Friday, January 24, 2014

WHO OWNS REDEMPTORIS MATER?


While the Fr. Paul issue is the one most visible, there is a very large issue that most don't know about: Who owns the Redemptoris Mater Seminary, a property worth tens of millions of dollars? Anonymous asks:


The seminarians were heard discussing the status of the seminary. They said that they own it. Not clear if they said the now own it but it was clear they were boasting of their pride and joy, the seminary that was bought by the archdiocese, at least initially. They also commented how the efforts of the finance council who were fired by the archbishop in their attempt to block the transfer of title was all for not. Were they really fired for this reason? Did the archbishop really do this? How can he do this? Is that not the reason they are there, to protect church from these very thing from happening? Sounds to me like they want to do a victory lap. Do you know if that title was transferred to Fr. Pius and Kiko? How can the archbishop just give this valuable property away? Can someone check who the title is under? This is very scary. I am a local born and I feel like a foreigner on my own island.

We will be answering this question shortly, but here's a preview:

In late 2011, four of the five sitting members of the archdiocesan finance council, along with the archdiocesan legal counsel, objected to a proposal by Archbishop Apuron to convey the title to the land upon which the Seminary lies from the Archdiocese of Agana to Redemptoris Mater Seminary, which is a corporation separate from the Archdiocese, and which is under the influence and control of persons who are not part of this Archdiocese. The four members who objected were immediately fired, even though together, they had served the council cumulatively for over fifty years.

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By the way, note the difference between the altar in the above picture, and the altar upon which our Holy Father celebrates Mass, even in small private settings as the one below:

The above picture shows that in the Neocatechumenal "Mass" there is no Crucifix on the altar (maybe because they don't even call it an altar - since an altar is specific to the offering of sacrifice). There are also no candles. Contrast the above with the one below. (Of course, sadly, most Masses versus populum do not have a crucifix on the altar. Time to pay attention to the Holy Father. More on this later.) But of course, these are just "external concerns".

Oh, wait. I think I see it. You'll need to blow up the pic. Look hard. Still, compare to below.


16 comments:

  1. I may not agree with all the politics going on with the ArchBishop and the NCW, but I still feel that these men who come to be priest and join the Seminary in Yona are sincere and good men. I do not have anything against them. Just about everyone I talk to wishes they would willingly come to the other Non-Neo parishes and join in our Mass times and CCD classes and do regular non-neo classes and activities. I think the powers to be who are trying to separate us, and who are NCW leaders including the Archbishop, are planting seeds of hatred and saying that we are the ones who hate them. Non-NCW Catholics do not hate anyone wishing to be a priest. We all pray for priest and vocation. I pray for Good and Holy Priest. These seminarians from Yona as well as the mission families who come to help them, are really nice and sweet. I am saddened that those causing this war are making this worse. The devil is strong in them and I think we should all pray harder for the salvation of these individuals. God Bless Us All.

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    1. Much agreed. I have said many times on this blog that both the seminarians and the many members are, with a few exceptions, sincere individuals simply looking, like the rest of us, to deepen our faith journey and our communion with Christ. I am certain that most of the members and even the priests and seminarians are not aware that their leadership has chosen to ignore the pope in the matter of how the liturgy is celebrated (and maybe many other things) and do things their way. Sad too, are the many instances when the faithful are led astray by any church leader who teaches anything outside the bounds of defined doctrine or who celebrates the Mass illicitly.

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  2. Not to move away from the subject, was just listening to the Archbishop's Archdiocesan Annual Appeal message found on the archdiocese website. He states that every priest ordain will become a diocesan priest to serve on Guam, nothing was said about diocesan missionaries. So what is it..diocesan priests or diocesan missionaries? So confused!

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    1. Your question highlights the central issue of the Neocatechumenal Way: WHAT IS IT? The trouble, as admitted by the founders, is that it does not fall into any existing juridical categories. It is not an Order, it is not an Ecclesial Movement (like Focolare), it is not a personal prelature (like Opus Dei). Rome had to come up with something new and essentially defined it as an "itinerary" of "post-baptismal catechesis.".

      No one would argue for the need for that. And in fact, had more priests and pastors been doing their job in providing post-baptismal catechesis (for adults), the Neo probably would have had little appeal.

      However, the Vatican "labels" don't really apply in practice. There really is not attempt to integrate and serve the parish as its Statute mandates. This is because Kiko's vision is to create the church of the catacombs, the church of the first centuries. He views the parish model as broken and not to be fixed, but replaced. Thus he sets out to be his own magisterium under the guise of being in union with Rome.

      But in answer to the question about missionary, we must understand that the mission for the NCW is not just some "heathen" land, but everywhere, including our parishes. We are the heathen and we must be evangelized.

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  3. If the Archbishop is saying you will be ordained to serve Guam, then one would not consider them diocesan missionary priests is that what he is saying? If so, aside from Father Santiago, why were the other 3 sent on a mission.

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  4. My evangelization came from my ancestors who were brought into Catholicism by the MISSIONARY PALE LUIS DIEGO DE SAN VITORES! End of story.

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  5. Just not be conforming to the rules!

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  6. Tim, if you look closely at the picture there is a tiny cross in the middle. I had to look at it twice.

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    1. Yes, I found it and noted it towards the end of my post. I used to play "find the tabernacle" in the post-Vatican II deconstructionist churches. Apparently with the Neo, we get to play "find the crucifix".

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  7. Attached is a weblink showing the former Pope John Paul and then Cardinal Ratzinger (who later became a Pope) celebrating Mass in the Neocatechumenal Way. Notice that the altar is the same in the first picture.....just as the Neocatechumenal celebrate Mass. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI apparently has no problem with this kind of altar. Therefore, the altar of the Neocatechumenal Way has has been approved by the Pope.

    http://southernorderspage.blogspot.com/2012/01/photos-of-neocatechumenal-way-of.html

    Also, the way the Eastern Catholics celebrate their Mass is also very different from the way the Latin-rite Catholics celebrate, but these Eastern rites are approved also by the Pope. The focus should always be on the altar where the body and blood of Christ is because once consecrated by the priest, it is no longer bread and wine. It appears that even in the Neocatechumenal Way, the focus is on the altar, where the body and blood is.

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    1. Your comment earned a post of its own: http://junglewatch2.blogspot.com/2014/01/silly-equations.html

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  8. After reading that this young man named Aaron was not given the opportunity to go to a seminarian university, then my family and I have made the choice to donate the money for the Archdiocesan Annual Appeal to a charitable organization of our choice. We will have started looking into various organizations in countries who are in need of help.
    We feel that if our island church cannot accommodate the wishes of our own local boy, but can accommodate all others, then our money can be used for a good cause elsewhere.

    So Mr. Rohr, if you have any ideas we would appreciate it if you would post it . We are mainly interested primarily in orphanages.

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  9. I sent two posts- one on the arrears and parish assessment and the other on the organizations that could use the money. Please post- feeling left out :-(

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  10. Please take note of Diana's statement saying that the Archbishop did not spend a single penny for the seminary!

    Dear Anonymous,

    If that were the case, then we would be getting men who are not qualified to be priests. I don't think the priesthood should be operated like a secular university. God gave us free will, and He wants men who want to be 100% in the priesthood because they desire to serve Him, not because they are trying to avoid paying back their education.

    Yes, it's very sad that people are not giving to AAA to support the Catholic Church. It is the Catholic Church they are hurting. Nevertheless, God is always with His Church and He takes care of her. God performs miracles. The RMS is a miracle in itself. The Archbishop acquired the RMS seminary without spending a single penny on it.

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    1. Thanks. See: http://junglewatch2.blogspot.com/2014/05/without-spending-single-penny.html

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