Saturday, June 12, 2021

IS THIS LATEST MOVE LEGAL? SURE DOES NOT LOOK LIKE IT.

 (Posted by Frenchie)



Fr Ronald Richards JCL

aka

The white colonizer.


From this picture it would seem that this man, really does not want to stay on Guam. One might even ask why he would have agreed to follow Archbishop Byrnes to Agana as a priest on loan from the Archdiocese of Detroit?

 

Fr Richards likes to remind  everyone that he is a "lawyer".

This is highly misleading, because Fr Richards holds a JCL, which is a licentiate of Canon law (the law of the Catholic Church) A licentiate is a degree necessary for you to pursue your Doctorate.

Doctor of Canon Law, is a JCD, not a JCL .

We do have two  other JCL in the Archdiocese of Agana, plus one JCD "off island" (Msg Quitagua). Perhaps he should consult with the real JCD to insure that the Archdiocese is actually following Canon Law. Of course that would be ironic, since Msg Quitagua was one of the cornerstone of the Apuron administration, who did not recognize the legitimacy of Abp Byrnes when he was Coadjutor. But then again, the Chancery is still full of key players who had a vital role during the Apuron administration.



According to the Chancery own official documentation:

"The Archdiocese of Agana Chancery (also referred to as the archdiocesan Curia) is organized in eight offices".

*the office of the Chancellor

*the office of Finance

*the office of Temporal affairs

*the office of Human resources

*the office of safe environment

*the office of communication

*the office of Catholic Education

*the office of Metropolitan Tribunal 

Furthermore, we are told:

"Additionally the office of the Vicar General moderates the work of the Archdiocesan Curia and ensures the priorities and directives of the Archbishop are followed."

So far, and at first sight it all looks fairly clear and above board. Yet something is not quite right, as some people would obviously like the general public to believe. Something is slightly askew.

For several years now, and until very recently, the person who had accepted the burden of Vicar General was Fr Jeff  San Nicolas.


Whatever you might think about Fr Jeff, he did fulfilled his duties without much fanfare, some vicious minds even said without much discernment,or energy. Yet he held the helm as best as he could despite some difficult circumstances, and without much support from anywhere.(specially during the repeated absences of Abp Byrnes) Not an easy task, no matter how you cut it.

From what we have been able to gather, a strong disagreement between Fr Jeff and Bsp Byrnes did occur, with tempers flaring and the decibel level reaching  unusual levels. While Fr Jeff is still listed as a member of the College of Consultors, as well as of the Presbyteral council, he is now listed as Parochial vicar at St Anthony, St Victor parish in Tamuning.( It is to be noted that neither group has met recently, as it should normally do.) This is where things get a little peculiar. After the official line about the role of the Vicar General, in the spot where Fr Jeff used to have his coordinate as Vicar General, we find in its stead the following :

Fr Ronald S Richards, JCL

Special assistant to the Archbishop/Episcopal Vicar/ Chancellor

Then we find the info regarding Monica Taimango

Administrative Assistant to the Vicar General

The big problem of course being that there is no Vicar General, but an Episcopal Vicar.

From the way things are presented on the Chancery's site, it is obvious that the Episcopal Vicar has taken over the duties of the Vicar General. Of course the guy in its recliner reading these lines, will say:"What does it matter, if we have an Episcopal vicar instead of a Vicar General"?

This is the reason I did request a clarification from the communication director, about an official communication (aka Aviso) from the chancery, about the change of responsibilities for either Fr Jeff  or Fr Ron. Yet 96 hours after that request, I did not even received, the lame excuse given to the  Guam Daily Post about the contract of Mr Perez at Fr Duenas Memorial School, which was that Mr Diaz did not comment on personnel matters. I have looked high and low about any communication regarding the Vicar General, without any luck.

It is now evident that despite all the promises made by Archbishop Byrnes upon his arrival on Guam, that he would be transparent and forthcoming. The communication director, Mr Tony Diaz obviously has not changed his bad habits acquired during the Apuron administration. Or perhaps, Fr Richards, the omnipotent, all knowing white savior of the Archdiocese, has given strict instruction about not communicating. What is it Tony?


 
Tony might think that he is a dedicated servant of the Archdiocese, but keeping silent about the official position of the Chancery or Apostolic Curia, while being the director of one of the eight offices of this Curia, does not meet with the Archbishop promises of transparency.

According to Canon law, regarding the organization of Dioceses. The post of vicar general is mandatory, while the post apostolic vicar is optional. The post of Chancellor, as the official holder of records, is also mandatory, and both post should be separated.

 

Is this the reason Fr Richards opted for a post of Episcopal Vicar? Why is Archbishop Byrnes letting this fly, while he is well aware of the official structure a Diocese is supposed to have?

Most of all why give all that power to an individual who is so dismissive of local people and local habits, while  pretending to be open and above board. The Archbishop has talked the Talk. Now is the time to walk the walk. If this did not happen, the push back from the faithful could be even more decisive than against the corrupt Apuron.

 

4 comments:

  1. Sounds like someone is playing the empty shell game, and trying to hide what is really going on in the background

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    Replies
    1. Hello anon at 12.04. If you have the feeling that someone is playing hide the ball, it is because a large amount of evidence, which is growing bigger by the week, is pointing in that direction. The difficulty at this time is to find out,if these issues are done with the full knowledge of the Archbishop (which would be a catastrophe for our Church) or if it is the work of a small cadre of unscrupulous people, who are acting for their own benefit. The latest would be grave, but not as serious. Do not forget, that since the Archdiocese is in reorganization through the Chapter 11 of Bankruptcy system, there are federal rules and regulations to follow. This is very serious. If the Federal Judge was to find misrepresentation or gross misleading statements by the Curia in the process, the consequences would be devastating for the Archdiocese at several levels. I am not even thinking of the criminal consequences for some of these individuals. Lets hope for the best, but lets prepare for the worse.

      Delete
  2. It's easy, don't outshine Miget and you'll be fine. He has always hated competition. Don't forget where you come from doll. More to come.

    ReplyDelete