While writing the next episode in the Fr. Paul saga - which will reveal and document the real reason for Fr. Paul's brutal ouster - it occurred to me that we could all benefit from a little more context.
It is no secret to anyone that the Neocatechumenal Way, or at least its leadership, was behind the persecution of Fr. Paul. The Archbishop simply intends to institute the Neocatechumenal Way in every parish and Fr. Paul was in the way. The fact that this was almost immediately recognized by a local radio talk show host - where it was first mentioned in a rather knee-jerk fashion - is an indication of just how large this reality is and how well it is not only known but expected.
But why does the Archbishop want to do this?
To answer that, one needs to better understand the Archbishop's personal issues that I'd rather not discuss here. I'm not getting overly personal. The Archbishop's issues were clearly noted and commented on in the 2010 archdiocesan study: Cultivating Unity. (Sadly, had something been done to address those issues then we wouldn't be where we are now.)
And then those aspects need to be understood within the context of his falling into the orbit of a very intoxicating ideology propagated by a man who is as much demagogue as he is business mogul, a truly dangerous mix. Then one must put the whole thing into the milieu of the post-conciliar confusion that caused even the stoic John Paul II to fall for the likes of Fr. Marcial Maciel in the name of a "new movement of the Holy Spirit." (Fr. Maciel is the now dead and discredited founder of the Legionnaires of Christ - a personal favorite of the now St. John Paul II).
Historically, schisms, heresies, and damaging controversies have always followed periods of confusion and weak leadership in the Church. The Great Schism followed a particularly ugly period known as the Iron Age of the Papacy, and the reign of Alexander VI, one of the most morally compromised men to ever darken the Chair of Peter, immediately preceded the Protestant Reformation.
Alexander's last name was Borgia, and without getting into a list of his personal escapades and abuses, suffice it to say that his last name became a roman synonym for libertinism and nepotism. And we must remember that Luther, who was a Catholic priest and an Augustinian monk, had no intention of breaking away from the Catholic Church. He only, at first, sought to reform it, and all of his points were pretty valid. In fact, Rome was willing to work with him and tried to. But there were some points on which Luther could not and would not agree, and to which he would not submit. Sound familiar?
The Iron Age of the Papacy is worth mentioning. It was not just one of the most bizarre periods in church history, it was one of the most bizarre periods in history period. During this 94 year period (872-965), there were no less than 24 popes in which seven of them were assassinated or died under suspicious circumstances: John VIII was bludgeoned to death by his own entourage, Stephen VI strangled, Leo V murdered by his successor Sergius III, John X suffocated, Stephen VIII horribly mutilated - having had his eyes gouged out and ears, nose, and hands cut off - died of his injuries, Hadrian III poisoned, and John XII beaten to death.
And to add to the fun, this was the period in which Stephen IV dug up the body of his predecessor, Pope Formosus, dressed his decomposed remains in papal robes, sat him on the papal throne, and tried
him for heresy. This macabre episode came to be known as the Cadaver Synod. Look it up. It's a great read!
With the popes in the West busy killing each other and cutting off each other's noses (literally!), we can guess that that there wasn't much time for pastoring the Church, and it is no accident that the Great Schism (the separation of East and West) soon followed in 1054.
That's a bit more history than I wanted to get into, but I thought you'd enjoy it. However, it is important to note that while the Church has survived, simply because Jesus promised to be with us always, the damage to souls wrought both by the Great Schism and the Protestant Reformation, and even more so, the damage to the unity of the Body of Christ, is still with us and remains a wound.
Part of my bringing this mess up is to answer a question/challenge I have received many times: "Why can't you just respect the canonical process and let the church take care of it?" Translation: "Why don't you just shut up and go away?" They are referring to my publicizing the Apuron-Gofigan affair and, by extension, the problem of the Neocatechumenal Way.
As an answer, allow me to share one more story from Church history. For the better part of our history, there was no separation of church and state and church politics was state politics, and state politics was pretty much a matter of warring clans and competing city states. Thus the election of the most powerful person in the Church was also the election of the most powerful person in the world, or at least "their" world.
Palazzo dei Papi di Viterbo,
the roof of which was removed
in an attempt to speed up the election
|
Powerful families and political alliances thus often played into the election of the next successor of Peter, and it was not uncommon for the process to be stalled for months if not years. During one particular delay in 1269, the townspeople of the city of Viterbo, where the meeting had convened, got tired of waiting so they tore the roof off the meeting place to speed up the election.
And that is what we are doing here.
The Vatican II call for the "active participation of the laity" did not just mean a call for more lectors and CCD teachers, it was a call for the laity to take personal responsibility for their faith and their church. History has shown that clerics left to their druthers and without accountability to the people is not a good thing, as most recently evidenced by the horrific burden the church has had to bear as a result of the clerical sex abuse scandal and 50 years of silence from the laity.
The intent of the Neocatechumenal Way may be a good thing, but the lack of accountability for the huge sums of money it collects, the under-the-counter attempt to reassign the control of a major archdiocesan asset, the en masse firing of the members of the archdiocesan finance council who objected to it, the importation of a relatively huge amount of neocatechumenal foreigners to become priests for our diocese (?) while our own men are turned away, the expectation that the people of Guam finance the living expenses and education of these men with zero accountability from those who ask for our money, the brutal treatment of priests (Fr. Paul wasn't the first) who do not submit to this imperialism, the complete submission of the entire chancery to a new and shadowy hierarchy, and the ABSOLUTE SILENCE about these things when we ask about them...
Tim Rohr is now getting very close to the line where people may well decide to come forward and talk. If the roof does fly off the cathedral then the archdiocese is in a state of disaster.
ReplyDeleteTear down the roof, treat the wood that can be salvaged, and discard the rotted ones. Not a state of disaster, but a state of repair.
ReplyDeleteYes 4.42pm that's a better approach. We should be like st. Francis and work for the renewal the re building of this archdiocese. We remove the wood with infected termites, keep the wood that can be re used, and build again. Well stated. The archdiocese has got so low now we can only rebuild it, renew it, and make it a better place for us to live our catholic faith.
ReplyDeleteNot sure about roofs flying off cathedrals. But for sure the numbers of people reading junglewatch today have certainly blew very high today. Tim Rohrs articles have won the interest and concerns of people all over the world. Mr Rohr thank you for informing us of what is happening in this pacific island of paradise.
ReplyDeleteYou see, this is exactly why other denominations do not trust Catholics. Your pope used to be crooks, as you yourself bring up the example. You give authority to some places and people where it does not belong. Them you are complaining against the same authority. Why don't you expunge undeserved authority and make your own decision based on the Bible? We hire and own our pastors and nobody can take them away from us. Still they are free to leave if they feel the call of God.
ReplyDeleteAmerican culture is stemming from the Pilgrims who were expelled fro Europe by the Catholics. They waged vicious wars against the Pilgrims who had to flee. But in America the "ice cream is licking back" okay? Catholics became the minority view. When Guam came to America, the same fate was determined: a more healthy balance of denominations will surely ensue in decades. The signs are there that Catholics destroy themselves by internal turfs while other denominations keep increasing steadily.
The Magisterium is the same kind of man-made institution that tries to dictate your faith and relation to Jesus Christ. But it became a public nuisance around the world when, for example, it tried to interfere with people's sex life. What the heck? It is none of the pope's business if people use contraceptives or not. Show me the Bible prohibiting common sense. Guess what, my Catholic friends tell me the same thing. Lol!
So yes, hit the roof, demolish the old rattled building and start making sense to the rest of the world. As faithful, Bible-following denominations, your former enemies and adversaries all do in the Americas. This is the one thing you should have had on your Vatican II ticket, but you see Catholics are always tending the miss the last train to Paradise. How sad.
Christian fellow from Yona
Guess we'll have to throw out Jesus. He picked Judas.
DeleteI think you have some point here to make, dear Tim. So why do you hold it back, why don't you just shoot away... ? ;)
DeleteIt is no surprise that Catholics would be willing to throw out Jesus from the Bible and replace Him with man-made stuff from an "almighty Magisterium." But I don't think this would make much sense. So what is your point? How would Jesus pick Judas? When and for what? Please, give reference to the Bible verses if you are still able. Thanks!
Christian fellow from Yona
Your point is that we have bad priests, bad bishops, and bad popes, therefore the Catholic Church is in error. My point is that bad priests and bad bishops began with the guys Jesus picked. One betrayed him, except for John, the others deserted him, and Peter denied him and then later tried to high tail it out of Rome to avoid persecution (Quo Vadis?) If your point is that our church is in error because we have had bad leadership, well then we would need to blame Jesus because we have had them from the beginning.
DeleteBut it's pointless to discuss anything with you because your premise is that the Christian faith is rooted in the bible. It isn't. Jesus didn't write anything and he didn't tell anyone to write anything.
So why don't you tell us where the bible came from.
I never said "bad people". They could be very good fellas. But you place authority where it does not belong. Your best priests get fired because they do not truly belong to any particular assembly. Who hires them, who owns them? Your best bishops fail because they have power they should not have. Where in the Bible is it said that bishops should rule over life and death?
DeleteIs this blog not about your situation with Fr. Paul and bishop Anthony? Just enlighten me, dear Tim, what are you fighting for if not for them? The root of your problem is removing one guy and reinstate the other. Or beg your bishop to change his heart. It is useless. The root of your problem is overwhelming ecclesiastic regulations from the top, above the congregation.
If you wanna come out with your stuff about the origin of the Bible, then what holds you back? Just tell us what we all know that the gospels were written by the apostles. Ha-ha-ha... big news. But it is nevertheless the Word of God through the Holy Ghost. I read that you guys consider the Bible as "secondary literature". This was the joke of the century and I had to read it right here in your blog. Don't you guys feel shame? What could be more original and primary than the Living Word of Jesus?!
You replace Jesus Christ with a murky Magisterium that is not acknowledged by anyone else but Catholics. But for other denominations your Magisterium amounts to a mere Catholic church office and nothing more. The Word of God is Jesus. How can you contain Jesus in church offices and man-made church documents?! So are you still having fun, Tim?
"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it." (John 1:1-5)
How do you know the gospels were written by the apostles? Two of them were not apostles by the way.
DeleteSo the gospels are wrong?
DeleteTim can you explain why we use the bible if it does not root christian faith?
DeleteWell, since you are the one who follows only the Bible, you better hope not. But then how would you know?
Delete@ 2:28AM. Yes, I will be glad too. Stay tuned to the above conversation.
DeleteWaiting for Christian Fellow....
DeleteStatement by Christian fellow from yona is not important to the cause of this page.
ReplyDeleteTrue, but gives me an opportunity to speak the truth to others willing to hear it. Our opponents on these pages have provided great opportunities.
DeleteHello Tim:
ReplyDeleteThe entire mission of the NCW is to bring people to Jesus. This is a worthy and noble cause, and one that all the baptized are called to carry out. However, what the NCW fail to realize is that though we are one body we are many parts. They have a certain way, I have a certain way, and you have a certain way. All of these are necessary for the salvation of the world. They merely fail to recognize all the other ways that people are drawn to Christ.
After many years of being carefully spoon-fed that the Neo way is the only way, even good people begin to believe the heretical teachings of the NCW.
Last night was the annual gala banquet which is the premier fund raiser of the Seminary (but they forget to mention the AAA). A good person who was in my community was dutifully there at the cost of $175 to support the NCW and the seminary. In her zeal to try and bring me back in the fold she played for me some recordings she made during their dinner. What I heard was a great reminder of why I am so thankful that I had the strength and faith to pull out of the NCW before it was too late.
A man I know quite well, Deacon Harold Colorado was the Emcee. Harold has been on Guam for a long time now, and he was a wonderful seminarian. Good humor, beautiful voice, very personable. But this image was destroyed today when my friend played the part where he was giving a history of the seminary, and where he said that in 1999 (referencing when the Archbishop opened the RMS seminary) Jesus came to Guam. WOW!
I have been out for a while now but I really thought that Harold would be a good priest not just for the NCW but for the people of Guam. Now my hopes are dashed. If the formators can take a person with such great potential as Harold, and completely have him deny the presence of Jesus until the NCW brought him to Guam, then there is no longer any reason for hope for any priest coming out of the Yona factory. I honestly felt like crying. Another treasure lost to kiko.
I asked my friend to replay that part right after he said this, but she must have realized that he had revealed something he should not have. She quickly said she had to go, and she left. But I definitely heard what I heard, and I am shocked. For sure Archbishop heard this, and the Vicar General if he was there. The rector and vice rector would have heard this as well. I wonder if they realized what Deacon Harold had just taught... without the Way Christ cannot be present among His people. WOW! Everytime I think about this I feel great sorrow. 35 seminarians lost to this type of formation. How terribly sad.
Feeling so troubled by this, I called a former community brother. He couldn't remember the exact words, but he basically acknowledged the same line ... without the NCW Guam was a dry island without a heart for Christ. How disgusting, because before joining the NCW he was a totally lapsed Catholic and knew nothing about the Church, but now he could pass such a judgement? Another lost person lifted by heretical teaching because it feels so good and controlled. He too tried to get me back in during our short conversation a short while ago. I asked if anyone from the Church tried to clarify Deacon Harold's statement and he was surprised...why would they need to clarify. No, Deacon Harold said what he said, and there was no correction.
Our local Church, that first received the word of Christ 350 years ago from real priests, the Jesuit missionaries and later the Capuchins, has been maligned and slammed by the clergy of Guam, and no one defended the Church. Not the Archbishop, not the Vicar General, not the formators or rectors.
Instead of a celebration, yesterday turned out to be a very sad day for Guam, darkened by the false teachings so vehemently defended by its NCW members. God, send the Holy Spirit to guide us to you and to the truth always.