Wednesday, August 20, 2014

THE DIVISION STARTS THERE


As you can see from many of the comments, especially today, I am being accused of being the source of division in this diocese. However, I can only be accused because I have a name and I use it. I could have chosen to remain anonymous like many of you, and like "Diana" I could have hidden behind a pseudonym. But I saw no reason to hide behind anything. I saw a man unjustly harmed (Fr. Paul Gofigan) and I decided to stick up for him. 

Allow me to clarify what I mean by "unjustly." Let us leave aside any defense of Fr. Paul for now. Let us assume that Fr. Paul actually did disobey the Archbishop's orders. Let's say that he is guilty of everything the Archbishop has charged him with. Let's say that he deserved to be removed as pastor of Santa Barbara. And let's say the Archbishop was fully justified in removing him. 

But: 
  • By what standard of justice does a bishop threaten a spiritual son with "an arduous and painful closure" to his assignment?
  • By what standard of justice does a bishop wait two years to ambush his priest if he truly thought his actions were a danger to his parish?
  • By what standard of justice does a bishop lock a priest out of his office even while the priest is meeting with him?
  • By what standard of justice does a bishop order him to vacate his residence without providing somewhere else to go?
  • By what standard of justice does he order his priest to leave his home diocese and wander the world in search of another bishop who would take him?

This is why I got involved. I saw a man unjustly kicked to the curb and stripped of every dignity. And I saw a bishop who grossly transgressed his authority. So I decided to do something about it. I decided to do the only thing I could do: TELL YOU.

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There was no intent to address the neo controversy in the beginning. The neo controversy had begun several years before and I had no issue with it. A certain priest at the seminary can tell you that I had a lengthy email exchange with him in 2008 after it became apparent that the Neocatechumenal Way was not going to conform to Rome's request to change the way it distributed the consecrated bread. He explained to me why the Neocatechumenal Way was not going to change and the evidence shows that I left it at that. I had nothing else to say about it.

It was only in 2013, when Fr. Paul was attacked so viciously that I began to have something to say about it because I knew why he was attacked. I had watched the Archbishop progressively succumb to outside influences for several years and I knew that sooner or later there would be an all out war on the priests who stood in his way. I just didn't know when. However, in July of 2013, after the annual visit of the "godfather" from New Jersey (I'll explain another time if you don't know), it was apparent that the war had begun. 

But before the archbishop's war on his priests, there was a war on the Catholic faith and the authentic magisterium of the Church. So for those who really care to understand the root of this division, including the good and sincere members of the Neocatechumenal Way who are as much appalled at the behavior of some of their members as we are, I ask you to carefully consider the following account.

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For the casual observer, the controversy over how the neocatechumens distribute communion will seem trite. It will seem trite because it appears to just be a preference. And that would be true if in fact our celebration of the Eucharist was simply just a religious service or a community celebration. However, it is not. 

The Catholic celebration of the Eucharist is a Sacrament, and in fact, it is the highest and greatest act of our religion: the "source and summit" of our faith, the Council fathers called it. It is the very core, the very center of EVERYTHING. And because it is all this, it is our central act of unity: unity with God himself, unity with the Church Triumphant, Suffering, and Militant, and unity with all that the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church believes and teaches. 

And while the celebration of the Eucharist is ground zero for our faith, the very center of ground zero, the epicenter, is the Word becoming Flesh in the actions and words of the priest and our consumption of Him, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, exactly as he told us to do on the night before he died.  This is why the Church reserves the governance of every word and action of the Mass to its highest authorities, and specifically to the pope himself. 

Thus, it was no small matter when in December of 2005, Pope Benedict, through the Congregation of Divine Worship, directed the leaders of the Neocatechumenal Way to conform their manner of the distribution of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to the norms of the Church, specifically as prescribed in the "liturgical books". 

It had been the practice of the Neocatechumenal Way to distribute the consecrated species to the communicants while they remained seated. And in the manner of the distribution of the consecrated bread, the communicant did not immediately consume, but held the consecrated bread until all communicants had received and the priest had returned to his chair, upon which the priest would then consume the host and would be followed by the rest. 

With this practice, there were three major departures from the "liturgical books" - or what the rest of the church was required to do: 1) the postponement of the priests communion - he is supposed to consume before distributing, 2) the postponement of the immediate consumption of the host, and 3) consumption of the sacred species while seated. 

The Neocatechumens love to post the picture of Pope John Paul II celebrating the Eucharist with them in 1988. They use this picture as validation of the Pope's approval of their liturgy. The facts are otherwise. In 2002, the same pope ordered a review of everything about the Way from top to bottom and subjected it to a five year period of probation known as "ad experimentum". 

As a result of that review, and about half way through the ad experimentum probationary period, Pope Benedict XVI - Pope John Paul II having died earlier that year (2005)- directed the leaders of the Neocatechumenal Way to make several changes to their way of celebrating the Eucharist including the manner in which they distributed communion.

Because the Pope's directions were sent through the Vatican congregation which oversees the liturgy, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, it's Prefect, Cardinal Arinze, was tasked with personally informing the leaders of the Neocatechumenal Way of the pope's instructions. In fact, his letter begins: "I am to inform you of the Holy Father's decisions..."

Two very important things happen at this point:
1. The founders of the Neocatechumenal Way reject this instruction.
2. Archbishop Apuron rejects this instruction. 

Kiko et al would formally reject the instruction in a letter to Pope Benedict on January 17, 2006, however, it is quite apparent from Pope Benedict's address to the Neocatechumenal Way on January 12, 2006, that he is already aware of rejection of his instruction:
"The importance in evangelization of the liturgy, and in particular of Holy Mass, has often been stressed by my Predecessors, and your long experience can certainly confirm that the centrality of the mystery of Christ celebrated in the liturgical rites is a privileged and indispensable way to build living and persevering Christian communities. 
Precisely to help the Neocatechumenal Way to render even more effective its evangelizing action in communion with all the People of God, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments recently imparted to you in my name certain norms concerning the Eucharistic Celebration, after the trial period that the Servant of God John Paul II conceded. I am sure you will attentively observe these norms that reflect what is provided for in the liturgical books approved by the Church."
Before we move on to the rejection of the pope's instruction by Archbishop Apuron, let us review the formal rejection by Kiko. It is typical kiko-speak, but it is not hard to see that the end of his eschatological jabber is Kiko's rejection of the pope's directive and an imperious claim of  "I know better":
"We also wish to thank you for the benevolence, mercy, and goodness You have shown to those farthest away in allowing the moving of the sign of peace and in granting a period of two years for the adaptation of the manner of distributing the Communion of the Body and the Blood of the Lord: we have always shown to the many brothers who have emerged from hell, full of wounds and of self-loathing, that in the Holy Eucharist the Lord makes present his love, dying and rising for them; and not only that, but prepares a table, an eschatological banquet, which makes Heaven present and where He himself, full of love, has them sit down and comes to serve them: “He will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them” (Lk 12:37).  In this way, every time we celebrate the Eucharist we experience the power this sacrament has to draw them into the Passover of Christ, bringing them from sadness to joy, from darkness to light, from death to life… "
Kiko effectively lectures the pope and uses his version of scripture to reject the pope's instruction. He is saying: "No, I will continue to do as I want because that's the way I understand it." Even if Kiko is right and the pope is wrong (NOT), Kiko has no authority to transgress the pope's instruction. Yet he does. 

Some will say, well why didn't the pope immediately discipline or correct him? We don't know that he didn't. Pope's normally don't "go to the press" with their internal issues - as seems to happen around here. And popes are known to often suffer the weeds with the wheat for the sake of peace and the long term good of the church. But the fact of the matter is Kiko was told to do something and he said "NO." 

Meanwhile, back on Guam, almost at the same time, Archbishop Apuron, lacking Kiko's slick rhetoric, simply blurted on KOLG for everyone to hear:
"My argument, and in front of the pope and the bishops there, cardinals, in fact Arinze’s there, and Arinze, to tell you the truth, is really not for the Way, and I don’t know what credentials he has, I mean I don’t want to get into an argument in terms of an individual but Cardinal Arinze, with due respect, uh, I, you know uh, I don’t know why he uh uh wants us to conform to what...and you know the..." (subject changes)
It is obvious that Archbishop Apuron knows he has made a major error. And all would have forgiven him at that point if he just had said so. But he did not. And still has not. And he HAS NOT because he does not believe it is an error. The only error he was aware of was saying in public what he actually believed, and he tried to catch himself, but, with Kiko, he truly believed that Pope Benedict was wrong, and from that point on, has sided with Kiko and against the magisteral authority of the Church in the matter of the celebration of the liturgy. 

So for those who don't understand the division, it started here. And it continues. The neocatechumens continue to consume the consecrated host seated after all the other communicants have had the host placed in their hands (though they stand to receive it). And the presbyter, their priest, continues to violate the norms as to when he is supposed to receive his own communion. Thus the central act of unity of the very Sacrament of Unity, in the neocatechumenal eucharist, is both in practice and belief, not just an act of division, but a central act of defiance, a constant and loud proclamation of Kiko's January 17, 2006 defiant "I know better!" 

Defenders of the practice, including Archbishop Apuron, will say they have approval from Rome, but the only approval from Rome of record is the 2008 Statute of the Neocatechumenal Way, and there is no allowance for these diversions in it. 

In conclusion, most of us who are not in the Neocatechumenal Way don't care about these practices and have no problem leaving the Neocatechumenal leadership to its errors. Weeds and wheat, and all that. But what we do care about is a bishop who publicly rejected the magisterial authority of the church and has permanently sided with those who convinced him to do so. The DIVISION STARTS THERE.

22 comments:

  1. May we all continue to pray for the conversion of all sinners! Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we love you. Save souls!

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  2. Tim,

    I hope both the Nuncio and Rome is reading.

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  3. Excellent analysis. ....as usual.
    Bravo Tim!!

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  4. Thank you for making it very clear who and what group are responsible for the division that exists in our local Catholic community. In my curiosity to learn more about the Neos, I found out that the Neos and their leadership regard the rest of us as Judases because we don't walk in their Way. But the TRUTH is THEY ARE THE JUDASES by rejecting the magesterial authority of the Catholic church. They are ones who are orchestrating a take over of the Catholic church because in their delusional minds they are the better Catholics. Wow, also foud out that their leader, Kiko, is being called a prophet by his die-hard followers. It's no wonder that AAA, as a Kiko follower, has a video about his "holy life". Imagine, a saint walking amongst us. WOW! Let me get back to my prayers and try not to laugh just thinking about how the Neos have a prophet and a saint. Maybe I'll share this with the Holy Father. We all need a good laugh.

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  5. Fr. Matthew Blockley.August 20, 2014 at 11:54 PM


    Excellent analysis. Thank you Tim for your outstanding work in defense of Holy Mother Church and the cause of truth and Justice.

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  6. To all you Neocats, what you espouse reminds me of ezra Klein's quote “it's a stupid person’s idea of what a thoughtful person sounds like.”

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  7. Thank you Tim. Your persistence and perseverence has paid off in exposing the deceptions, the lies, the destructive treatment of everyone perceived to be standing in the way of the ncw's take-over of our Catholic Church thru our parishes; and most especially in your exposing the irreverent treatment of the REAL PRESENCE of Our Lord and Our God by the neos' manner of distribution and reception of Holy Communion, in the sacrament of Holy Eucharist -- The Sum and Summit of authentic Catholicism; the core of what we believe, who we are and why we are Catholics!

    Your efforts have also brought to the forefront not only the reality, but the highly disturbing facts and documentation about the extent and the depth of not only the reasons for this division in our Archdiocese -- which, without a doubt, is the arrival and existence of kiko's invention of the religion of ncw -- but more critically, the power and the hold the ncw hierarchy now has on our archdiocesan leaders (particularly over the Archbishop) and the ncw's vicious ambition to eventually and freely, acquire our Catholic Church's properties, as well!

    Open your eyes and minds to these facts and realities and then act, fellow Faithful Catholics; otherwise, we will one morning, awaken to discover the demise of our authentic Catholic Faith and Church, as we know it!

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    1. There are an estimated 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world, according to Vatican figures. More than 40% of the world's Catholics live in Latin America. This is why the Neo leadership have their sights on Latin America and other places influenced by Spain to build their Neo empire. Neos estimate their number worldwide at about one million. They don't have the numbers yet to take over the Catholic Church but they are working on it. The Neos say they are part of the Catholic Church but are openly defying the Pope.
      I think that all this is leading to a great confrontation at the Vatican between the Neo leadership and the Pope. The Pope will win in the end.
      We the Faithful must remain steadfast and do our part. Let us welcome back to the Mother Church the former Neos who have seen the errors of the Neo Way firsthand. We must be involved in the faith development of the children in our Catholic community and lead by example by going to Mass with our entire family. We can no longer remain complacent.

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  8. Thank you Tim and your link to the "Way" explains so much more in detail why they will allow "crumbs" to fall carelessly on the floor, Kiko does not believe that the Eucharist is the Body of Christ. Hard to believe "priest" much less an Archbishop would follow that doctrine.

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  9. How did you transcribe this when is in Italian. A cough off from a anti-catholic blog. Go to Dianas blog she will shed some light.

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    1. Zoltan, how many times do I have to remind you of your promise to Diana to stay out of the Jungle?

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    2. Zoltan, don't you have classes to teach? Are you busy consulting with the youths from the NCW in your room? Are you having Bible study?

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  10. It is my professional opinion that the members of the NCW are incapable of normal relationships. They have become so entrenched with their practices that being away from other members causes great pain. Their defensive strategies was built up from years of nurture from their hierarchy. Many of them have withdrawn from their friends, or have little to no friends, they question their own faith and well being and heavily rely on the NCW membership for affirmations, compliments and structure. This is a very very serious failing spiritually and mentally. They are co-dependent on each other and feed off each other's sins, celebrations and realities. If you remove one aspect in this equation their lives will be in disarray and worse they will be damaged beyond repair. The NCW needs the Micronesian/pacific area because they have little to no growth elsewhere. They prey on the weak minded and rich with feelings of guilt and shame and then use them for the NCW benefit. It is a cancer. Despite they number saved, etc. etc. the truth must made that they would have been saved anyway- ask anyone in rehab or those that have life changing experiences. The power is in that person to want to change. The NCW is a virus that uses the good cells to turn and attack itself. The body may think it needs the NCW but it will soon find out it must be removed and the members treated and "reprogrammed". It must be stopped at all costs if we are to be a healthy, vibrant, faithful and unified church. In the end many may leave the church because of the truths that have been revealed and the unwillingness to change and adapt- they will soon be lonely when the practices and uncooperative ness is declared heresy and its founders heretics!

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  11. Any idea why the all the Popes support the Way until now?

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    1. The good elements of the Way have always been encouraged by the popes just as they encourage all of us to do good and show their appreciation for our doing so. However, as of 2008, the Way has been given a rule (the Statute) to which it is to conform if it wishes to be considered authentically Catholic and in union with Rome. Outside the Statute, there is no union with Rome.

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  12. I believe in my heart and mind that an injustice was done to Fr. Paul July 16, 2013. And that injustice is still upon him. Is truth so complicated? I can't believe that Fr. Paul was punished for being like the father in the Prodigal Son story. The prodigal son in the person of this man, that the state has forgiven for his crimes, gave him a police clearance and yet our Church couldn't forgive him. This man found the Lord again. He married his wife in Church. He brought back his whole family to our Lord. What a wonderful testimony of conversion. Set the captives free! Yes, I do believe in my heart and mind that an injustice was done NOT ONLY to Fr. Paul but to this man and his wife and his two children. Lord, help us undo this injustice. In You, I trust. I know that You are in control even when things seem out of control.

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    1. hi uncle ebet,

      and it's not just injustice the way a mean-spirited manager treats his employee. there's also the serious issue of calumny against fr paul. if you haven't listened to it yet, this recording will shock you:

      http://www.junglewatch.info/2014/07/the-tagaytay-treatmentand-destruction.html

      what kind of bishop makes baseless allegations like that against one of his priests? what kind of person would even do something like that?

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  13. Thank You Tim for a well explained article.
    God bless you and God bless our Catholic Faith and our church..

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  14. Tim - Very well done with your synopsis. May God give you strength to persevere in what you are doing. No need to give you "kudos" for what you are doing FOR THE REST OF US in detailing the sad events that are transpiring within our Church, ever since the inception of the NCW in Guam. We were doing just quite well until their arrival on our soil - not that we did not have our faults and sins. Heaven knows we are a bunch of sinners, but we always had recourse (and eventual forgiveness) from Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and in the intercession of Our Blessed Mother - two major pillars of our cultural beliefs. (I'll clarify this statement later!) But with this cult that is now entrenching, deluding, and deceiving our people (all in the guise of becoming "better Catholics"), a worse evil is eating away at our Catholic Faith - worse than the evils of secularism and religious liberalism.

    Kudos to you is neither necessary nor useful; ironically, it may even be counter-productive. Die-hard Neocats who read this, would only conclude that we are just being mezmerised by you. I feel so very sorry for the many good Catholics (some of them are my close friends and relatives) who are in the Way, but can't seem to extricate themselves from the grips of the Neocat leaders, especially since our own Shepherd - the Archbishop - seems to be leading us down the blind path of losing our Faith completely/

    At the Last Supper, Jesus gave us not just a legacy to remember Him by; He gave us Himself (Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity) as a continuing SACRIFICE to His Heavenly Father, which He was to do on Good Friday. For us Catholics, the Sacrifice of the Mass is ONE AND THE SAME as the Sacrifice of the Cross. That is why we have the deepest awe, reverence, and respect at Holy Mass, and treat it accordingly. The Neo's do not believe that the Mass is a SACRIFICE; for them it is a memorial, a celebration - thus their dancing around their flowery bedecked table, their rhythmic clapping, their happy and gay gyrations, their calypso-like guitar playing, all display a jovial and jolly celebration. It has an aura of a party. For us "normal Catholics", we generally kneel, hands devoutly folded in prayer, eyes closed as we Christ in Holy Communion.

    Our devotion Mary, the Mother of God, is so culturally engrained into our Faith that the Rosary and the many apparitions of Mary are almost a Chamorro heritage. My understanding (I'm not sure; just going on the word of an ex-Neo friend) is that the "Hail Mary" (much less the Rosary) is NOT a part of the Neo practice. Poor Santa Marian Kamalin!

    We "normal Catholics" honor, respect, and pray for our deceased, that God bring them to Paradise. We pray for our dead; and as a sign of gratitude to our friends and relatives who come to grieve with us, we provide them food and drink for taking time out to offer their condolences. Some Neo leadership belittle our cultural practices, and accuse us of being only concerned with "cooking". Aren’t our Neo brethren not bothered by this belittlement?

    A division within our Church truly exists. I pray that we all come back together in the one family we once were.

    God bless you for your efforts to shed light as to how we got to this point in our lives.




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  15. Plain and simple. The NCW is a cult and if you stay in you will become trapped with cult culture.
    Strong intervention needed to save souls from this fate. Better solution is to ban them from Church. If people leave they exercise their own free will. But do not marginalize or compromise what the true Church stands for. I sure wish our bishop's conference was strong like Japan to demand either correction of the Way's ways, or total ban.
    Ah, but we have a kiko bishop. Let us remove him and the cult and a new bishop will start a long healing process.

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  16. Kenneth San AgustínAugust 21, 2014 at 9:54 PM

    It is so much of a cult that I have personally heard Pius Sammut explain how a couple shouldn't be together because the "boy" is not walking. He continued to say that if they remain together he needs to join a community. So much for the free will from God. Love has no bearings in the relationship only the catechists can bring love....whaaaaateeeever! That's why I'm happily separated, because of the crap from the Neo. I do not speak hearsay either, I walked (past tense) in Agana 2 community alongside the Archbishop, Fr. Franchesco, Fr. Michael Jucatan, Fr. Luis Camacho, Joe & Jackie Terlaje, Robert & Clarissa Alvarez. ...the list goes on. The good attributes of the way are indeed to be praised but all the bad pointed out, which is all true by the way, outweigh everything else. Thanks Tim for your perseverance in all this. God bless you!

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    1. Ken is right. Neocats are more concerned about what Fr. Pius thinks than what Jesus would do and say!

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