From: Dennis Santo Tomas <coronetst@live.com>
Date: Thu, Mar 6, 2014 at 4:30 PM
Subject: Local Teen Denied Sponsorship to Off-Island Seminary, Archdiocese's Reasons Unclear
To: "news@k57.com" <news@k57.com>
Dear K57 News,
If you are going to publish news then present the facts as they are stated in online publications and not just one person's viewpoint or opinion. In your PNC story entitled "Local Teen Denied Sponsorship to Off-Island Seminary", you stated the following:
What is here, according to the theological institute’s website sanvitoresinstitute.com, is an affiliation to the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. The affiliation, the website states, “would be a guarantee of the continuation and growth of the Catholic faith in the Pacific.”
But Rohr has some deep concerns about this new seminary and its involvement in the widely criticized neo catechumenal way.
"The archbishop says, well too bad, you’ll have to be a neocatechumenal, you’ll have to go to our seminary. Well that seminary is not accredited," he points out. "They have this sort of fake institution that’s supposed to give you a certificate or something like that when you get done with it, but it’s not the equivalent of a college degree."
The local RMS Seminary on Guam is directly affiliated with the Pontifical Lateran University also known as the Pope's University (URL is http://www.pul.it/?lang=en). Has Rohr presented evidence obtained from this university that proves that it is not accredited as he so states? [I didn't question the credentials of the Lateran. I questioned the credentials of the Blessed Diego Institute. What are its standards? Where is the documentation of affiliation with the Lateran? Where is the report of the recent visit by the Lateran? But aside from that, my point was that the certificate from the institute is NOT the equivalent of a college degree, which is what every other real U.S. seminary requires. See the reply to Aaron from Professor Bosco Corrales.] Shouldn't your news require evidence that proves the Pope's University is not accredited before you allow such a harsh statement to be published? [No. As it does when it interviews opposing politicians, it is not the job of the news organization to get documentation. It is the job of the news organization to present both sides. The reporter called Fr. Adrian to give an opposing view. Fr. Adrian declined. He said he doesn't respond to "rumors", even though the "rumors" were his own words to Aaron Quitugua as shown in this email.] Is Rohr claiming that all the cardinals, archbishops, bishops, monsignors and priests that have been trained at this university is not recognized and is not accredited? Then he should provide the evidence to back up his claims rather than just make allegations. [I said nothing about the graduates of the Lateran. The BD Institute is only "affiliated" with the Lateran. It is not the Lateran. Graduates from the Lateran get real degrees. Graduates from BD Institute only get a certificate, certifying what and according to what criteria, we don't know.]
Secondly, Rohr also states the following:
The local seminary, the Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores, at the Redemptoris Mater, however, is fairly new. It’s not yet accredited and, as Quitugua points out in the concerns he voiced in his email, it will not transfer the college credits he’s already earned from the University of Guam.
I suggest your reporter go to http://umatuna.org/2014-archdiocesan-appeal and read paragraph 5 which is titled " What is the difference between the two seminaries?" This clearly states that there are two Seminaries on Guam. Once which is the RMS Seminary in Yona associated with the Neo Catechumenal Way and the other which is the John Paul II Archdiocesan Seminary in Malojloj which is not. This clearly proves that the local teen has always had the choice to choose between the Yona or the Malojloj Seminaries on Guam and never had to join the Neo Catechumenal Way to enroll , as Rohr so states.
Si Yu'us Ma'ase,
Dennis
[Really? There are two seminaries? Care to show us the faculty and staff at the second one? The Umatuna, (12/15/13) states that the Archbishop "announced this week that he has decided to erect a diocesan seminary for Guam." That's pretty fast. In less than three months the chancery has already erected a new diocesan seminary complete with faculty and staff to form diocesan priests for Guam? NOT! The other "seminary" is nothing other than a place for a lone seminarian to sleep, and when he does go to school he goes to the neo-run institute. Some "choice" for Aaron Quitugua! But of course the real issue, the issue you try to distract from is that Fr. Adrian, speaking for the Archbishop, LIED to Aaron. If the real reason was that Aaron's educational needs could be fully met locally then that is all Fr. Adrian had to tell him. But he did not. He told Aaron that the Archdiocese didn't have the money to send him. But he didn't expect Aaron to come up with his own money. And he didn't expect Aaron to keep a copy of the BIG LIE. Thanks for giving me another opportunity to show it. Send me some more.]
Dear Next Neo Letter Writer,
ReplyDeleteYou know, Tim is practically making it easy for you by laying it out there on how you can respond to the issues at hand. You have to use logic and sound reasoning. You need to provide documentation and reference to facts, not just opinion. It's what he does with every comment and letter he refutes because of the weak and flimsy arguments you all keep providing. If truth is on your side, it shouldn't be that difficult . . . right?
If you are unable, please do yourself a favor and just don't click the send button. This is not the time for novice playground taunting. This is the real deal here in the Jungle. If you come in unprepared and ill-equipped, this Jungle is going to make you wish you went to the beach instead.
Dennis, if anyone is to make a rebuttal , it should be Gather Adrian Cristobal. He is the Chancellor and the Director of Vocations. His reply was read the U Matuna Si Yu"us.
ReplyDeleteFace the fact that the WAY shows that (1) people are mixed and matched for marriages (2) first communion is given in a private neocatechumenal celebration (3) godparents for baptism and confirmation are encouraged to be from the NEO community (4) girls are sent to NJ because it is a Neo community (5) unless a function or celebration involves a Neo the community doesn't participate. Take the ordination of Pale Richard Kidd, if the WAY is for the mission of the church, did the WAY participate? For the ordination of Father Michael and Father camacho you were all in full swing. Face it, if it isn't NEO it isn't worth attending.
There is a pattern when it comes to the NEOS. I have lived it, I just hate the fact that people in. Y community keep,asking me when I am returning. The answer is never. I love the prayers and the songs, but I hate busy bodies.
BTW Dennis, since your son is a seminarian, maybe you should take out a loan and pay for his education plus room and board. I am sure you can afford it.
ReplyDeleteThe person pointing out " I am not a seminarian" must be non other than Mr. Santo Tomas. I am thinking that maybe Diana is Mrs. Santo Tomas.
ReplyDeleteLooks like daddy came running to sonny's defense.
DeleteWhy don't we just ask some of the very well off NCW to adopt a seminarian brother, pay his expenses, and as a group take responsibility to purchase the seminary
ReplyDeletehttp://sanvitoresinstitute.com/academic.html#read1
ReplyDeleteif you read carefully..the programs offer "equivalents" in courses of study as if you would earn a bachelors degree.
It does not offer a degree program and confer degrees to it's student body.. I'm guessing that a seminarian would have to attend both UOG and RM to receive a real B.A. B.S..
so if they attend UOG we have to fork out paying for this too? Way to expensive to pay for college courses plus a separate tuition for the theological portion! The WAY should adopt a seminarian within their own community, as previously mentioned. I am sure the Father Adrian can adopt 2 or three and the Archbishop can adopt a bit more. Problem solved with the AAA.
DeleteIf parishes should collect daily during Lent, maybe they should give it to a nonprofit organization such as Erica House, Sanctuary, catholic social services, kamalen karidat, etc.
Careful with KK. Arch helps himself to their funds whenever he wants.
DeleteThe leadership, along with neo members, continues to show irresponsibility and deceitfulness. Plain and simple. A poster and pledge form for the AAA states the following: "Your gift to the 2014 Archdiocesan Annual Appeal will be used for the formation of seminarians to the priesthood." and 2014 Archdiocesan Annual Appeal "supporting the formation of future priests for the salvation of souls."
ReplyDeleteReally Archbishop? So you think that everyone else's soul is condemned? I think the leaders on the Hill need to do some SOUL searching and do the right thing. Give our local men an option!
Maybe Mr/Mrs. santo Tomas, should sell all their belongings and become missionaries and volunteer for a country in great turmoil. Let's see there is the southern part of Mindanao, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Communist China, Russia, etc. Volunteer to places where there is no comfort, meaning not to the USA, Canada, and the sort, but really underprivileged countries.
ReplyDeleteDennis, I give you credit for being one of the more articulate NCW members to post a comment in terms of your mechanics. However, as many of your less articulate brother/sister NeoCats have done, you base the content of your comment on the half-truths and outright lies fed to you by the Three on the Hill. I know you are an intelligent person with many talents. Please use the gifts with which God has blessed you to verify what you are told by your catechist(s) and/or by the Three on the Hill.
ReplyDeleteI know you were off-island for several years, so you may not be aware that the source that you suggested (http://umatuna.org/2014-archdiocesan-appeal) was not as factual as you might think. First you swallow the “selective truths” hook, line, and sinker and then claim that the “… local teen has ALWAYS had the choice to CHOOSE between the Yona or the Malojloj Seminaries on Guam and never had to join the Neo Catechumenal Way to enroll …” Sorry, but until late 2013 there was no such thing as the “John Paul II Archdiocesan Seminary.” There was only ONE Seminary on Guam — the Redemptoris Mater Seminary. The second “Seminary” was provided to Junee Valencia — who was mentioned in the November JW post “How Was the Seminary Obtained in the First Place?” (http://junglewatch2.blogspot.com/2013/11/how-was-seminary-obtained-in-first-place.html) and whose name was used in a subsequent post “Why Junee Must Live Apart” (http://junglewatch2.blogspot.com/2013/11/why-junee-must-live-apart.html) — as a place to sleep.
Please use the intelligence and reasoning skills with which God has blessed you to do your INDEPENDENT research into the “catechesis” you have been receiving. Compare what you are fed by the NCW to the teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church — or go back even further and think about your earliest formation while in elementary school. I know our parents were contemporaries and that our sisters were classmates at CGS/AOLG, so I’m guessing your parents also sent you to Catholic schools where the Baltimore Catechism was the means by which we learned about our Faith. Think back to what you were taught back then and then compare what you were taught with what you are now being told being told by your catechists.
There are a handful of commenters, self-described former NeoCats such as Ric E and “Glad to be Back to Holy Mother Church,” who have provided first-hand insight into the experiences within the NCW. I believe that if you look beyond what you have been told by your catechists, if you look beyond the emotional experiences that may have blurred your normally laser-sharp reasoning, you will begin to notice that there are legitimate questions and concerns regarding the teachings of and the activities within the NCW.