Monday, September 23, 2013

HE'S GOT NOTHING TO LOSE!

Before posting the last two letters (here and here) between the Archbishop and Fr. Paul, I sought assurances from Fr. Paul's team (I have no direct access to him) that the making public of these supposedly private letters would not hurt Fr. Paul. 

The response was surprising, but logical. The response was "How could it hurt him? He's already lost everything. He's been removed as pastor and told to find another bishop. He's got nothing to lose."

One advisor went on to explain that being kicked out of a diocese by your own bishop is pretty much a death knell for a priest. No bishop is going to pick him up. So unless Fr. Paul can win his case, his life as a diocesan priest is probably over. 


Again, some think that the actions against Fr. Paul should remain a private matter. True. Had canonical procedure been followed from the outset, it would have remained a private matter. But they were not. The case was made public both by the Archbishop in appointing a parochial administrator before issuing a decree of removal, and by Fr. Paul in issuing a public letter stating his challenge to the Archbishop. 

The laity was wildly and suddenly jerked into the eye of the storm. Rumors immediately started flying as to the reason for the Archbishop's actions that were not true and even more harmful to Fr. Paul. Thus, his team felt that it would be best to get the facts before the public to prevent even more damaging scandal. 

Both Fr. Paul and the Archbishop seemed to have concurred with this since Fr. Paul went on K57 the morning after the news of his removal was made public in the U Matuna, and the Archbishop posted a response (via the chancellor) on the Archdiocesan website.

We don't have access to the "Acts" noted in the exchange. But we do have access to the "Facts". And we'll review those in an upcoming post. 





4 comments:

  1. My thoughts:

    As the shepherd, you would think that the archbishop would be concerned about preserving the vocation of one of his own priests, not destroying it. Not once since the July 16th fiasco of a meeting has the archbishop reached out to one of his own, a priest that he has ordained, to paternally talk to him. This behavior is unbecoming of a bishop or a priest or any man claiming to be a “father

    Fr. Paul has always been willing and ready to reconcile, and even if he wasn’t, why hasn’t the archbishop call him anyway to meet? Is the archbishop more concerned about his image than the soul of one of his own priests? It seems so.

    Why hasn’t the shepherd reached out to one of his sheep? Jesus would

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  2. I agree with the above comment about the actions of the AB. If I understand correctly, the first step in the canonical process to remove a pastor is to exhaust all informal remedial methods before issuing the letter such as the one transmitted to Fr. Paul on July 16. Furthermore, care must be taken to avoid harming the pastor's good name. Based on the allegations contained in the letter accusing Fr. Paul of endangering the "safety" of the children/youth I think there was a conscious and deliberate effort to tarnish Fr. Paul's good name!

    One would think that the AB would want to preserve the vocation of an island son. However there's much speculation about the true motives behind the AB's actions. It appears he's willing to "sacrifice" the vocation of someone like Fr. Paul in order to advance the vocations of a certain group of priests.

    The AB must think he is invincible to bypass canonical procedure and allow tampering with evidence to further his personal agenda and preserve his self-esteem.

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  3. Our present Pope recommends love and forgiveness and letting
    God be the judge. I wish he would step in and help Guam solve this problem. I weep for all the hate and hardness of heart this action is causing. Jesus, please open the eyes of those who spread this hate and lack of forgiveness. May those who suffer find solace in your Sacred Heart.

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  4. I am ANGRY now about this situation. Yes, why is the man on the hill not defending one of our local priests...it seems that the priests that come here to come and ordained here get his attention more than our local priests. There are many who want to join the seminary (local), but are discouraged because of this. WHY IS THIS CASE STILL LINGERING....COME ON AB ...DO SOMETHING AND GET FR. PAUL BACK TO HIS PARISH (ON ISLAND). Father Paul is one of the few priests who I can say takes his calling as a priest to HEART. There is no pretences...Father Paul actually cares and loves his people whom he serves. THE MAN ON THE HILL should just meet with Father Paul and get him back to the people , OUR ISLAND, and bring us together again.

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