In response to the post COMMUNITY VS DIOCESE, the following comment was made:
Its comments like these above that spread negative views of the NCW. To blame the NCW that their celebrations take precedence over regular Parish/Archdiocesan/Liturgical Celebrations is untrue.
The response demonstrates the problem. The person, a member of the neocatechumenal way, actually thinks that the novena in honor of the Immaculate Conception and Santa Marian Kamalen, the Patroness of Guam and the Marianas, the highest point of the church year locally speaking, is nothing more than a REGULAR celebration. Absolutely fascinating!! Of course, maybe this is what they are taught.
A friend told me the Archbishop was predictably absent from Saturday's evening novena and mass at the Cathedral again this week. I guess he doesn't care about Mary more than he cares about the NCW. Was he there for Sunday or was the pizza party with the seminarians and mission families a higher priority?
ReplyDeleteI still respect the office, but have lost all respect for the man in the office. From now on I will no longer refer to him as Archbishop. He is only Tony until he convinces me that he deserves my respect.
Tony - we the people are hurting. Please listen and help. I am boycotting the procession tomorrow and ask others to consider this. I will go to my parish mass, but will not be in Agana in the afternoon, in the hopes that a much smaller crowd may be the only way to catch his attention.
So, all you Neo types who also call him just Tony, please suggest to him that he needs to be a leader for all people, not just YOU people.
Biba Santa Maria Kamalen!
Janet B.
Janet B. is correct about the absence of the Archbishop at the Santa Marian Kamalen Novena and Mass on Saturday, Dec 07. At the end of Mass, as I walked out the door, I overheard a woman stating that the Archbishop was hosting his community's Mass and that there were two other communities scheduled to have their Masses in a few minutes. She also noted that Agaña has "a lot of communities."
ReplyDeleteTo his credit, I was told that he was present at the Novena and Mass on Sunday evening, so I guess he decided to cancel his weekly pizza party to avoid more criticism.
Poor Archbishop...he doesn't know which mass to go to. Does that mean he is a catholic and a Protestant as well? I thought we all have 1 mass and that the archbishop should always be at the MOTHER CHURCH unless there is a special village event such as a fiesta or sacramental mass which his presence is required. I guess the MOTHER CHURCH or any other NON NEO church is not all that important anymore. We should start calling him Tony since he no longer leads the catholic faithful...as a non neo let's all do what the neos do...you are Anthony, you are Fabio, you are Jason, you are Edivaldo because I really don't see a Jesus in them...I see only dollar signs.
ReplyDeleteThat comment is very arrogant. Who said the "NCW" is Protestant? And who said we address the priest by their first name? Your claim is invalid.
ReplyDeleteLet's see, if people who joined the way and are no longer in the way start sharing your so called secrets and informing us that they call the archbishop by first name and all the other NEO priest by first names ...are you calling them liars??? Remember, they were your NEO "brothers and sisters" before they left the movement. Here's and idea, why don't you build your own church and other recreational facilities and leave the Catholic Churches alone. Better yet, return the Redemptoris Mater back to the catholic people since we helped pay for it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this may not be the space to be posting this, just wanted to share how moved I was at the Procession on Monday. I sat a row behind the seminarians in the Basilica while they were awaiting their turn in the procession line. I was at joy to see Junee Valencia sitting with all the other seminarians. It was a sign of unity above the division spoken of in here. I personally admire Junee for not publicly denouncing the NCW. If he has, behind closed doors, it has not surfaced. I also admire another seminarian under the capuchin order, Gavin Diego, from what I understand, he too experienced the NCW, found it was not for him and discontinued. Gavin has yet to publicly speak negatively of the NCW. I believe these young men have experienced the NCW and believe that although it is not for them, the NCW can be of great help to many other people. I have come across many other members of the NCW who have been walking for many years and they have mentioned that the NCW is not for everyone. I respect our non-Redemptoris Mater formed clergy who have an open mind toward the NCW. I also believe that we must discontinue the habit of referring to priests as "Neo" and "Non-Neo". The Redemptoris Mater Seminary is a diocesan seminary so all priests formed there become Diocesan Priests. It is true and not a hidden reality that the Redemptoris Seminary does form priests for the Missions that go beyond Guam and because of this if they are to leave, they may at anytime be called upon by the Archbishop to return, they belong to Guam.
ReplyDeleteWe must give thanks to God, that today we are seeing more young men answering the call. Our Church now has more priests than it did a decade ago. The shortage of priests years ago presented a crisis for our local church. It did not help that at the same time our Capuchin Clergy were growing old and sickly, unable to minister to their respective parishes. It was around that time that we saw more and more priests being called out from the Philippines to assist our island, hence the many Filipino clergy you see today.
Tim has responded to me by saying, Ive been misled. So far, and in all honesty, I havnt. I entered the NCW with many criticisms and everyday I find out that many of the misconceptions have arisen from individuals who did not understand something that was said or something they saw and decided to leave without clarification. This is just my experience thus far.
I also see the NCW growing, and this may be the reason for opposition. We have to admit that we are a people who like to be left alone, we are a people who believe that we are fine the way weve been for many years. We have to ask ourselves is this really how it should be? Is this what we are living for? Our faith has become systematic. To be complacent in a sense.
I have seen more and more families leave the church not because of problems in the church but just the mere fact that they are "spiritually hungry" for more.
Another reason is that they feel as if the church has not come to meet them in their needs. Indeed, this is a reality, people no longer seek God, they want God to seek them out. Yes many will say, this is wrong, this is not a problem that the church needs to respond to, yet it is a reality.
The Second Vatican Council, in light of the criticisms, in my lay understanding, sort of came to tackle this problem. The NCW seems to be a response to Vatican II. It is not the only response and because of Vatican II many other movements, renewals, groups and realities also sprouted. It is sad that many have experienced a negative personal encounter, but we need to be open to something that is helping our local people return to church, is saving families, producing more vocations to the priesthood and religious life and is also increasing the faith of many people already in the church.
REALITY CHECK.....IT will ALWAYS be COMMUNITY FIRST ALL others later.
ReplyDelete