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Thursday, January 5, 2023

Guam Clergy Christmas Concert

A friend brought up the Guam Clergy concert, which was published in the Archdiocese of Agana website.  Although we were unable to attend the concert, I understand that it was a huge success.  The Guam Clergy Christmas Concert was held on December 22nd and 23rd at the Hyatt Regency Guam Resort.  The purpose of the concert was to raise funds for the retirement of the clergy.  It is very sad that the Archdiocese has taken the retirement money of the clergy to be used for the bankruptcy case.  So, the priests today had no money to retire on.  At any rate, the concert was a success. All tickets for the function were sold out.  The tickets cost $100 per person, and raffle tickets were also sold that night. 

What was also brought to my attention was that some of the RMS clergy were there, singing along with their brother priests on stage.  It is fantastic that all priests, regardless of whether they are RMS priests or not, get along and helping each other in this important cause.

This idea that we do not need SUCH priests (in this case the RMS priests)  because Guam is a small island is discriminatory.  In fact, every priest whether they live in large country or small island should know something about missionary work. After all, is it not the duty of a priest to look for the lost sheep?  Did one think that the priest is supposed to remain in the sacristy all his life, expecting the lost sheep to come to him? In the story of the prodigal son, when the father saw his youngest son in the distance coming home to him, the father picked himself up and ran to meet his son.  He did not wait for his son to come to him.  Even he ran to meet his repentant son.  So, even this father did not stay at home, but went out to meet his lost son on the road. 

Many thanks to the following priests who took part in the success of the concert:

Rev. Fr. Romeo Convocar

Rev. Fr. Mike Crisostomo

Rev. Fr. Joel de los Reyes

Monsignor Ruben Espeno

Rev. Fr. Karl Vila

Monsignor Bibi Arroyo 

Rev. Fr. Fran Hezel

Rev. Fr. Vicenzo Acampora 

Rev. Fr. Gerry Hernandez 

Rev. Fr. Harold Prieto

Rev. Fr. Alberto Rodriguez

Rev. Fr. William Mamangun

Rev. Fr. Danny Ferrandiz 

Rev. Fr. Jun Trenchera 

Rev. Fr. Ron Pangan

Deacon Larry Claros

Rev. Fr. Junee Valencia 

Rev. Fr. Val Rodriguez

Rev. Fr. Jojo Anore 

Rev. Fr. Dan Trajano 

Rev. Fr. Jonathan  Alvarez 


3 comments:

  1. Tim Rohr was the one who admitted that RMS priests aren't needed cuz Guam was too small.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Anonymous at 4:25 pm,
      That is correct. Rohr wanted Guam RMS to close down and felt that a seminary in Guam was unnecessary because of Guam’s small population. At first, Archbishop Michael Byrnes recognized the good fruits of the seminary. According to news report:

      Still, the archbishop will approach the seminary he now controls with an open mind. “I have every intention that the seminary will continue. The action that I have taken is mainly to clarify the ownership of the property, and not so much over the seminary activity. So there’s a difference,” Byrnes explained.

      “The seminary has produced, from what I understand, good fruit, good priests, not only for Guam but other diocese in the Oceana region. And so it’s another place I need to hear from, to see for myself. But I have at this point every intention to continue its service, and I certainly want to continue supporting the institute. It can be a tremendous source of grace for the Archdiocese. I have plenty of experience in the seminary, and I know the good it can do. I’ll know more [about the seminary] and I have no intention of changing its activity at this point.”

      https://neocatechemunal.blogspot.com/2017/01/rms-stays-same.html

      At first, Archbishop Michael intended to keep RMS open as he recognized that the seminary would be good for Guam and the entire region of Oceania, which lacks priests. However, he was either influenced or pressured by the JungleWatch Nation to close the seminary (see the weblink below):

      https://neocatechemunal.blogspot.com/2018/04/possible-priest-shortage-in-guam.html

      Therefore, one cannot put all the blame on Tim Rohr. Archbishop Michael also shares the blame in closing the seminary. After all, the Archbishop is a man, and a man takes responsibility for his actions.

      Delete
    2. Another weblink related to my comment is:

      https://neocatechemunal.blogspot.com/2020/08/sons-of-guam-were-not-deserters.html

      Delete