Sunday, August 28, 2016

THE PRIMARY...AND A WARNING

Posted by Tim Rohr

While the pay raise issue probably figured into part of these results, no doubt, the bill permanently lifting the statute of limitations on sex crimes against minors appears to have played a part as well. Senator Frank Blas introduced the bill and Senator Frank Aguon, Jr. shepherded it through his committee, holding a total of three public hearings. Both figured at the top of their respective heaps. 

Looking at the incumbent Democrats from the bottom, Respicio didn't bother to show up for any of the hearings. Won Pat appeared visibly critical of Bob Klitzkie's public testimony, and Barnes was a no show. The same seems to hold for the Republican side. Of the incumbents, McCreadie was not present at any of the hearings and was absent for the vote to report the bill out of committee. The rest of the incumbent republicans were present for at least one of the hearings. 


Also, Dennis Rodriguez, who normally comes in close to the top, was probably more hurt by the pay raise issue than he was by his vote "to report out only" on Bill 326-33. Nevertheless, candidates who made it to the general election should not overlook just how big this issue is...and getting bigger.

And now I hear that at least one group of nuns and even one of the Catholic high schools is either lobbying senators to stop the bill or planning to. They're worried about their property. Perhaps we all should take heed of the future Pope Benedict's warning from 1969:

"From the crisis of today the Church of tomorrow will emerge — a Church that has lost much. She will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning. She will no longer be able to inhabit many of the edifices she built in prosperity. As the number of her adherents diminishes, so it will lose many of her social privileges." - Joseph Ratzinger, 1969

34 comments:

  1. Because of the immoral life of Apuron the Church of Guam may well become poor. But given his immoral leadership of moral decay the Archdiocese needs to die so it can rise again built on truth and justice. To bankrupt the church will allow a true church to evolve. A church built on the spirit of truth and justice. Apuron destroyed the Church it needs to be rebuilt on a solid foundation.
    We also need to consider the victims they must be compensated for the evil acts againat them of the malicious vicious reckless evil Apuron. Then we need Jeff Anderson David Lujan to make those who protected apuron abuse to pay for their bad choices. Only way to go.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those senators who fail to support the Bill will be named shamed and denounced pre election. We will do all we can to make you lose election.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Religious orders of Nuns who openly denounce the bill will be denounced in the public forum. Religious orders against the bill would best keep silent. For they turn to activism they will be denounced. Take this as a warning Mother Superiors! Support of Apuron is a vote for child abuse. We will go after you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, too many Nuns just outright support apuron regardless what crimes he committed. This is not the way to show and teach our KIDS in all these Catholic Schools to honor and support CRIMES committed by apuron.

      Delete
    2. I sure hope this is not the reason the Nuns voted Sr. Marian to lead their group. She is one of those nuns that is out for herself and fr. b b too.

      Delete
    3. Very poor choice to elect Marian ti lead Mercy Sisters. We will go after the mercy sisters for openly supporting a child molester. There is no on the febce here . Priests nuns either support Apuron or against. Those who support we will denounce name shame in public should they show activism ti support. To remain neutral you will be left alone. To participate in activism means we will go after you. Take this as a warning sisters.

      Delete
    4. There are former students of Mercy Schools who were hit by Mercy nuns in the 70s 80s. Those adults may now file against Mercy Nuns schools. Should the nuns participate in activism there will be consequences. This is a war of Revenge.

      Delete
    5. If nuns who teach our children in catholic school support Apuron they support child abuse. Our children are not safe in their schools. This means we need to withdraw our children from all mercy administered schools to protect children from sexual abuse. They obviously allow children to be in danger. Mercy Sisters hope you reading!

      Delete
    6. Marian herself skeletons in her past.
      Name shame denounce in public is the way to go. A nun who hit kids in school can be accused of abuse.

      Delete
    7. The Sisters of Mercy do not support Apuron. They are against him. Furthermore, the sisters are a separate legal entity and whatever they own under that name is NOT Arcdiocesean property. Thus they are not exposed. As for getting hit back in the 60s and 70s, it was called discipline, something we are sorely missing today. The good nuns either spanked or had you do manual labor. I know. I was one of the aguaguat ones. Lol.

      Delete
    8. Anon @11:38 AM, you know better. The RMS do NOT own the buildings used by AOLG. The Archdiocese owns those buildings, so yes, they are exposed.

      Delete
    9. RSM or RMS...get it right. Big difference.

      Delete
  4. although i'm very disappointed in hearing about the lobbying by "one group of nuns" and "one of the Catholic high schools," i was expecting it, sadly enough. since at least the 1990s, i've heard criticism from the people about so much materialism that had crept into guam's Catholic institutions. i can't help but remember the Lord's words: "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (mt 6:21) but i hope they do the right thing.

    those prophetic words by ratzinger are indeed coming true, especially in the now-"post-Christian" West, and at an accelerating pace, it seems. be prepared. persevere.

    pass the bill. bring on the lawsuits.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rey, please let JW know who this group of nuns are and the High School(OMG, I hope it is not my Alma Mater)...we will begin a stop to assisting them and the school in terms of $$$. STOP FRIENDS OF APURON

      Delete
    2. i'm only going by what tim reported. whoever they are, i hope they don't proceed with their plans.

      Delete
  5. Shame on those nuns choosing to protect their comfortable life style over the safety of innocent children sexually abused by predatory priests.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The note that " … at least one group of nuns and even one of the Catholic high schools is either lobbying senators to stop the bill or planning to" because "They're worried about their property"?!?! From the talk I'm hearing, that "group of nuns" has been linked to the Religious Sisters of Mercy! If that rumor is true, then SHAME on the RSMs for supporting child sexual abuse.

      If the "group of nuns" is the Religious Sisters of Mercy, then my guess is the Catholic high school lobbying against the passage of Bill 326-33 is none other than my Alma Mater Academy of Our Lady of Guam — UNACCEPTABLE!!

      Delete
    2. It's not them. They want Apuron remove.

      Delete
    3. Rose de los Reyes (Seattle, WA)August 29, 2016 at 11:51 AM

      I am AOLG, too! The discussion here so far is speculating on which religious group of nuns and which private high school is going to lobby against passing Bill 326-33. Regardless of which group and private high school, if those local entities or their national administration enjoy the designation of a 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Service, they are prohibited by tax laws to blatantly lobby. The tax laws prevent lobbying or they will risk the loss of their local and/or national tax exempt designation. While they can’t out-and-out visit senators and/or their staff to lobby, they can do “educational meetings” without breaking the federal tax laws. Below is an excerpt of what 501(c)(3) designees can and can’t do with regard to lobbying.

      “Legislation includes action by Congress, any state legislature, any local council, or similar governing body, with respect to acts, bills, resolutions, or similar items (such as legislative confirmation of appointive office), or by the public in referendum, ballot initiative, constitutional amendment, or similar procedure. It does not include actions by executive, judicial, or administrative bodies.

      An organization will be regarded as attempting to influence legislation if it contacts, or urges the public to contact, members or employees of a legislative body for the purpose of proposing, supporting, or opposing legislation, or if the organization advocates the adoption or rejection of legislation.

      Organizations may, however, involve themselves in issues of public policy without the activity being considered as lobbying. For example, organizations may conduct educational meetings, prepare and distribute educational materials, or otherwise consider public policy issues in an educational manner without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status.”

      I am chuckling to myself as I write this, but I will write this anyway ... so if the nuns and/or the high school students are seen lobbying, you can as for their name and report them to the IRS! Ha!

      Delete
    4. Thanks, Rose. The word "lobbying" here is used loosely. There is no attempt to professionally lobby in such a way that it would involve a 501c3 status. BTW, I doubt if any religious order or school is 501c3 since they are not required to be.

      Delete
    5. Rose de los Reyes (Seattle, WA)August 30, 2016 at 1:07 PM

      Thank you, Tim. I understand what you mean. There is, for lack of a better word, “hard” lobby effort that the Church and religious entities is allowed to engage in without getting in trouble with the IRS. They just have to stay away from “substantial lobbying activities” (that’s the IRS term) and it’ll be fine to lobby. Here in Washington State, the three bishops from the three dioceses here have Sr. Sharon Park, a Dominican nun, as the lobbyist for the Catholic Church. She has done this work for maybe 30 years. She is a well respected lobbyist in our state capitol, for one, for her ability to work even with adversaries on public policies and legislation. “Soft” lobbying is for all of us. It’s good to see the soft lobby effort being encouraged and discussed by many who have commented in this particular primary election blog story that you wrote. In each person's capacity as a private citizen (and private citizens include nuns who live a comfortable lifestyle, as well as nuns on the opposite end of the ruler who subsist on bread & water only, and wear sack cloth for their habits ...), each citizen has a duty to contact their legislators and give their two cents on legislation. Sadly not many exercise that duty, but from the sounds of the discussion on this blog, it looks like more are going to visit, call, text, email, send a postcard, and/or write a letter to Guam’s senators to get Bill 326-33 passed. Moral issues from time-to-time come face-to-face with political issues and it is in our Catholic social justice tradition and teachings to be involved in the political process. I think Bill 326-33 speaks most to one of the seven themes of Catholic Social Justice. The theme of “Rights and Responsibilities” which is described in this way by the Catholic Conference of Bishops: “The Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Therefore, every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities -- to one another, to our families, and to the larger society.” Bill 326-33 seeks to recognize the human dignity of all, especially the vulnerable such as children, and that there are consequences to those who commit acts that undermine human dignity.

      Delete
  6. Not only do the nuns fear the lose of their COMFORTABLE LIFESTYLE, they also fear being involved in any legal proceedings concerning Apuron, which they fear may eventually open up new cans of ULO' (worms) Finally, they fear losing their schoolsl, where many of them work. (Heard, the new store opening at the mall, is accepting applications. No experience necessary. Must have integrity and loyalty. Pllease attach your Vatican clearance to the application)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mercy nuns there is dirt on many of you nuns. We will go after you name you expose you. Be warned! From lesbians inside the convents we will name you should you openly support or use schools to support Apuron.This is a war now.

      Delete
    2. If you have proof ANON 10:18, then disclose it. Otherwise, don't say it.

      Delete
    3. Empty words, 10:18. Loose lips destroy ships. Don't spread rumors, especially if the ship has already sunk. If you have personal vendetta against the nuns, address it with them but don't use the institution as pawn to your agenda. There are many hardworking and sincere nuns who have dedicated decades of their life. You, on the other hand, turned back on your commitment for personal comfort.

      Delete
  7. While some have decided to base their votes solely on the Pay Raise issue and pledged not to vote for the Group of 8, I'm grateful to see that Senator Frank F. Blas, Jr. — who introduced Bill 326-33 as well as previous pro-life/anti-abortion legislation AND who was included in the list of 8 — was at the TOP of the Republican list.

    I can appreciate the outrage over the pay raises BUT in my opinion, that issue pales in comparison to providing victims of child sexual abuse the opportunity to file civil litigation against their perpetrator(s), which is the very issue that Sen. Blas' Bill 326-33 addresses. I will vote for Sen. Frank F. Blas, Jr. on 8 November and I will actively campaign for him.

    As Anonymous at 10:02 PM stated, "Those senators who fail to support the Bill will be named shamed and denounced pre election. We will do all we can to make you lose election." I will be watching to see which senators fail to support Bill 326-33; not only will they lose my vote, I will do what I can to actively campaign against them.

    ReplyDelete
  8. If Notre Dame High School is involved, I won't be surprise. Attorney Jackie Terlaje is the ND's Endowment Chair.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jackie can be an ND grad but Notre Dame belongs to ND not like the Academy or the rest of the Catholic Schools. Jackie can always resign. The Notre Dame Sisters do not live a lavish life.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous at 9:10 AM, from the majority of the previous comments — including mine — it seems that most of us WOULD be surprised if Notre Dame High School turns out to be the high school lobbying against the passage of Bill 326-33. Even with the Trained Lawyer Jackie Terlaje as the NDHS Endowment Chairperson, my impression is that the School Sisters of Notre Dame do not belong to the Anthony Sablan Apuron Fan Club as do the Religious Sisters of Mercy.

      Delete
  9. They're worried about Angela and th B guy.

    ReplyDelete
  10. From the Dianas: apparently they, too, believe Hon did NOT pay attention to any of the reports presented in Jan 2015. They are much relieved, I'm sure---for now.

    So much for "let Rome handle it". Tim was right all along--it's in the hands of the Laity.

    DianaAugust 29, 2016 at 10:58 AM
    Dear Anonymous at 10:50 am,

    I think Tim Rohr is correct in that the Vatican delegation that was here in January 2015, probably did not read any of the reports that were submitted to them.

    ReplyDelete
  11. It's not about supporting Apuron, it is about fear of losing assets used by the schools or religious orders which belong to the Archdiocese of Agana. However, there is probably not much to worry about in that regard. The Archdiocese has insurance, and like other dioceses, the insurance company will probably pay the claims. This is going to hurt us all, but it's the price for looking the other way for decades.

    ReplyDelete