On June 28, 2017, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect for the Congregation of the Evangelization of Peoples, wrote Archbishop Michael Byrnes, the following:
In effect, Filoni was warning Byrnes that he plans to block the sale of the Yona property if he closes RMS.
As Filoni notes, the sale will need approval of the Holy See, and in this case, he, Filoni, is "the Holy See," since it is his Congregation which represents the so-called "mission territories" of which Guam is a part - though why after 400 years of Catholicism we are still considered a "mission" is a mystery.
Well, as you know, Archbishop Byrnes has closed RMS. And here's what Filoni's actions will mean: It will mean the closure of and selling of your churches and schools.
Here's why.
Currently there are efforts to mediate the 155-plus lawsuits out of court. The central motivation to do this is the belief that the Archdiocese of Agana currently has enough insurance and "non-essential" assets to satisfy the attorneys and the plaintiffs.
The "gem" in the list of non-essential assets is the Yona Property, formerly occupied by RMS, which has been valued between 40 and 70 Million dollars. But even if the value is lower, it is still the largest, most valuable asset in the mediation pot.
You can bet that if this property is removed from that pot - by Filoni blocking its sale - mediation will immediately fall apart and all 155 cases will head to court.
At that point the archdiocese will have to declare bankruptcy and place all of its properties at the mercy of the court, including the "essential properties" - your churches and schools.
At this point, Filoni will no longer be able to block the sale of anything because control of all properties will lie with the courts and no longer with the Archbishop of Agana.
We must remember that this is no small matter. This archdiocese now has 400% MORE abuse cases per capita than the infamous Boston scandal which was made into the movie Spotlight.
With 155 cases already filed at 5 to 10 MILLION each, that's 775 MILLION to ONE AND HALF BILLION DOLLARS in law suits. Even if only 25% of this has to be paid out, that's still TWO HUNDRED to FOUR HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS.
Given the list of "non-essential" properties the plaintiffs and their attorneys appear willing to settle for, it appears the most this could cost us is between 50 and 100 MILLION dollars, with all of that coming from properties that are not churches or schools.
But if Filoni blocks the sale of the Yona Property - as he is intending to do - mediation is out the window and your church and your school will be on the chopping block.
Having endured the most vile tactics from the neocat power brokers for nearly two decades, and seeing the lengths their local puppets were willing to go through to cover for them, we should not be surprised at a scorched earth policy that intends to wipe out your parish church and your children's school.
That's just how they roll.
