Beyond the obvious and documented violations of the Neocatechumenal Way, there is the very ugly issue of how both Fr. Paul Gofigan and Aaron Quitugua were treated by the Archbishop. Let's review:
Fr. Paul
- On July 16, 2013, Fr. Paul was called into the chancery and told to resign or suffer a "more arduous and painful closure" to his assignment. (See the letter here.)
- He was illegally removed as pastor.
- He was banished from the diocese: "I hereby release you from this Archdiocese to go and look for a benevolent bishop." (Never mind the part about "if it is your wish". That was just an insulting formality, the kind we've become used to.)
- While at the meeting with the archbishop, the locks on Fr. Paul's rectory home were changed, giving him, upon his return home, no access to food or clothes. SICK!
Regardless of his issues with Fr. Paul, the bishop is a father and Fr. Paul is a son. Here we have a father simply kicking a son out onto the street like an unwanted dog. But because of who a bishop is and who a priest is, and further, the canonical responsibilities of a bishop to his priests, the archbishop's actions, especially since Fr. Paul had in fact complied with the order he was accused of not obeying, are gravely wrong and scandalously horrid.
Aaron Quitugua
The Archbishop LIED to Aaron Quitugua. Aaron Quitugua was told that the "Archdiocese no longer has the financial resources to send seminarians to study abroad." When Aaron volunteered to pay for his own education and seminary training, leaving the Archbishop nothing to do but sponsor him, he was told:
"I regret to inform you that your request to have the Archdiocese sponsor you at Mt. Angel Seminary is denied."
If Aaron was not a good candidate for the priesthood in the estimation of the Archbishop, then the Archbishop was fully within his rights to turn him away. But Aaron was not turned down for his lack of qualities. He was turned down because the "Archdiocese no longer has the financial resources to send seminarians to study abroad."
Aaron Quitugua was lied to. Okay, so it was the Chancellor who responded. The only authority the Chancellor has is through the authority of the Archbishop. If the Chancellor is acting on his own and without the authority of the Archbishop, then this is an extremely grave matter and the Chancellor must be removed and disciplined IMMEDIATELY. Meanwhile, he is TAKING DOWN the Archbishop.
We have news for you on the Hill. Guam is no longer your feudal kingdom and we are no longer your vassal subjects. You wanted "active participation of the laity"? You're getting it.
You thought you could treat Fr. Paul like a dog and lie to Aaron and not be challenged. Maybe at one time you could. No more. We may not prevail before Rome. But we will never stop speaking of the evil perpetrated on this diocese and its people.
One last time. Archbishop, if none of this is your doing, THEN GET RID OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING IT AND CLEAR YOUR NAME.
Well said!
ReplyDeleteIf only the archbishop has the courage, heart, and backbone to do the right thing by restoring Fr. Paul as pastor of Santa Barbara. And you know what? If he did, I think Fr. Paul would be first in line to kiss his ring. But I'm dreaming...I know, I know.
ReplyDeleteWow, here you have a young man who is willing to pay his way to peruse his vocational hearing and was denied the sponsorship. Yet we hear in the general intercession at Mass "let us pray for vocations into our priesthood and religious life" ....HOW IRONIC! PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH!
ReplyDeleteI am now beginning to wonder what other false preaching, or rather rephrasing, pretentious preaching the Catholic Church is going to fork out next. No wonder many are now moving to the New Covenent Church.
A week ago I met a friend who invited me to go to services at New Covenent Church. It was a shocker to know that they have become members. Why, do a shocker ...she comes from a family with strong catholic beliefs and infact her uncle is a Pastor for one of the Catholic Churches.
When one preaches and there is no sincerity in what is said because of the actions seen, people question the validity of what was preached. For me, I do not know where the Church is heading to anymore.
As for the matter on Father Paul being locked out or kicked out is uncalled for. Then this is a NCW trait. I know, because I got kicked out of the house for dating a divorcee. Just the mere word of divorce is evil. The whole picture was not seen. Yes, a divorcee, but one not married in ANY church but a civil marriage. I was not given the opportunity to explain or defend myself, just like Father Paul.
With this said, I wish you Mr Rohr, Father Paul and Aaron all the best. Please continue to fight for what you believe in. My advice to you Aaron is pursue your college education in the mainland and become active in a parish near by. Who knows, maybe you would get your sponsorship from there. I am sure that if Guam does not want you then with the will of God you will find as the Chancery says "a benelovent diocese that will sponsor you." Good luck and my prayers go with you.
The leadership of this Archdiocese needs to have the courage to do the RIGHT thing!!! Do NOT DENY a young man who wants to be a priest to begin the journey for the vocation God is calling him to. Aaron has offered to pay for his tuition - sponsor him! What do you have to lose? What is the great risk? If not for financial reasons, then the obvious reason must be because Aaron is NOT NEO.
ReplyDeleteThere was a spread in the Umatuna a while back about a young woman from Barrigada, who is a member of The Way, who wanted to become a Carmelite nun. Did she stay here? NO! She was allowed to go to New Jersey because she is a neo. We have a Carmelite convent here. She could have entered here. But of course, she got the preferential treatment.
Honestly, I wish all the judging would stop, but when our people are treated inferiorly to the Neocatechumanates, it's hard not to be upset. The above commenter is correct - we pray for vocations and yet, our own are turned away. What hypocrisy!
Wouldn't it be wonderful if Aaron and these other young men were given the same opportunities as the Neo candidates? Our island would flourish!
Abraham Lincoln said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Hopefully, someday, our Archdiocese will not be so divided and the people of our island can truly feel as if they are ONE.
I, too, was kicked out for being pregnant out of wedlock. To find the full forgiveness and to repent I was told to join NCW to find my salvation.
ReplyDeleteI am now estranged from my own family. Then the saying is family does not need to be blood related. Family is where you find love that is unconditional. I have found this love with good friends who are not judgmental.
Maybe one day those of us who were banned or ousted from our homes will start our own community called BRANDED SOULS of the NCW.
I do not need to give the double cheek sign of peace. Instead I have turned the other cheek and have kept going with no looking back. I now attend Harvest Christian Baptist Church and listen to their radio station 88.1
If and when the Catholic Church here on island changes from being materialistic and being very plastic, then maybe I will return. Until then, I find the comfort and spiritual enlightenment where I am. God bless you all.
I remain a Branded Soul who found inner peace and happiness.
I really wanted to believe this story. It starts of like any other story about those who don't fit into the "purity" of being an NCW member and were told to leave (Yes, the NCW does not want you if you remain in your struggle. You can continue if and only if you shed your sin). However, the blatant advertisement in the middle only proves that there are now other faiths willing to prey on fellow Catholic Christians in this blog rather than pray for them.
DeleteIt shows an ignorance of the Church in which they connect the NCW with being the Church. (Admittedly, with the Archbishop a full fledged member, it can be confusing; and not just to the outsider!)
Besides, nobody gets kicked out of the Catholic Church. We don't have bouncers at the door. We don't perform weekly test for our Catholics and we certainly don't tell people that in order for them to find forgiveness they need to join a movement . Forgiveness is only found through the Lord himself and only through the sacrament of reconciliation. Our Church was made for sinners and those seeking salvation through the Sacraments afforded to us through Jesus Christ himself.
I have known many who were pregnant and out of wedlock, living "in sin," divorced, been in prison, and all those other things assumed would "kick you out" of other churches, but not here in the Catholic Church. I have also know many, including myself, who have fallen into sin time and time again. It's not unusual. Even priests fall into sin, they are as human as us. All of us did not just remain in our sin, however. We sought out Christ and repented through the help of the greatest hospital for the human soul, the Catholic Church.
Is it true that people are leaving the Church for other pastures? Oh yeah! It's our fault, and for many reasons including giving poor catechesis (if any at all)! However, distractions, incorrect instruction and personal issues aside, the full Truth is only found in the one, holy and apostolic Church created by Jesus Christ. That Truth remains in the Catholic Church.
Joe, this is not a matter of being kicked out of the Church, it is being kicked out of your very own home. I never mentioned being kicked out off the Catholic Church. I mentioned being kicked out of the family home. This is my last post.
DeleteHow sad. I hope that in spite of all that has happened, you will return to the one true church! Do not leave because of a few human beings who persecute you, this has happened before in the history of our church, and will continue to happen until our Lord comes, because men can be corrupted. Welcome it as a opportunity to participate in the sufferings of our Lord.
ReplyDeleteArchbishop or your representatives, I hope you are listening! This has happened under your watch! As the head of this diocese you are responsible for all the souls entrusted to you, not just a select few...
As Tim has pointed out, certain priests feel that they can make their own rules, or disobey the rules the Church has set for us (which by the way are GOD's rules). So the blatant disobedience of liturgical norms by the NCW is problematic. The fact that our own Archbishop violates these rules/norms in itself creates a scandal in leadership. The fact that Rome hasn't corrected them yet does not lessen the scandal. The same can be said about the sex abuse scandal. For many years the issue was not properly addressed. That did not to condone the deplorable action. Eventually, through public prodding, the Church had to address this dreadful issue. I see the same thing here with liturgical abuses, financial abuse, and paternal abuse. Eventually, with public prodding, the Way will be brought to task, Archbishop included.
ReplyDeleteBut the bigger issue is that this a sign that other problems exist in the NCW. Their teachings appear more protestant than Catholic, and seem in some cases to be outright heretical. See my comment a few days ago on these. Plus there is no doubt that wherever they start, NCW seems to also bring division. That in itself is not necessarily bad, if jealousy from the outside causes the division, then people on the outside need to examine why they are jealous.
HOWEVER, in the case of the NCW, it appears to this humble observer that the biggest reason for division is the disparate treatment given to the NCW by the Archdiocese over any other group/movement/charism, and over the regular Joe in the pews. The division is caused by the fact that an average Joe feels that if you are not in the NCW you don't matter. We feel this way because:
1.) the Archbishop is overfocused on the Way;
2.) priests in the Way (most but not all) are overfocused on the Way, and
3.) the regular community member in the Way (most but not all) has a blatant, in your face superiority complex which the hierarchy in the Way does nothing to quell or control.
Plus, there is no denying that the Archbishop and his leadership in the Chancery - ALL NEO MEMBERS - push the Neo agenda over all other concerns. Look at the attention the RMS seminarians get from Tony with their weekly pizza feasts, at our expense. Look at all the trips Tony takes for Neo activities, at our expense. Look at the huge formation costs of 45 Neo seminarians from foreign lands; taught on Guam so they can go to the world, at our expense. The list goes on quite endlessly.
Look at poor Aaron who wants to become a priest for Guam. He saw the deplorable way Junee was treated and hoped to go to the States for his formation, like all the other priests ordained in Guam for diocesan duties. He even offered to pay for the seminary in CA, which must be quite a lot of money. But because he is not Neo (let us know if there is any other excuse) he is not wanted by the Archbishop. As others have pointed out, why are we asked to pray for vocations? Maybe each parish should change the prayer to pray for an increase in Neo-only vocations!
more to follow .....
continuation ...
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, there were an awful lot of men who were at Ypao Beach who stood up for the vocation call by Fr "Orange Juice". Will they also be abandoned by Tony and Adrian if they do not want to join the Neo? There were also the 30 or so deacons that were forced to join the NCW or they would not be ordained as deacons. Is this a new Rome requirement, or just a Tony requirement? Maybe these extraordinary strong arm tactics are why the Neo can boast on its vocations, how many of those men wanted to be priests for their people but were forced to join the Neo or to get out?
Poor Fr Paul was quite outspoken when he decided to allow the Neo in his parish, but under the rules that he set, which was strict adherence to liturgical norms. Not unreasonable, since he was the pastor. What was the "Neo solution"? Destroy the man and his vocation, and replace him with a Neo priest, or a priest who desperately wants to belong on Guam and will do whatever Tony wants. I like Fr Dan, but does he have the brass to do what he feels as pastor is right, or just what Tony wants. The answer: who was it that had the doors re-keyed before Fr Paul came back? Who was it who took away his ability to celebrate Mass? Certainly these orders would have come from Tony or Adrian or David C, but Fr Dan was the willing lackey. Sadly, he was probably told he had no choice.
If I treated my son or daughter like Tony treated Fr Paul, CPS would have me thrown in jail and take my children away from me and place them in better hands. Rome, maybe that is what is needed here, a father who cares for the prodigal son AND the older son, both loved equally and unconditionally.
Money seems to be the dark issue yet to be fully revealed. But, hopefully, that day is coming, but it will take Rome since no one here gets to see a financial report from the Chancery. Yes, Tony spends our money for pizza, trips to NCW events, trips for Neo priests masses in foreign lands, etc. But how about the funds extracted from the wallets of Neo scrutineers, Neo collections, etc. Has this been properly reported? How about Church money spent for personal items, such as a private residence? All of these have been brought up in these blogs, and no one has denied them. Are we to assume they are true? If not, some of these would be very easy to clarify and correct. Tony - don't stay silent any longer...step into the light and correct any errors listed. But if you cannot then please step down and make way for a different way.
The great thing about this blog is that the truth is finally being revealed...darkness avoids the light wherever possible.
ROME- the people of Guam desperately need your help. Please do not assume that because he is your Vicar here on Guam that the Archbishop is right and we are all wrong. Please come and invetigate. Talk to the Neo supporters and get their side, and demand proof. Talk to those who think a change is in dire need, and demand proof. Finish your investigation and let us all know what you have found. That will be a start to the heal