Our "issues" with Archbishop Hon's sense of timing are not "our" issues, they are that of Pope Francis.
First there is the matter of Pope Francis' demand that priority MUST BE given to allegations of sex abuse: "Consequently, priority must not be given to any other kind of concern." Meanwhile, Hon has NOT only not made their allegations and pain a priority, he has on more than one occasion dismissed them as possibly false, even publicly comparing the testimonies of Roy, Doris, Walter, and Roland to the case of a woman who made a false accusation against a bishop.
Next, there is the matter of Zero Tolerance as demanded by Pope Francis. This means that the Church (having supposedly learned its lesson over the last two decades) takes allegations of clergy sex abuse of minors so serious that the accused is guilty till proven innocent. Yet, a few days ago, in finally recognizing one of the victims, Hon called for prayers "without prejudice" for both Apuron and the victims, meaning, he considers Apuron innocent till proven guilty, the very opposite of Pope Francis' call for Zero Tolerance.
Then, there is the matter of "urgent" action required by the Pope, as CCOG Vice-President, addresses in his letter below. Hon appears to take pride in his plodding approach, euphemized as "methodical." Pope Francis would not have required Hon to take "urgent measures...at the earliest" if he did not believe that Hon was not capable of doing so. In fact the supposed reason Hon was selected for the job was because he was thought to be - by virtue of the investigation he launched a year and half ago - the most informed Vatican prelate available to do so. And as Mr. Sablan points out below, while Hon calls for "serenity" and "patience," the Pope who sent him requires otherwise.
From: David J Sablan
Sent: Monday, June 20, 2016 10:24 PM
To: 'Tim Rohr'
Subject: Hon's Appointment Orders from Pope
Sent: Monday, June 20, 2016 10:24 PM
To: 'Tim Rohr'
Subject: Hon's Appointment Orders from Pope
6/20/16
Hi Tim,
I found some time to read excerpts of the "orders (as in military orders)" sending Hon here, but I am not sure if the words are the actual appointment language written by the Pope.
In any case, the excerpts--if they are from the appointment orders of the Pope, has very interesting verbiage that Hon does not seem to take seriously or is not following. . .
"The priority of the Apostolic Administrator is to take stock of the present pastoral situation of the diocese; to identify the difficulties present among the clergy, religious, and lay faithful and to take urgent measures, at the earliest, in order to promote and restore unity and harmony in the local Church. The Apostolic Administrator, after carefully discerning the needs of the Archdiocese will take all necessary decisions to assure that this goal is being implemented.The Holy Father kindly asks for the trust and prayers of the local Church and sincerely hopes that the entire Catholic Community will put all of its energy in promoting unity, harmony, and stability of the Church."
I do not see the word: "patience" in the order from the Pope; or a request from the Pope of us here in Guam, "to give Hon some time", or "to be patient and give him some time". The key words are he is to: "take urgent measures, at the earliest". And all the Holy Father is asking of us is to trust and pray. And I add to that: ". . . as the Archdiocese is cleaned of the evil that permeates it".
However, in looking at what Hon has done these past two weeks: He took seven days to cancel a couple of bogus decrees; he went to an RMS fundraiser; he prayed within a few days of his arrival on Guam with the Neocats who are the root cause of our division within our local Church--not at all good optics; continues to have Adrian and David the VG sign documents with him; and is visiting villages, I guess to promote some sort of "goodwill". All this for the past two weeks. Are these his priorities in "taking urgent measures at his earliest" to restore unity and harmony in our local Church?!!
Where's a meeting with victims of Apuron's abuse, if anything to assure them a complete investigation is being done; console them; pray with them?
When will he move to fire Adrian and David the VG from any work further at the Chancery? This is probably the easiest and quickest thing he can do, and no one can question his action!
When will he put a lock-down on Pius Sammut, and not have him come into the Chancery at all; he can just stay at the RMS, till he (Hon) figures out what to do with all these Neo-presbyters and what to do with that seminary.
After he does the above, I think he can probably ask a few us in the Laity to help him draft a plan to close the seminary down and move these presbyters out of Guam. I don't know how he can accomplish it, but he needs to remove all these presbyters from being incardinated here in Guam, to stop the outflow of money from the Chancery.
He can then use the savings of not having to maintain that seminary ($1 million per year) and have the few young men wanting to become diocesan priests go to seminaries off-island to truly become pastoral priests for our Archdiocese.
He can shift his priests around to have regular diocesan priests (I believe he has enough of them to take over the pastoral duties in the parishes that were taken over by the Neo-presbyters) handle the parishes now being destroyed by these Neo-presbyters. The parishes are: Merizo-Umatac; Agat (including the Santa Ana chapel); Santa Rita; Asan; Barrigada; Chalan Pago; Agana; and Santa Bernadita in Yigo.
He can also appoint two new leaders at the Chancery to be Chancellor and Vicar General--maybe Fr. Paul Gofigan and Msgr. James, respectively!
All the above could have been most certainly accomplished in a couple of weeks. We don't need any visits to the villages just yet. But if he wants to mingle with us, he can do a mass or two on Sundays at different villages, but during the week--he needs to get moving!! The jury is still out on him, but if he does not do anything within the next two weeks, I can only surmise that he cannot do the job or is afraid to act.
It is becoming very apparent that Hon really hopes this furor over Apuron's sex abuses will die down in a couple of weeks.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good thing Hon's name has only three letters. It won't be so difficult to include it in the "Apuron resign!" signs. Then again, Hon's actions (inactions) is making it worthwhile to make up similar signs with only his name on it.
This most current posting by Tim (6/21/16) and the inclusion of the letter from CCOG VP David Sablan, are two of the most powerful statements of the total ineptness (if not total failure) of Archbishop Hon’s mission to bring healing (“peace, unity, and harmony”) to a suffering Church in Guam. They are so powerful that, in my opinion, they deserve vast, public, and rapid dissemination to the Catholic Faithful via the public media – newspapers, radios, and TVs.
ReplyDeleteAs a means of public education, the exposure of the fruitless and futile actions (or better, inactions) of the current administration of Archbishop Hon, is something that the entire Catholic population of our Church needs to be made aware of. After two weeks since he has set been here “on an urgent mission by the Pope”, it is becoming more and more evident that what is happening seems to be more of a continuation and a perpetuation of the last (Apuron) administration.
The band-aide and cosmetic “solutions” that Archbishop Hon has demonstrated so far (two weeks) are nothing more than throwing crumbs to the birds to keep them “happy for a while”, and will “keep the natives quiet”. No wonder why he proudly announced at the 9:30 Cathedral Mass on Sunday, June 12, that “all of this will be gone in a few weeks”. NO, NO, and NO!! Last Sunday’s (June 19) repeat performance of the outcry of the people, should be a smoke signal to Archbishop Hon. And where there’s smoke, there bound to be fire! If Archbishop Hon feels comfortable that what he has been doing so far is enough to keep us quiet – and quit -, let him be advised that “we have not yet begun to fight”!
Thank you, Tim; and thank you, Dave, for your very powerful statements.
(JRSA: 6/21/16)
We need to understand that Archbishop Hon is here only to remove authority from Apuron. We need to make him understand that Apuron was never in control, but instead rubber stamped the agenda of Adrian, David and Pius. Without the removal of this trio from any part of running this diocese, AB Hon has not carried out the Pope's instructions.
DeleteHon's goodwill tour continues while the people he is supposed to serve are simmering in the heat that NCW forced on us. If David J. Sablan can present a perfectly lucid strategy to put an end to division and promote unity, why cannot the "experts" see that! It would serve the Vatican appointees well to consult with the laity who seem to have a better grasp and solution to the issues than a metaphorically castrated group of clergy who have their hands tied to inaction. No offense to the priests, but the structure in the Church does not give sufficient latitude for dissent, and this system of medieval hierarchy effectively neutralizes the passion and resolve of clergy to move forward. The laity is an untapped power that can unleash much good, with the blessing and guidance of forward-thinking clergy.
ReplyDeleteArchbishop Savio Tai Fai Hon:
ReplyDeleteWHO was Anthony Apuron's responsible? How responsible was he as Apuron's responsible? Was his job just to tell the rest of the communities to "be quiet and listen"?
The method «the accused is guilty till proven innocent» sounds somewhat Stalinist. Remember that any argument against Apuron could be used in future against some good Bishop. That is, we do not need Stalinist methods.
ReplyDeleteWe should never stop reaffirming that:
1) only dishonest people fighting your moral certainties always need to trick you into confusing the truth with some trial verdict;
2) the accused is procedurally innocent till procedurally proven guilty; this doesn't mean no one can reach some moral certainty about him;
3) Apuron's arrogant reaction (including labelling the accusers as "liars") is all the more reason to investigate;
4) people trying to slow down or stop the investigation, become factual accomplices of Apuron. In the name of God, do they really want to?
Zero Tolerance is the pope's policy, not mine.
DeleteI think the hardest part of Hon's strategy is making Gennarini and high-Neo's think that they eventually will save their asses...
ReplyDeleteHon doesn't want an immediate all-out war. He's still a Salesian, after all.
by his attitude since arriving on island, it appears hon is in complete agreement with the concerns shown by the Vatican, which seems to me is that Guam should be very grateful that they received the better of two evils...
ReplyDeleteLOL! Quite a Freudian slip with those last two words - "two evils".
Deletempe June 21, 2016 at 5:54 PM - WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL? Why should we decide between "two evils". I have to stop and re-evaluate to I can make some sense of D. Anthony June 21, 2016 at 9:52 AM! Common Sense - Where Are You? We desperately Need You in the Year 2016!
DeleteLet me apologize since I quoted the wrong person. I truly apologize "mpe June 21, 2016 at 5:54 PM". I was agreeing with you. My posting is for D. Anthony June 21, 2016 at 9:52 AM. This is what happens when you are so angry! Again I apologize mpe! I need to stop and get my thoughts together before I post!
DeleteDear mpe June 21, 2016 at 5:54 PM and Anonymous June 22, 2016 at 5:49 AM, my apologizes, learned my English on the streets...
Deletehow about this... who would you rather have here???
to me... the Vatican gave us a "pacifier"
the thing you give babies... to quiet them...
Pope - Filoni - Hon - brother tony - adrian - david - larry
I hope this makes more sense...
I think that by carrying "Hon Resign" posters, in addition to posters of "Apuron Resign" during our protests will help create enough worldwide attention to get Hon off his ass and do something useful while "he's on vacation."
ReplyDeleteArchbishop Hon, we welcomed you with great anticipation and joy on your assignment to Guam. I am one of many frustrated individuals because my letters to the Nuncio are politely acknowledged as received but have moved nothing beyond that.
ReplyDeleteI will be brutally honest to say that some of your actions, including completely ignoring the attempt by Walter Denton, to reach out to you, were shocking. Your small action of turning your back on Walter is likened to Rome turning it’s back on the Catholic community of Guam. Since you are here to get to the truth of the state of the catholic community out here, then it’s a “no brainer” for you to reach out to the “alleged victims” to listen to their stories. You cannot be objective unless your investigation includes all the parties involved. And you cannot be objective when you attend functions of the NCW, which is one of the core reasons for division in this diocese.
You asked for patience, yet what are we being patient for? You were here over a year ago to assess the situation so you know exactly what is going on. The only thing different from last year are the brave victim’s of Archbishop Apuron coming forward with the truth. The situation of our Catholic community is rapidly deteriorating and patience is not what we need now. We need action on your part Archbishop Hon. The people are counting on you. The people have been vocal in asking for the Archbishop’s resignation. But he will never resign. He stays in his ivory tower and believes he’s untouchable. He is not the person who should be shepherding Guam’s flock. I don’t call for him to resign. I call for Rome to remove him.
Just wondering if Hon is playing a delaying tactic while Rome is finding another place to assign apuron-- a place where his perversion is not yet known.
ReplyDeleteQuite difficult what with social media and the internet of today.
BTW, you should watch the movie, "Spotlight" -- a real eye-opener about child sexual abuse by priests. You can watch it for free at 123movies.to
Apuron name is forever tainted by his lust and greed. There would be no place on earth where he will be unknown - if there is such place, we will make sure they are made aware of what happened on Guam. To accept Apuron back as archbishop is to accept the humiliation and ridicule from others who are looking to us as "the David that slew the Goliath." A delay tactic on the part of Archbishop Hon to renege on his mandate will be met with vigorous protests.
ReplyDeleteAAA can't really go anywhere. He's retiring soon and with dark clouds looming above him....I don't think anyone with good sense will take him in. And thanks to the technology age we are in....his deeds that are still under investigation (I pray)...should be known all over the world. Unless he desires to be a monk in a deserted or on a mountain somewhere....would be the best place he could be in right now. Start a penitent life and ask for forgiveness....from His maker while he still can.
ReplyDeleteWe do not want Apuron to "retire." By retiring, he gets to keep his title, and all the benefits granted his title. He is a shameful and deceptive person that does not deserve the accolades. He has brought shame to our island home, to the Catholic Church and most importantly, to his family. WE WANT APURON REMOVED....PERMENANTLY !!!!
ReplyDeleteThe signs the protesters carry at the Cathedral should be changed to REMOVE APURON rather than merely RESIGN.
ReplyDelete"DEFROCK Anthony Sablan Apuron" is much better than REMOVE or RESIGN. He violated any rights to be part of the clergy the minute he laid his perverted hands on the young and innocent children under his care.
DeleteHe gets to keep his ill gotten title and all the perks that go with it (to include burial in the Cathedral Basilica) should he resign or be forced to step down.
Yes, Anon @4:18 a.m./June 22, I agree with you. Let "DEFROCK APURON" be our goal, instead of just having him resign or be removed. Readers, what do you think?
ReplyDeleteNO! Do not defrock, retire, or resign Tony. Let him keep his title. We just want him in prison. He can keep his title so he can perform private sessions throughout the prison for other pedophiles.
ReplyDeleteSince Apuron is being defrocked from his office as Archbishop, He should not receive any stipen from the Archdiocese, instead his assets, property and private home should be garnished to pay the victims of his abuse. He should then be jailed to serve justice for his crimes against humanity. Since his ordination is perpetual, He can be a permanent chaplain at DOC. If and when he dies, there is no way this pediophile should be buried in the Holy grounds of the Cathedral Basilica, He is a worthless SCUM.
ReplyDeleteAnthony Sablan Apuron cannot be defrocked if everyone carry's signs that read "Resign". So if he resigns, he gets to receive all perks to include title, retirement and buried in the Cathedral Basilica. Will the signs change during the next protest; will the headlines read "DEFROCK Anthony Sablan Apuron". Time is an essence if you really care about making things right.
Delete1. Anthony Sablan Apuron gave up his right to be associated with the religious the moment he satisfied his lustful feeling for boys and threatening them after assaulting them. He should never have been elevated to the position he holds.
2. Anthony Sablan Apuron executed a painful and arduous closure to assignments by our visiting priests from the Philippines. These holy men of the cloth, because of their strict formative bearing of what it means to be pastoral, saw that their participation in an NCW liturgy they were asked by Anthony Apuron was not only wrong, but that the NCW liturgy was illicit. So three charismatic priests were not only sent back to the Philippines, Anthony Sablan Apuron used his ill gotten title to tell lies about their performance.
He then used his ill gotten title to say more lies about Monsignor James and Father Paul.
And then he used his ill gotten title to give away the most valuable property of the Archdiocese and fired the entire Archdiocesan Finance Council to cover up his lies.
And now Anthony Sablan Apuron uses his title to say that these young men are liars and then follows through with his theat "if you tell, no one will believe you" by using Church Funds to hire an attorney and sue them.
Anthony Sablan Apuron's web of lies has damaged many lives in this Church. Can you imagine how many more lies will come from him if he steps down or retires. Look at Bishop Camacho in Saipan, though he is retired, he still holds the title and receives the perks.
In order to end this vicious cycle, the end game of the protest must change. "DEFROCK Anthony Sablan Apuron". His enormous web of lies have damaged the Catholic Church.
agree, but we still pay
DeleteThose who refuse to comply with their sentence can be "dismissed from the clerical state," also known as being "defrocked."
As a result, they lose their benefits provided by the church, which usually include housing, health insurance, and a small salary.
Canon law states that "provision must always be made so that [a priest] does not lack those things necessary for his decent support
this provision - so who pays for this?? Rome shhould saying, if you stole money you will pay for the provision