MORE INSULTS FROM ADRIAN

The following notice was sent to all the pastors yesterday by Fr. Adrian Cristobal. I have inserted a few comments [in red].

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS

APRIL 26, 2015  

THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

The purpose of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations is to publically [Dear Fr. Adrian. You consistently misspell "publicly" - make a note of it] fulfill the Lord's instruction to, "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38; Lk 10:2). As a climax to a prayer that is continually offered throughout the Church, it affirms the primacy of faith and grace in all that concerns vocations to the priesthood and to the consecrated life.  While appreciating all vocations, the Church concentrates its attention this day on vocations to the ordained ministries (priesthood and diaconate), to the Religious life in all its forms (male and female, contemplative and apostolic), to societies of apostolic life, to secular institutes in their diversity of services and membership, and to the missionary life, in the particular sense of mission "ad gentes".

This year marks the 52nd Anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations

UNIVERSAL PRAYER (INSERTS)

 *  For young men and women; That God may give them the gift of understanding to discern their service in the Church, the priesthood, diaconate, or consecrated life; And for the gift of courage to follow His call. We pray to the Lord. . . .

-OR-

*  For young people; That they may know the personal love of the Lord for them, and respond with open and generous hearts. We pray to the Lord. . . .

Bulletin Quote

World Day of Prayer will be observed on Sunday, April 26th, also known as "Good Shepherd Sunday."  The purpose of this day is to publically fulfill the Lord's instruction to, "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38; Lk 10:2).  Please pray that young men and women hear and respond generously to the Lord's call to the priesthood, diaconate, religious life, societies of apostolic life or secular institutes. You can find many resources to promote a culture of vocations on the USCCB Vocations webpage (www.usccb.org/ vocations).

20 Ways To Promote Vocations In Your Parish Or School

1. Have public recitation of the diocesan vocation prayer at masses on Sunday and the daily masses.
2. Provide Eucharistic adoration on certain days, asking for prayers for vocations.
3. Send greeting cards to each of the seminarians of your diocese at the beginning of a new semester, holidays, exam times, birthdays, ordinations, etc.
4. Sponsor poster/coloring/essay contests with vocation related themes and exhibit the results.
5. Encourage interviews of pastors, priests, sisters, brothers and deacons for the school newspaper or parish bulletin, especially on how they discerned their call.
6. Create a page on your parish/school website with vocation information.
7. Host an Altar Server Appreciation Night and ask one of the priests to speak to the servers.
8. Before a regular meeting, have your ministry or group get together a little earlier to say a decade of the rosary together for a specific priest or seminarian.
9. Create a collage of photos of priests, brothers, and sisters who have been part of your community.
10. Include Vocations Awareness lesson plans and programs at each grade level of religious education. Each grade can do a special project and the reports can be combined into a resource booklet.
11. Have the vocation prayer printed on refrigerator magnets and distribute.
12. Find out the Ordination date of your parish priests and celebrate within the parish and school.
13. Promote the lives of saints in various ways, e.g. in the bulletin, on the bulletin board, on posters, in a bibliography, etc.
14. Take a group from your parish or school to attend the ordination of a diocesan priest or deacon.  [Dear Fr. Adrian, where in Guam can we actually attend the "ordination of a diocesan priest or deacon - a real one?] Check out the vocations calendar for dates of upcoming ordinations.
15. Invite a priest, sister or deacon to supper to discuss vocations around the family dinner table.
16. Sponsor a Communion Breakfast with a vocation speaker.
17. Invite the Director of Vocations to the parish for a weekend, for masses and meals with parish families.
18. Ask 31 parishioners to volunteer to pray the rosary or attend mass on one of the 31 days of the month for vocations on behalf of your parish and committee.
19. Celebrate feasts of the saints, such as attending Mass on the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, patroness of missionaries and patroness of many vocations.
20. Provide intercessory prayers for vocations for Prayer of the Faithful at Mass

Prayer

O God, Who wish all men and women to be saved and to come to the knowledge of Your truth: send, we beg You, laborers into Your harvest,

and grant them grace to speak Your word with all boldness; 

so that Your word may spread and be glorified,

and all nations may know You, the only God,

and Him Whom You have sent,

Jesus Christ Your Son, Our Lord,

Who lives and reigns world without end. Amen.

The original can be viewed here.

****

From: Tim Rohr

To: Fr. Adrian Cristobal

Dear Fr. Adrian,

The archbishop really should find someone else to be the vocations director. You mock the position.

Wasn't it you who told Richard Kidd when he was trying to begin his studies for the preisthood that in this archdiocese the diocesan priesthood was "no more", and that there was "only the Neocatechumenal Way"?

Wasn't it you who LIED to Aaron Quitugua about why he could not attend a true and accredited diocesan seminary?

Let's review what you told Aaron:

In 2013, Aaron had been seeking permission to study for the priesthood at Mt. Angel Seminary in Oregon in the hopes of being ordained for service in the Archdiocese of Agana.

After several back and forth letters regarding the academic qualification of our so-called local seminary, you finally told him on September 04, 2013 that: 

"the Archdiocese no longer has the financial resources to send seminarians to study abroad."

On November 7, 2013, Aaron responded:

"Since the reason for not allowing local seminarians from Guam to have an education abroad is due to lack of financial resources, would the Archdiocese sponsor me to study at Mount Angel Seminary if I were to consume the cost of my education and formation there since I seek a fully accredited seminary? It would not cost our Archdiocese any money to send me there. As we discussed, Mount Angel is an accredited institution with a general education program."

And then finally on December 27, 2013, after much waiting by Aaron and another letter prompting your response on the same day, you wrote:

"I regret to inform you that your request to have the Archdiocese sponsor you at Mt. Angel Seminary is denied.

In the event that you do have a change of direction in this matter and decide to follow the course of action that we require, please fell free to contact me."

Of course, the "course of action that we require" is the "course of action" that you gave to Richard Kidd:

"In the Archdiocese of Agana, the diocesan priesthood is no more. There is only the Neocatechumenal Way."

To read the full correspondence between Fr. Adrian and Aaron Qutugua go here. 

So, Fr. Adrian, you blatantly LIED to Aaron Quitugua about the real reason he could not pursue his studies at the accredited seminary of Mt. St. Angel. It was not "due to a lack of financial resources", it was due to the fact that you and the archbishop will permit no man to become a priest unless he is formed in the Neocatechumenal Way.

You at least could have said that right from the beginning instead of lying to Aaron and causing him to seek out his own funding source for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

And now you want us to pray for vocations while you turn these good men away?

Perhaps you should take the advice of an ordained minister who is NOT a freaking KIKO and who also knows how to spell "publicly:"

Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2015 22:04:20 +1000

Dear Fr Adrian:

Let us also pray that our Archdiocese welcome vocations from all sources, be it diocesan, religious, or other. We need to resolve the hanging vocations that have been stalled because they were not of the proper persuasion, such as Aaron Quitugua, and the untold others who may have been turned away because they were not of a certain charism.

I think it would be a very generous gesture by the Archdiocese to have a meeting of the clergy to discuss my many concerns previously raised as a member of the Archdiocesan Vocations Board about the stifling of vocations that have taken place over the past 12+ years, so that a true healing and spirit of vocations can be generated. If the Archdiocese is sincere about vocations of all types, this would seem a natural step towards healing.

Although I expect no response to this request, as in my many previous requests of the past, I would be delighted with a true discussion of what vocations are about in our Archdiocese. Consider this a challenge to move in that direction. Vocations ARE important, not just certain vocations, but all vocations. Let us truly pray for this openness to all vocations!

In Christ,

Deacon Steve