthood is also a shift in perspective.

“I have a new metric, a new measure of success,” he said.

Archbishop Michael Request for Prayers

In his letter published in the Umatuna dated March 8, 2020, Archbishop Michael Byrnes told the faithful to remain steadfast in their faith and request for prayers.  According to Archbishop Michael (the bold and underlined is mine):

Unfortunately, I must disclose at this time that proceeds from the sale of assets are now depleted and the further liquidation of assets, the source we identified for funding the legal costs, is currently blocked by the bankruptcy process. 

Since mid-January, the Archdiocese has been forced to begin using general operating funds to cover legal fees, not just for its legal representation but as the debtor, for that of the unsecured creditors' committee.  This committee is comprised of representatives of those with claims against the Archdiocese and their legal team costs are significant.  Each day that passes without agreement about the way forward, and each dollar that goes away from the Archdiocese greatly affect our ability to reach the best possible resolution with the victims of clergy abuse.  

 Our attorneys continue to communicate with the legal counsel of the claimants.  Both sides are devoting much time and work in the process.  However, we pray - and we ask prayers from everyone - for a more expedient resolution to the entire process.  We especially pray that legal counsel of both sides would be able to reach agreements that ultimately would provide for healing, justice and compensation for the victims and survivors with much timeliness.  

Once more, I reiterate that with each day that passes, resources of our Archdiocese are being diminished. Our schools, parishes and other ministries would enter greater peril of discontinuing or closing if settlement negotiations span a prolonged period of time. Most importantly, with the depletion of our funds, the amount of compensation for the victims of clergy abuse also faces tremendous reduction. 

It has been over a year since the Archdiocese of Agana had filed for bankruptcy, thinking it would be more cost effective than going through a long legal battle in court.  With the way things are going now; perhaps, it probably would have been more cost effective to go through a legal battle.  Why is it taking so long to reach resolution?  For one, the alleged victims are not satisfied with the money they are getting.  According to the Guam Daily Post, the Archdiocese is pushing for a global settlement, but many of the alleged victims opposed it.  According to Pacific News Center, Attorney David Lujan stated in his interview:

"Well right now we don't know so of course we'll play it according to the harm that each claimant or plaintiff suffered," answered Lujan. 

Although a cash payout can seem enticing, Lujan says not all his clients may agree to it.   

“It’s not going to be a one-time settlement, it’s going to be an individual settlement. So as each case is evaluated and let’s say it’s settled, some I expect will settle and some I expect will not settle because perhaps the offer that is being given is too low. It depends on the particular plaintiff,” said Lujan. 

So, it appears that mediation is taking more time because some of the alleged victims feel that they deserve more money than other alleged victims. And as each day passes without any settled agreement, the resources of the Archdiocese are being diminished.  In time, our Catholic schools, parishes and other ministries would be shut down.  If mediation was going to take a very long time, perhaps the Archdiocese should have taken it to court rather than settle out of court.  That is only my opinion. 

Furthermore, the number of sexual allegations continue to rise even after the August 15, 2019 deadline.  The latest one was just filed yesterday (see the story here).  As more and more sexual allegation lawsuits continue to rise against the Archdiocese, the compensation for these alleged victims are being greatly reduced, which would lead to more dissatisfaction among the alleged victims and a lengthy mediation process.  The only winners in this case would be the lawyers.