Saturday, January 22, 2022

HELL YES I AM PRO-CHOICE

By Deacon Steve Martinez

Hell Yes I Am Pro-Choice

Someone asked me today how come I am not “pro-choice”? Is it just because I work for the Church, or do I truly believe that “pro-choice” is wrong?

My response shocked them…

I am very much pro-choice…all the way to my core. And every court in the land has also affirmed the concept of pro-choice. Case after case, courts have ruled that mothers AND FATHERS not only have a right to choose, but a solemn responsibility to choose on behalf of their children. 

BUT, that right/responsibility comes with a catch. When we make a choice on behalf of our children, we are required to do what we believe is in the best interest of our children. The court does not allow room for selfish interests of the parents. And God expects the same of us parents as well. So this right to choose is both legal and moral!

I’ve done more than 50 mediations for child custody for the Guam courts, and I always apply that same imperative, and no judge has ever found that guideline to be wrong. Every court in our country calls upon parents to do what is in the best interest of the child. And when the court has to choose one parent over the other in matters of custody, it is only interested in what is best for the child. 

That responsibility only goes away when the child reaches the age of majority, or 18, but only if they are competent to make those decisions for themselves. If they are not competent, when they turn 18, then the responsibility continues with the parents, unless they relinquish responsibility to the state. Then the state assumes that burden of choice on behalf of the child/adult. 

So, can anyone explain to me why that same right/responsibility would not apply to parents for the unborn child as well? I cannot think of any legal or moral reason why parents would be relieved of this “pro-choice” requirement for the most vulnerable children in the world. The only reason is selfishness, and that just doesn’t carry any weight at all in this discussion. 

No illness or disease gives a parent the right to terminate the life of a child already born. Ending their life is NOT in the child’s best interest, no matter what the circumstances! Even if it presents a huge inconvenience to one or both parents. 

AND, no illness, or disease should give any parent a right to end the life of their unborn child, either. 

So, hell yes I am pro-choice. And so are all US courts. And, obviously, so is God. 

But the choice must be in the best interest of the child. No consideration is given to the parents, and how the child may affect their life/lives. 

Any questions?

They had no response.  

Friday, January 21, 2022

LATEST MOVE AT THE CHANCERY

 Posted by frenchie        

                                        

After  a long hiatus of several months, the Archdiocese of Agana is going to be in communion with

Canon law.

Since the departure of  Fr Jeff as Vicar General, we had been left with an hybrid situation, where the 

special advisor to the Archbishop was Episcopal vicar, and a civilian had been nominated as the Chancellor, despite a complicated personal health issue.

We now have a new Vicar General, pending the official Aviso from the Chancery.

Fr. Romeo Concovar has been nominated as the New Vicar General.

Please pray for him to be successful, in this most difficult of position.

He certainly will have to make his voice heard over the Episcopal Vicar, even if said person is scheduled to go back to Detroit by the month of July.

The good news, at least for now, is that we are not in contravention of Canon law.

 


Best wishes for this weekend. 

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE OF SYNODALITY FOR THE GUAM ARCHDIOCESE?

 Posted by frenchie



Our Archdiocese has been told, from the top down, that we shall have a discussion/input/conversation about Synodality.


Most people have no clue what Synodality means, and what it is supposed to achieve.

We shall try to make it simple for people to wrap their mind around this concept. Then we will attempt to see if and how we can, and should participate in a dialogue, which right off the bat, seems to have been locked in by a precious few at the Chancery.

We will look at what the Archdiocese communication tells us. We will try to compare it to what is being done in dioceses around the world. Try to reach a conclusion on the process and also on the results anticipated, here, in our regional conference of Bishops, as well as in Rome.

This is a large undertaking, at all levels. The process, approach and conclusions should reveal to us the real situation we have at our own chancery, which has for the last four years, been very opaque and contradictory on most subjects.

The results of this oversight by Junglewatch should shed light on the reality of the intentions of Archbishop Byrnes and his team.

Let us pray for discernment. 

Today we should just try to define for the general public what is Synodality.

Thank you for your patience and interest.  

 

Historically a Synod is the Council of the Church. convened to resolve issues of Doctrine or Administration.

Ethymologicall y, the word Synod comes from the Greek "Sinooos"which means assembly or meeting.

It has the same meaning as the Latin word "Concilium" which means council.

Traditionally Synods have been meetings of Bishops. This is usually the way the word is still used nowadays. In modern times it has taken a slightly different meaning, such as governing body. It does not matter whether the members of said Synod actually meet or not.
 

So far, the communication coming from the Archdiocese has been minimal, with a few shy improvements of their website over the last weeks. In order to have a better idea, I have added their link, which you can read Here

According to the calendar pushed by the Vatican, there should be two phases to the process.

1st phase: 10/21 to 04/22 , this is the Diocesan Phase

2nd phase: 09/22 to03/23, this is the Continental Phase.


Please make yourselves more knowledgeable by reading the official documentation.

I shall revisit in another article the questions raised, the suggested answers and the challenges that we shall face. 

JUNGLE WATCH PASSES TEN MILLION VIEWS..

 



Last 30 days: 16.6K Views



While many would have wished junglewatch would disappear, we not only are still here,

but we just passed a huge milestone with 

10 MILLION VIEWS

 

This would not have been possible without the collaboration of many people.

Writers, readers, contributors and critics.

Of course lets not forget its own founder Tim Rohr.

 

Not bad at all for a small Catholic blog on a tiny island in the Western Pacific.

 

Thank you, to all of you.

We could not have dreamed of a nicer gift for this new year, already full of challenges.

 


 

WHY THE ARCHDIOCESE OF AGANA NEEDS MORE PEOPLE LIKE MR CRUZ.....AND WHY WE MUST BEWARE OF THE SNAKES AMONG US

posted by Frenchie

 
 
 
Beware of the snakes in our island community, doing the work of the Evil One under the guise of Equity.

Last week, Mr Manny Cruz a long time fixture of the Guam public arena, wrote a letter to the Editor of the Pacific Daily News which I have often criticized for its unabashed anti Catholicism.

you can read it Here 

Mr Cruz had taken umbrage of the latest column of "Dr" Bevacqua, the habitual historical revisionist in chief of the Chamorro separatist movement on Guam.

As he is used to, in his weekly column in the PDN where he has had a friendly window to expand on his narrow and sectarian views, Mr Bevacqua had once again taken things out of context, and repackaged it, to take another cheap shot at the history of Catholicism and the Chamorro Culture.

This is what the former assistant professor of the UOG, former assistant to the one term gadfly senator Kelly Marsh "Taitano", and now curator of the Guam Museum, usually does in his weekly columns.

It is part of his constant drumbeat, made of half truths, innuendos, half baked studies, and outright lies, which he unleashes constantly on the Guam Public, with the wink, wink, nod, nod aquiescence of the majority of our local media, and with the protection of a substantial part of our political class.

You can read his column here

One could have hope that since we got rid of the corrupt and disgraced Apuron, our Archbishop, or someone from the Chancery would have had the fortitude to denounce this kind of stone age anti Christian, and specifically anti Catholic diatribes.

This would be a perfect opportunity for the official Press Secretary of the Chancery to justify his own salary by writing his own letter to the Editor, with the Archbishop's blessing.

Alas this would be too nice to be true!

Thanks God for strong Catholic men, specially for a man like Mr Manny Cruz, who clearly challenged the good Dr.

His letter must have hit its mark, because Mr Bevacqua (often called the Che Bevacqua because of his mimetism of the famous communist Argentinian revolutionary Che Guevarra, partner in crime of Fidel Castro), decided to attack Mr Cruz on his Facebook account, and remove his veil of respectability by making personal, vicious and obviously false accusation against Mr Cruz. Very much in line with the tactics of the former senator and openly racist Hope Cristobal.


Che Bevacqua posing in front of the UN assembly in NYC

with the failed Tahitian independence leader Oscar Temaru. Also a strong Anti Catholic.

 

We should therefore be thankful for strong Catholic men like Mr Cruz, for his courageous stand, and keep a close watch for the likes of Bevacqua, Underwood, Won Pat, Borja,Perez, Cristobal and their ilks for their termite work against our Church and against the political stability of our island. 

Monday, January 17, 2022

AN INTERESTING PERSPECTIVE ON THE "TRADUTIONIS CUSTODES"

Posted by Frenchie

Cardinal Sarah

Former Prefect of the Congregation of the Divine Worship

and 

Discipline of Sacraments

 

Cardinal Sarah, the de facto leader of African Catholic bishops ( the fastest growing constituency of the Catholic Church) submitted his resignation to Pope Francis almost a year ago, on February 20 2021, having reached the age of mandatory retirement.

Pope Francis accepted the Cardinal's resignation, even if  as contrary to tradition he did not have an immediate replacement, for such an essential and prestigious Congregation.

A prolific writer, Cardinal Sarah, just released his latest book, in France. The title being:

"Pour l'eternite" Meditations sur la figure du pretre.

(For the Eternity." Reflections on the image of the priest.)

Published by Fayard in French, it should be available to English readers around the time of Lent.

Pope Francis instead waited a few months before appointing a replacement in the person of Bishop Arthur Roche from England, (in May of last year) who was soon after elevated to the title of Cardinal. Becoming in the process the highest and most powerful British episcopal figure in an extremely long time. This also assures Francis of a less confrontational relationship with the congregation for the time being.




 

In the same sweep, Pope Francis revamped the whole leadership of the Congregation with the appointment of Bishop Vittorio Francesco Viola OFM as Secretary of the Congregation; as well as Spanish priest Aurelio Garcia Macias, a protege of Cardinal Blasquez the president of the Spanish Conference of Bishops.

For those interested in this musical chair game, and how it has consequences for the future, you can read an excellent article from the site Monday Vatican Here

(you will need to scroll down a couple of pages, click on previous to find the post from May 2021 titled Pope Francis begins the curia domino)


 

Just three months in his tenure as new Prefect of the Congregation of divine worship and the Discipline of Sacraments, the Vatican announced the Motus Proprio "Traditionis Custodes" which literally upends the long and difficult work of Pope St John Paul and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, in regards to the traditional latin mass and the sacraments tied to its celebration.

You can read the excellent essay by Phil Lawler the long time Catholic journalist of Catholic Culture, which highlights the issues brought forth by said Motus Proprio.

Read Here

I hope that this will help you understand a little better a corner stone of what is happening to our Church under the veil of the pandemic, and some of the epic challenges facing us, right now.

Sunday, January 9, 2022

CHALLENGES IN 2022 COMING FROM OUR RELIGIOUS LEADERS, AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR GUAM

Posted by Frenchie


 

 


 In my recent post titled 2022, I mentioned the issue of Traditionis Custodes, a document released by the Vatican last summer, which took me a while to read and digest.

This Motus Proprio, is a poorly argumented document which blames the problem experienced by the Church, on the Catholic Tradition. In turn it concludes that the solution is therefore, to rid the Church of said tradition, while trying to switch the weight of this humongous decision on the local Bishops, by a supposed re enforcement of the Bishop's decision making. This is nothing less than the tried and true bait and switch, used by your local use cars salesman.

This of course will lead to more problems than solutions, and present the real danger of a de facto Balkanization of the Church.



If you pair that issue with the new concept of Synodality, which was announced last November by Archbishop Byrnes, we have in front of us, the building up of a perfect storm, or like governor Leon Guerrero calls it a Super Typhoon.


 

In his message to Catholics on Guam, last December, Archbishop Byrnes broke the news to the general public, that he is launching the process of the synod of synodality for our Archdiocese. 

While this is nothing really new, (we have seen hundreds of dioceses around the world already putting in place the process for such synod) the absence of our Archbishop for several long periods of time in 2021, coupled with the top down, management style of the people he left in charge, do not bide well for any kind of "synodality". Others dioceses have had this issue made public for several months already, with to go contacts and so on. Not here on Guam

Indeed the said process is supposed to have started this past December 7th, and the "communication was posted on the Archdiocese website in late November. This has all the markings of a "lets go through the motions anyway, but we know what needs to be included with our communication to the Vatican."

Synod (coming from the Greek) means traveling or walking together (something certainly not lost on the NCW).

Archbishop Byrnes short history on Guam, is anything, but transparent. As I mentioned in other articles last year, neither the prebysteral council, nor the college of consultants have met in a very long time, despite the clear directions of the Canonical Code. Further while we get the occasional release of a statement, the whole process is murky as hell.

We still do not have a Vicar General, since the departure of Fr. Jeff (officially for health reasons) also in contradiction to Canon law

We have a Civilian Female as a Chancellor in the person of Jenny Shimizu.

Since the Chancellor's role is essentially a keeper of records, this in itself is not impossible, even if it looks like a backroom deal.

A very woke decision, which surprisingly enough did not get the Kudos of Adelup, the Women Chamber of Commerce, or the usual feminist agitators. Yet one remains dubious of the efficiency of such appointment, in view of the personal health challenges facing Mrs Shimizu . Please pray for her.

As for the Special Assistant to the Archbishop, the unsufferable , pedantic and egocentric Fr Richards, who also hold the title Episcopal Vicar,  might still ram through this Synodality before his return to Detroit in July. (now that he has been promised an assignment to a rich parish, rather than the small country one he had been previously assigned to). Since the whole process is supposed to be wrapped up by April, the chances for real consultation with the laity are very, very slim.

 


(Any similarities with the past situation of Adrian Cristobal, being purely accidental).


Now you have two of the most important changes pushed by the Vatican in the last 60 years, being sneaked below our collective radar, with almost no laity consultation.

Tell your friends, and demand a better consultation at the parishes level.

Friday, January 7, 2022

A BEACON OF LIGHT IN A SEA OF DARKNESS.

 It was almost 2 years ago, just before the closing down of our beautiful island, that Guam hosted a unique personality, in the person of Bishop Schneider.


 

This was a joyous occasion,which was paired with the official reception by Archbishop Byrnes of his Pallium.


 

As the proverb tells us, a lot of water has traveled under the bridge since that nice weekend. Yet the essentials remain the same, and this crisis revealed to us the challenges God asks us to face.

Our decisions will have grave consequences, they are not easy to take. As the New Testament revealed to us, we shall be mocked and often persecuted for our faith, even inside our own Church. 

In fact throughout the world last year hundred of thousands of Catholics have suffered persecution, some even the martyr for their belief. It was true in Syria, Irak, Armenia, Lebanon, Cyprus, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, China, North Korea, the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia.

Bishop Schneider has a particular understanding of being persecuted for our faith, since he grew up in the German Catholic minority in the former USSR. Praying and receiving the sacraments thanks to courageous ministers who took great personal risks to tend to their flock, in an underground Church, just like the first Christians in the Roman Empire.

The contrast with our Church of Nice could not be wider.

Hence his perspective is unique, since he brings to us his own experience of how to deal with persecution.


Today I am sharing with you a video, of the interview of Bishop Schneider by Michael Matt of the Remnant.

It has been a privilege for me to meet both men on different occasions. What I have taken out of these meetings is a deeper knowledge of our religion, as well as an understanding that for us  living our lives as Catholics is not a proposition for the feeble, and the meek.Our faith shall be tested in ways we could not anticipate 2 years ago.


Watch Here


Enjoy the Video and reflect, on how his challenges apply to us in Guam right now.

As a footnote, Bishop Schneider has a strong German accent when he speaks English, therefore you might have to listen more carefully that you might otherwise


Wednesday, January 5, 2022

2022

Posted by Frenchie

 






 

 GOOD BYE 2021, HELLO 2022


The usual celebrations about a coming new year, were for the most part, dull compared to what most of us are used to. As we are now entering a third year of hysterical reactions to what many now consider as an unrelenting campaign of fear, intimidation, half truths, and sometimes blatant lies; observers can only be dismayed by what has unfolded in the past two years.

Under the pretense of protection of the general population, most of the rights we held dear, have been pushed in a corner, dismissed, even completely ignored.

Chief among these rights, the first amendment of the United States Constitution, which reads as follow:

Freedom of Religion, speech and the press,

Rights of Assembly and Petition

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

One would hope that anyone with the reading comprehension of an eighth grader would be able to put their mind around this simple, but essential concept. 

Unfortunately,  we have seen legions of politicians, (elected or not) and a myriad of obscure, often anonymous "civil servants" trample with great enthusiasm these founding principles of our Nation.


 

What is more troubling for us Catholics is the tepid reactions of our religious leaders to these gross infringements to our religious rights. Worse, some of our most senior and learned leaders have embraced without any questioning the egregious abuses of our religious freedoms, going as far as to condone the inexcusable .

Under the leadership of the newest President of the United States, who like the speaker of the House claims to be a person of faith, and a respectable Catholic, we have seen a complete disregard for the values of life, a quasi endorsement of eugenic policies, and an incessant flow of lies, and misrepresentations.

Confronted by this, and the growing concert of questions coming from the Catholic faithful, the Catholic Conference of Bishops, refused the debate at first, then tried to ignore it, before conveniently kicking offside (to use a sport allegory)

This lack of courage, and integrity by our bishops, was even made worse by the violent, disgraceful and hypocritical  attacks on Catholic Tradition by the "modernist"wing  who embraced without debate the latest Vatican inanity, coming to us under the guise of a motus proprio titled :

"Traditionis Custodes"

A misnomer meaning "Guardians of Tradition"


 

A document that is so replete in major canonical errors, that one could attribute it to a bad essay by a seminary sophomore.

I shall not bore you today with the intricate details of this destructive document, but we will go back to it at a later date.

What can be noted is the disturbing resemblance of this document, to the many media pieces of the so called legacy media (another misnomer) which have bombarded us over the last three years with what Marxist operators call the reversed accusatory. (An efficient, often used tactic, which consist of accusing your target of the sins you are yourself guilty of)

I shall grant you that at least (for the time being) the US Catholic Church has not yet fallen to the dismal level of the once great Canadian Catholic Church. Nothing guarantees us that our leaders' lack of backbone will not lead us to a total capitulation where God is no longer at the center of our lives, at the center of the Church.

Already we see disturbing but telling signs of things to come, with Bishops acting like HR directors, or CPAs, even hiding behind a dreaded legal jargon, but occulting God from the life of their dioceses.


 

What is at the center of all these evils, is this omission of God at the core of everything we do.

The message Christ left us (through his apostles) is that God is truth and love.

Ergo, everything that is not of truth and of love is against God, against his people, against his Church.

Let this sink in for a while, and reflect on the web of deception that has surrounded us for the last two years, which threaten to continue to surround us for a long time, unless we declare Enough! and resolve ourselves to take the Challenge to put God back at the center of our lives.


 

We need to demand accountability from our Bishop, and the people he put in places of power.

We need to demand accountability from our politicians, for what they have done, and what they have failed to do.

We need to demand accountability from our priests, who except for a few courageous and often ostracized individuals have failed their flock

We need to demand accountability from the Media, who instead of their self professed tenets, have been the MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS, to the lies, half truths, and omissions enveloping us daily.

We need to demand accountability from ourselves for our weaknesses, and lack of courage.

Lets pray that God grants us these demands, so we can once more put him at the center of our lives.