Monday, January 12, 2015

PAGE 2

It is both sadly and terribly evident by what was on the front page of the U Matuna yesterday, that our church leaders either have NO intention of reconciling or that they are completely, utterly, and hopelessly inept, or worse, simply being clandestinely managed by someone else. 

How to make sense of all the talk about reconciliation and peace in the context of the apostolic visit. and then to print, on the same page, that discredited defense of the seminary, when in fact, the debate over the seminary is one of the central issues that precipitated the visit in the first place?

Even if it wasn't chock full of demonstrable misleading statements, why, given that the visitors were even still here when it was released, why even print this?

Archbishop Apuron must always be held responsible for whatever is officially printed or said in the name of the archdiocese. But I think in this case, the real culprit is someone else. And her name is listed on page 2.


34 comments:

  1. Is there a way to view the Umatuna story online for those not on island and, maybe more importantly, who is listed on page two? Thank you!

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    1. Thanks Tim. Many from around the world are following you and your Archdiocese is not very good about updating its web pages.

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    2. Scanned and added to the post.

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    3. Chuck's exposure of how NeoCats are coerced by their leaders is speaking volumes. These poor members think they have to put up with the demands of their catechists because their catechists are "gods". Ridiculous and against church teachings. Barely educated NeoCat bullies have no authority to operate in church grounds.

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    4. Thanks already forwarded to the secretary of state. Obviously no intention to reconcile heal the Archdiocese of Agana.

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    5. Federal authorities will have a whole lot of concerns about this kind of neo business! Shhhhhhh.

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  2. remember this quote
    When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.

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  3. so True
    Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.

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  4. Silent on the Hill

    Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air.

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    1. Correct 10.42am. After the visitors I was expecting vacation from the blog. I took Friday night as a break. But my sat morning I came to see we cannot take vacation from this blog.For if we rest from the blog Apuron will cause further damage. Day and night 24/7 we need direct communications to comment and communicate news on the situation on Guam. There is no rest in Journalism. The world wants instant news on every detail of Apuron . For this is the only way forward.

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  5. Just what kind of share in the power game does Marian Arroyo, RSM have. Is she NEO? Or is she afraid her job will go out from under her if AAA implodes? MYSTERY WOMAN we have not kept our eye on. Can't be just innocent of all of this. Can she??

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    1. No, she's not neo. That would be the least of our worries.

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    2. Tim, she's not a NEO but she was the one who scolded Vangie Lujan and told her stop the Gossip. All Vangie was asking is what happened when Triple AAA announced during the mass that the new Rector is Msgr David (Dankulu-Giant) Quitugua. Marian Arroyo is worried to afraid to lose her job and also to protect her brother Msgr. Bibi. Yes, she is the MYSTERY WOMAN, all the nuns knows it!

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    3. Yes, that's why I said being a neo would be the least of our worries. And it's not just her job.

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    4. Sister Marian sure does know all the Neo songs by heart though. Saw her singing them without any music at the funeral of a Neo in the cathedral. The format of the mass at that funeral was also Neo right from the beginning of the liturgy of the Eucharist. And sister Marian sang every Neo song by heart.

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  6. Tim, you say page two...well our friends have started page two TOO! Page two different story on everything..QUOTE:
    DianaJanuary 12, 2015 at 8:54 AM
    Dear Anonymous at 7:25 am,

    The Gala Dinner only pays a portion of the seminary. The rest of the money comes from off-island.

    From whence does this OFF ISLAND MONEY COME FROM?

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    1. This statement from the Diana blog is partially true. The Gala Dinner and the Archdiocese probably pay for a portion of the seminary. I would hope the rest comes from the NCW since the seminary is educating their priests from all over. In reality it would be surprising if the the Archdiocese could afford a seminary with the numbers of Catholics in Guam to support it. Sending the men to off island seminaries is more financially sensible.

      However the dispute about the land the seminary occupies settles out, it would be wise to sell it. Right now it is an embarrassment of excess and definitely not in the spirit of our current Pope. Google "seminary Guam" and a Wikimapia site come up with a google satelite picture and the caption "A Roman Holiday...checkout hat POOL"

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    2. Now, where the Diana blog is wrong. According to Diana:

      “A Japanese businessman built a hotel, and it turned out to be a failure. He sold it to the Catholic Church for 1.9 million dollars. Bear in mind that this Japanese businessman could have sold the hotel for 75 million dollars because that is what it is worth. Rather, he sold it to the CATHOLIC CHURCH for only 1.9 million dollars. That is a bargain price. How would it look like if the Catholic Church turned around and sold the property for 75 million dollars so she could make a profit from it? It would make the Catholic Church appear that she only cared about the material goods rather than the spiritual goods. In the first place, the money that was used to purchase this property did not even come from the Catholic Church but from a donor who wished to remain anonymous. Would the Japanese businessman feel terrible knowing that the Catholic Church sold it for more than what he generously offered? Since when has the Catholic Church been in the business of taking something for free and turning around and selling it at a higher price to gain a profit?”

      At the time the hotel was sold it could not have been sold for 75 million. After 9/11 and down turns in the Japanese economy effecting tourism on Guam, many properties were being sold for a fraction of their investment cost. The Palace hotel sold for a 90% discount off development cost. Perhaps the Japanese businessman wanted to help out the Catholic Church, but it was more likely he was trying to minimize his losses and stop his financial drain (property taxes). And Tim has more than explained the donor that was found after the property was purchased by the Church.

      It was a smart move for the Archdiocese to buy the property because they had the ability to and did not have to pay property taxes. The Archdiocese could afford to sit on the property until the economy picked up in the future. Can the Archdiocese afford all the costs involved with a seminary? That is debatable. Yes, the Church at times has to think like a business. There are schools, parishes, cemeteries, etc to support.

      Obviously the RMS cares about material goods and not just spiritual goods, otherwise they would be studying in a less desirable location. If the NCW winds up with the property in the end, selling it would support a lot of missionary families and priests.


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    3. LOL

      "Since when has the Catholic Church been in the business of taking something for free and turning around and selling it at a higher price to gain a profit?”

      Shall I show you the list of properties which Apuron has gotten for free or less than market value and either sold them or is leasing them at an exponential profit?

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    4. Also if the Japanese entity cared about who the property was sold to by giving them a good deal (only 1.9 mil), then you would assume the entity was Catholic. The NCW has also created a lot of disunity in Japan, so I doubt he entity would want the property to be used for a NCW seminary unless he was a member of the NCW. And if a NCW member, why sell the property to the Archdiocese and not donate it with restrictions or give or sell it to the NCW directly?

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  7. If Archbishop Apuron can give this island one gift, I would ask for the Neocatechumenal priests and seminarians to continue on their journey elsewhere off the shores of Guam on a one way ticket with no return.

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    1. Could someone supply us with a complete list of Neo Priests, what parishes they are at, and how strong a role they play in the "evangelization of the Chamorros" into the Neo cult? I know I had seen a list of clergy indicating whether they are Neo or not, on this website, but maybe an update might help us to avoid them.
      • Also I was speaking with a non-Neo parishioners of from Inarajan who says the vast majority of the people of Inarajan are resisting the invasion of the Neocats into their parish. Kudos to them, but do they have a choice when they are assigned a Neo priest to them by AAA? They have to go to Mass at THEIR Church of San Jose, which has been non-Neo from time immemorial, but now different.

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    2. I would even chip in a dollar for their ticket..., jes of chalan pago

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  8. @3:37 pm the season of giving is over, sorry. No more gifts from Tony...used gifts to buy gifts for three wise men.. Wait till NEXT Christmas.

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  9. I blame Sr. Marian for the destruction of our church in Sinajana. When the typhoon blew our roof off, she had her hand in the baloney about moving our altar closer to the people and about our statuary in the sanctuary. The roof should have been repaired without the other major renovations, but apparently she said we needed to comply with the U.S. Conference of Bishops requirements for churches. I don't know what her liturgy credentials are, but looking back at it, her explanations at the time seemed unsettling to me. Unfortunately, our pastor at the time was on board for it and we trusted him wholeheartedly, but now, because of our blind trust and obedience, we now have a church mangled for the sake of liturgical requirements. Like I stated, I don't know what Sr. Marian's liturgical credentials are, but I have no faith in her role (whatever that is) at the Chancery.

    That's why today I pay no attention when Archbishop Apuron quotes U.S Conference of Bishops because I have heard him volley between CPEC and USCCB when it suits him. We truly don't have proper liturgical guidelines on Guam.

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  10. To 5:36pm. It was your pastor who at the tine had the final say on where the altar should be placed. He is a capuchin and you can ask other capuchin priests like father eric who would know much more about the renovation of the parish after the typhoon. Not many capuchin priests like the idea of what their capuchin brother did to that parish.

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    1. True, Fr. Bob Phelps was all in on it, but Sr. Marian pretty much wields the iron rod in this diocese when it comes to liturgy simply because Apuron authorizes her too. Personally, I think its embarrassing the way she orders priests around, but hey, that's her thing.

      But let's take a look at this for the record:

      1. Guam is not part of the USCCB and is under no compulsion to conform to anything it puts out.

      2. The USCCB does not have absolute authority anyway, it is up to each bishop of each diocese as to how and when to implement any of the norms that are in addition to the GIRM. So even if Guam was part of the USCCB, our own bishop would have had to require them. But then he would have turned it over to Sr. Marian anyway.

      3. The Sinajana church was remodeled after Typhoon Pongana in 2002. The USCCB norms at the time for the placement of the altar would have been found in the document entitled "Built of Living Stones" which was published in 2000. The only thing this document says about the placement of the altar is: "The altar should be centrally located in the sanctuary and the center of attention in the church." §58

      Of course it says nothing about placing the altar in the center of the church, as sort of what we now see at St. Jude. It only says it is to be in the center of the sanctuary and the center of attention. I would say that the existing high altar, all the way at the front of the church, fulfills this function just fine (if it is still there).

      It is interesting to note that as altars are creep closer and closer to the people, the people themselves creep further and further away. A recent CARA study shows that only 23% of Catholics regularly attend Sunday Mass. So hows that new church architecture working out for ya?

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    2. It as modeled for the LifeTeen services. Where teens can join hands and come up to the altar and surround the altar in prayer during consecration. The parish had a vibrant LifeTeen program from 2000 to 2004 and Fr. Bob invested time, resources to building the ministry. The reduction in size was also due to the dwindling numbers of attendees so the seating was reduced by 100. When the new norms came out and sacred spaces declared- the teens could,no longer approach and surround the altar.

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    3. I am assuming that you are referring to the "new norms" that were given to LIFE TEEN. Well then at least they obeyed. Not so the neocatechumenals. However, given the dwindling congregation, perhaps Fr. Bob should have "invested" elsewhere?

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  11. She's so useless. Taking up space. Can't wait til they get rid of her.

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  12. Enter Lady Macbeth

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  13. Ah, Sr.Marian finally! Been waiting for her to be exposed. She will play both sides to her advantage, and will only protect her hide. She is not to be trusted by either side -- she's just careful enough in her words and actions to guarantee that however Rome rules, she'll come out smelling like a rose.

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    1. @12;28 pm YES, playing both sides. She's going to step in it on one side or another. Careful Sr. Marian. Tricky game you are playing. Don't you want to have anyfriends left?

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    2. my grandfather died for this island for all this

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