Clarifications From NCW Catechists

By now, all the NCW communities in Guam should have already met with their catechists.  A meeting was held to clarify many things that are going on in our Catholic Church today. The truth regarding the RM Seminary and many other things has been disclosed to us.  

We already know that the RM Seminary is accredited by the Lateran University and that this accreditation has been renewed.  We already know that not every professor can simply teach at the seminary.  Before teaching there, they must first be approved by the Lateran University in Rome.  So, RMS in Guam gets the top teaching professors approved by the Lateran University in Rome.  We already know that two other RM Seminaries in other countries have followed Guam's lead in getting themselves affiliated with the Lateran University and accredited by them.  We also know that all the documents stated that the INTENT of purchasing the property was to house a Redemptoris Mater Seminary.  There are NO documents saying that the intent was to house a Redemptoris Mater Seminary AND use the land for other purposes.  The INTENT in all the documents was clearly spelled out and located in the first few paragraphs of the documents.  We also know that the benefactor who gave the 2 million dollars did so with the INTENT to establish a seminary.  No donor is going to give 2 million dollars without knowing what the 2 million dollars is going to be used for.  Also, the Board of Directors have all the documents showing that the RMS property belongs to the Archdiocese of Agana. 

Furthermore, the catechists requests that you continue to do your prayers. Please do what your catechists asks and and recommends.    

Attorneys Ask To Dismiss Libel Case

In the news today, the attorneys for the Archdiocese of Agana and Archbishop Apuron have asked the Superior Court of Guam to dismiss the defamation and libel lawsuit.  According to the Pacific Daily News:

Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron and Archbishop Savio Tai Fai Hon this week asked the Superior Court of Guam to dismiss a $2 million libel and slander lawsuit against them, arguing Apruon’s statements about those accusing him of sexual assault are opinions that are not defamatory and have no legal grounds for a lawsuit.

In a 24-page motion to dismiss, apostolic administrator Hon, through his attorney Jeffrey Cook argued that Apuron’s denial of the sexual assault claims is not defamatory, Apuron’s statements are opinions, without legal grounds for a lawsuit, and Apuron’s statements are not about the plaintiffs, the motion states.

Cook also stated the archdiocese has publicly recanted and retracted the statements by Apuron, and will handle the serious allegations of sex abuse.

“As a legal matter, however, the statements complained of do not give rise to any valid cause of action,” Cook stated. “The court should dismiss the complaint.”

Apuron, through his attorney Jacqueline Terlaje, joined Hon’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, uniting with Hon in the matter.

The four people who have accused the 70-year-old archbishop of sexual assault filed the $2 million libel and slander lawsuit against Apuron and Hon in July. Hon was appointed by the Vatican to temporarily run the Guam church, pending an investigation into the allegations made against Apuron.The first of three ex-altar boys to publicly accuse Apuron of child sexual abuse was Roy T. Quintanilla, who accused Apuron of molesting him on May 17. Doris Concepcion was the second person to publicly accuse Apuron of abusing her son, Joseph A. Quinata, when he was an altar boy. Quinata died 11 years ago.

In June, Walter G. Denton came forward and said Apuron raped him, followed by Roland P.L. Sondia who said Apuron molested him.

In July, Quintanilla, Concepcion, Denton and Sondia filed a lawsuit, accusing Apuron and the church of making defamatory statements against them, despite knowing, "there had already been a history of sexual abuse committed by priests in the Agana Archdiocese." Attorney Cook, in his motion to dismiss, noted all the public accusations against Apuron came after an advertisement calling for sexual assault victims was printed in the newspaper.

Apuron issued statements to the media after news of Quintanilla’s claims was published and after Concepcion’s accusations were published, denying the allegations.

Cook argued that only a small portion of Apuron’s May 17  statement is directed at Quinatanilla. “Apuron’s statement as to Quinatanilla was brief, confined itself to the allegations and contained no outrageous language or accusations about Quintanilla but delivered a straight-forward denial,” Cook stated in his motion.

As for Apuron’s statement issued after Concepcion’s allegations were published, Cook argued that portions of his May 31 statement are opinion and non-actionable, or they do not have enough legal grounds for a lawsuit. Concepcion was not named in the statement and the only statements from Apuron about Concepcion were that he strongly denied the accusation and the accusation was false, documents stated.

Cook said Apuron made no statements that affect Denton and Sondia. “Apuron’s administrative powers had been removed before these men came forward and Apuron never made any statements about either of them.”

Cook also argued that the Concerned Catholics of Guam should not be a party in the lawsuit.

Cook also argued the lawsuit fails to cite a valid slander claim regarding Apuron’s May 17 statement and that Quintanilla’s, Concepcion’s, Denton’s and Sondia’s claimed emotional and reputation losses don’t qualify as special damages. 

Defense Lawyers Ask Judge For Dismissal Of Lawsuit

According to KUAM news:

Defense in the $2 million libel and slander suit against Archbishop Anthony Apuron and the Archdiocese of Agana are asking the court to dismiss the complaint. In court filings made late Monday, defense calls the defamation suit "unusual", as it was sparked by paid ads by the Concerned Catholics of Guam. 

Defense states the archdiocese has publicly recanted and retracted Apuron's statements at issue and notes plaintiffs fail to plead special damages. 

The plaintiffs listed are Roy Quintanilla, Walter Denton, Roland Sondia, and Doris Concepcion on behalf of her son Joseph "Sonny" Quinata. Each of the plaintiffs alleges Apuron molested them decades ago. The suit follows press release and video statements from the archdiocese and Apuron, which defended Apuron's innocence and called his accusers liars who were out to destroy the church.The church is represented by local attorney Jeff Cook and Apuron represented by Attorney Jacque Terlaje.

Playing The Devil's Advocate

First of all, those who made comments under the thread "Dr. Eusebio Explains More About RMS" regarding the sexual allegations will not be published because I have closed the thread to all sexual allegations, so you would need to rewrite you comments under this OP.  Apparently, an anonymous commenter made a comment about Mr. De Plata's testimony, and the thread was diverted away from the OP and into a new topic.

Secondly, my comments were misconstrued.  I did not say that the alleged victim was a willing participant.  I said that Ramon's testimony appeared to make the alleged victim a willing participant.  Why?  Because of the way his testimony went.  According to Mr. De Plata, he got up to use the restroom.  On the way to the restroom, he saw Father Antonio, an altar server about his age, and Archbishop Apuron (who was a seminarian at that time) engaged in oral sex.  He then turned away and continued on his way to the restroom. 

Many people would find this behavior odd.  If, in fact, the young boy was in great distress, would the witness actually turn away and continue on his way to the restroom?  The older brother who also saw everything obviously did the same thing.  Why did these two ignore the 10 year old boy who was being abused?   

This behavior is odd especially after hearing the testimony of Leo Tudela.  Mr. Tudela stated that he was crying and shaking all over while he was being abused by a seminarian and by Father Louis. But in Mr. De Plata's testimony, he saw the 10 year old engaged in a sexual act.  He said nothing about the boy crying, shaking, or anything of that nature. He saw the 10 year old performing oral sex. And then he turned away and continued on his way to the restroom.      

The Christian Goal

The Neocatechumenal Way is an itinerary to Christian Formation.  Its goal is to form Christians by bringing us closer to Jesus Christ.  I have been walking in the Neocatechumenal Way for ten years.  It has been a struggle for us, but these are things I have seen in the Way.  

1.  I have seen a brother yell at our catechists and storm out slamming the door behind him.  We are not perfect, and there are times we disagree with our catechists.  In fact, some of us have issues with authority.  

2.  I have seen a catechist clench his fist and yell at a brother.  The catechist team is not perfect as well.  

3.   I have seen brothers in the community arguing over petty little things.  None of us are perfect. 

4.  I have heard brothers pray for themselves and the people whom they love.      

All these show that we are all human.  But this is not what impressed me. These are the things that impressed me.  These are the miraculous things that show the manifestations of the Holy Spirit.   

1.  A week later, the brother who stormed out came back, apologizing to the catechists for his behavior. 

2.  After calming down and taking some time off, the catechist who yelled at the brother called the following day to apologize and asked for his forgiveness. 

3.  The two brothers who were constantly disagreeing and arguing with each other eventually learn to forgive one another and accepted each other's weaknesses.  They even learned to cooperate and become partners in setting up for the celebration.  

4.  In addition to praying for themselves and loved ones, they have learned to pray for those who hurt them.  In other words, a brother prays for the father who abandoned him and the wife prays for the other woman who slept with her husband.  
  
Love is always linked to forgiveness.  You cannot love if you cannot forgive, and if you do not forgive, then there is no love in you.   

The Church is like a hospital.  It is there for sinners.  Christ is the physician who comes to heal our sins.  Christ wants to make us into a new creature.....to rid ourselves of the old man of sin and live as a new creation in Christ.  He knows that as weak creatures, we can fall into sin.  However, Christ instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation so that we can be reconciled back to God and His Church after falling into sin.  Christ comes to do much more than forgive our sins.  He came to heal us of those sins so that we can live virtuous lives like the holy saints.  Holy saints like Mother Teresa of Calcutta show that it is possible with God. Every saint was once a sinner; therefore, it is possible for a sinner to become a holy saint.  The goal of every Christian is eternal life with God.

     

          

Dr. Eusebio Explains More About RMS

Dr. Eusebio was interviewed in the Travis Coffman talk show.  He explained that the RM Seminary in Yona is accredited by the Lateran University in Rome. The web link is below:  

Dr. Eusebio with Travis Coffman

NCW Devotion To Our Blessed Mother Mary

The NCW has many Marian songs devoted to her. We have always acknowledged that the NCW was inspired by the Mother of God. The seminary is also called "Redemptoris Mater", which means "Mother of the Redeemer." Christ is our Redeemer, and Mary always points to her son. At the wedding of Cana, she pointed to her son Jesus and instructed the guests to "listen to Him."  Blessed Mary always points to her son Jesus, and tells us to "listen to Him" and to "follow Him."  In fact, the icon of the NCW depicts Mary and the child Jesus.  In the NCW icon, Mary leans toward her son Jesus.  She also tells us to lean toward Christ, her son.  

This is one of the Marian songs in the NCW.  This song was sung by Kiko Arguello with the NCW orchestra.  Yes, the NCW has an orchestra.  

Back To The Beginning In 2013

Tim Rohr has exposed Father Paul's inconsistency.  If this was Archbishop Apuron, he would have called it a "lie." Three years ago, Father Paul not only wanted his name cleared, but he also wanted his position restored at the Santa Barbara Church.  Today, he is claiming that he only wanted his name cleared.  Tim Rohr has already exposed Father Paul's contradiction.  According to Rohr:

As I previously laid out in my post ORCHESTRATED - PART 6 (Aug 3, 2016), Fr. Paul's statement to KUAM at Hon's July 27 press conference was in direct contradiction to the facts.  

Gofigan: Basically he stated what I wanted, what I stated three years ago when I wrote a letter through my canon lawyer to retract the accusations and also to restore me and what that word restore means is really to clear my name and this is basically what he did today. He cleared my name and formally stated that after further review (of the evidence) he found no evidence to say that I was formally disobedient. 

As most of you know, I spent three long lonely years fighting for what Fr. Paul REALLY wrote to his canon lawyer, a canon lawyer who others paid for. . I'm not going to say Fr. Paul lied, but he changed the facts to fit what made him feel good and left the rest of us standing out in the sun and the rain.

I'm sorry to have to bring this up again. I intended to move on, particularly after Fr. Paul trashed me on his Facebook page. However, perhaps you can see why I and others have no interest in "supporting Fr. Paul." 

Now, let us go back to 2011.  Father Paul was told to terminate the employment of  Joseph Lastimoza because he was a convicted sex offender.  Two years later, Father Paul was accused of disobedience and removed from the Dededo parish. Was Father Paul disobedient?  An investigation was done and it was found that Mr. Lastimoza was still working in the Dededo parish and even had keys to the parish.  It was also found that he was allowed to purchase some supplies for the church. Nevertheless, Father Paul said that he was a voluntary worker.  

Mr. Joseph Lastimoza was supposed to be terminated from his employment at the Dededo parish in 2011; however, the 2013 Catholic Directory in Guam showed that Mr. Lastimoza had an official position at the parish.  

Rev. Fr. Paul M. Gofigan, Pastor
Rev. Fr. Dan Bien, Parochial Vicar
Rev. Fr. Joel delos Reyes, Parochial Vicar
Mrs. Jackie T.L. Ignacio, Executive Secretary
Mrs. Nenette Antonio, Director of Liturgy & Worship
Mr. Patrick Riggs, Director of Youth Ministry

Mr. Joseph Lastimoza, Director of Facilities Management  

See the screenshot below: 

The website was updated on April 2, 2013, just three months before Father Paul was removed from the Dededo parish.  If Mr. Lastimoza was terminated from employment in 2011, why did his name appear on the 2013 Staff Listing of the Dededo parish as the Director of Facilities Management?  If I was terminated from my job, I would no longer have my title or position. Was Mr. Lastimoza an official staff member of the Dededo parish working as the Director of Facilities Management or was he a voluntary worker as Father Paul claimed?  Surely, he cannot be both.  If he was a voluntary worker, someone should have informed Father Paul that allowing a voluntary worker to act in an "official" capacity especially in the finance area (such as purchasing supplies for the church) would not look very good in an audit report.        

The reason for Father Paul's removal at the Dededo parish was disobedience.  It never had anything to do with the Neocatechumenal Way.  However, some people believed the false accusation that the NCW was the reason for his removal.  The person who first made this suggestion was Patti Arroyo in her interview with Father Paul in 2013.  However, the Archbishop's letter to Father Paul never mentioned the NCW.  Rather, the letter cited "disobedience" as the reason for his removal.            

Response From Dr. Eusebio

The reason and intention of purchasing the Accion Hotel was to house the Remdemptoris Mater Seminary.  That intent can be found in the Bank of Guam loan application as Dr. Eusebio stated.  The following is Dr. Eusebio's entire response, which was submitted to KUAM:  

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

RESPONSE FROM BOARD MEMBER OF REDEMPTORIS MATTER SEMINARY

     Most of you know me as Dr. Eusebio, a surgeon who has practiced on Guam for many years. Some perhaps from my childhood going to Sinajana Elementary school, St. Jude Thaddeus School or now known as Bishop Baumgartner Memorial School and graduating from Father Duenas Memorial School, Class of 1972. What perhaps most of you don’t know is that Archbishop Apuron has appointed me to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary since 2002. All the recent speculations in regards to the ownership of the seminary, quality of education, amount of monies spent, etc. has brought sadness and disappointment. As you are well aware there are always two sides to a story and my desire is perhaps to clarify some misconceptions or misunderstandings revealing the truth as I know it.

The Redemptoris Mater Seminary is an Archdiocesan missionary seminary ordaining and educating diocesan priests. There are many orders of priests Capuchin, Carmelite, Benedictine, Jesuit, etc. and Diocesan. (There are no Neocatechumenal Way priests.) These priests belong to the diocese of Guam. They are missionary however and may be sent on missions at the discretion of the Archbishop. Since 1999, our seminary has produced 17 Diocesan priests. From the very beginning, it was the desire of this Archdiocese to find  a place to permanently house the seminary. The availability of the Hotel Accion property made this a reality. It is important to understand the INTENT of the Archdiocese to purchase the property FOR the Redemptoris Mater Seminary. The initial handwritten application for the loan to the Bank of Guam listed the purpose of the loan was to purchase the property for the Redemptoris Mater Seminary. The unanimous approval of the Archdiocesan Finance Council to purchase the property known as the Hotel Accion was in order to permanently house the Redemptoris Mater Seminary. The approval of the Apostolic Delegate for the Pacific, Archbishop Coveney,  to purchase the specified building was to house the Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary. There has never been a question who the Archdiocese acquired the property for and therefore  Archbishop Apuron placing a deed restriction on the property never changed the INTENT of the Archdiocese to permanently house the Redemptoris Mater Seminary on that property.

The Archdiocese of Agana is a Corporation Sole, the Redemptoris Mater House of Formation is a Corporation sole and both list Archbishop Apuron as the only member. You can have as many advisors, committees, directors as you want but only one person makes the decision to approve or deny anything, the Archbishop. This contrasts with a corporation aggregate which has many members who have fiduciary responsibilities, to stockholders for example, and vote to decide whether to approve or deny a motion. This is typical of many business corporations but is NOT the situation with the Archdiocese. Therefore, if for example, the Board of Directors of the Seminary were to decide to sell the property, they could not without the approval of the sole member of the Corporation. A deed of restriction for the use of the property by the Redemptoris Mater Seminary does not change ownership of the property nor the ability of the owner to sell the property. This legal opinion was confirmed by the Lewis Roca Rothgerber law firm from Denver, Colorado whose expertise is on civil and canon law. Additionally, a title search by Pacific American Title company on August of 2014 listed the Archdiocese of Agana as the owner of the Yona property, housing the Redemptoris Mater Seminary.

In regards to the deed of restriction, Archbishop Hon claims that the Holy See directed Archbishop Apuron to lift or rescind this deed but failed to clarify that the office making this “request” was his very own Congregation of Evangelization and he as the Apostolic delegate was the one making the request. The pope, as stated by  Archbishop Apuron, never made the request. This request, however, was sent to the Congregation of Legislative Text (the highest Vatican Body for the Interpretation of legislative act) for an opinion and stated, “ the Archbishop’s act of assignment, therefore, can neither be considered a sale nor alienation, but only a [required] transfer of ownership between two “Corporation Soles” which have only one member who alone enjoys all the powers of extraordinary administration.” Additionally, Bishop Arrieta, the Secretary of the Congregation, stated, “ what seems to emerge from the whole affair is that the Archbishop (Apuron) has limited himself to only fulfilling a required act and truth”. The Vatican, the Holy See, the Pope has many arms or congregations to oversee the Catholic Church and both of these Congregations are “branches” of the Pope. Why Archbishop Hon fails to mention these facts remains to be understood.

The Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Guam and Blessed Diego Institute is accredited by the Lateran University or what many people refer to as the Pope’s University. It is one of the most prestigious universities in Rome. Representatives from the University examined the facility, curriculum and staff, deeming it worthy of affiliation. The seminarians graduate with a degree from the Lateran University. Furthermore, 4 ordained priests have enrolled to graduate education in Rome without any difficulty and one will be completing his doctorate this year. Why would any graduate school accept a student from a seminary that is a “Sham”?

In regards to seminary finances, it was costing the Archdiocese over $40,000.00 per year per seminarian before the Redemptoris Mater Seminary existed and now it is only costing approximately $9000.00 per year per seminarian. This is a significant cost saving!! Most of the seminary income come from private donations and the “subsidy” of the archdiocese is only about 12% of the total income. Last year the subsidized amount was $73,800 for the year and the year before was $83,700.00. Where the reported $200,000.00  amount came from is unclear but these are the reported figures from our Board meeting.

The facts I presented are true to my knowledge and hopefully clarifies the position of the Seminary. Many of the facts have previously been stated but drowned by extracurricular voices. A lot of mud has been thrown with the hope that some of it sticks. I pray that some of these facts I presented washes some of it away so that you may have clarity.  The seminary is a jewel that we do not want to loose. It is critical in our role to evangelize which was given to us when we were baptized as Catholics.

Announcement From Father Pius

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

Father Pius has already announced to some of the community members the following information.  

As of yesterday, Archbishop Hon accompanied by Father Jeff has relieved Father Pius as Rector of the Seminary.  The reason Archbishop Hon cited was a lack of diocesan identity (whatever this is!) in the formation program of the seminary.  Father Pius is a religious priest, Discalced Carmelite.  Monsignor David is the new Rector.  

More information will be passed on later.