Posted by Tim Rohr
Bishop Ryan Jiminez is considered a candidate for Archbishop of Agana. I know nothing about him and this is the first time I even know what he looks like. He appears to be very pleased with the Neocatechumenal Way. It appears Fr. Jason has made great headway in why he was sent by Apuron to Saipan several years ago.
The NCW "Mass" does not conform to the liturgical and sacramental books. Pope Benedict XVI did not give a blanket approval for the NCW to evangelize within the Church. Cardinal Arinze advised the NCW that certain parts of their Mass needs to conform to the liturgical and sacramental books. The NCW altar is decorated with flowers and their candle holder on their altar is a Jewish menorah. First, the altar is an altar of sacrifice, not a banquet table. There should be no flowers and the Jewish menorah should be replaced with standard candle holders. The NCW has been directed on Guam to stop establishing or expanding their "communities" in the parishes. Bishop Ryan should request to see their Catechetical Directory which shows their teachings. Archbishop Byrnes of the Archdiocese of Agana requested to see this Directory in writing several years ago from the head of the NCW on Guam, David Atienza. I asked Archbishop Byrnes about a year ago if he ever received it. He never did. Why is this Directory seemingly secret? One may surmise there are teachings in that Directory that contradict our Traditions, Holy Scriptures, and the Magesterium of the Church. Be careful with this group, especially their leadership.
ReplyDeleteFurther, Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Kazakhstan was an episcopal delegate assigned to watch over this group for several years. He called this group in an interview in 2016 at the John Henry Newman Center in Hungary, "a Protestant-Jewish community within the Church with a Catholic decoration only." He further described the Neocatechumenate as a "Trojan horse in the Church." Do not be swayed to join this group. They will tell you they've been approved by the Pope but they won't show you any evidence to that effect. Our Catholic Church is truly open to everyone. The NCW is trying to establish themselves in our Archdiocese of Agana and in the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa as well as in Micronesia. Do not let them fool you. . .
ReplyDeleteAs Bob Klitzkie often says: “The court is like a big toad. It just sits there until someone pokes it.” In other words, rules, laws, etc. are just words on paper until someone brings a case or controversy.
ReplyDeleteIn much the same way, canon law and all that other stuff the church promulgates is nothing more than words on paper and has no “temporal” effect on violators unless someone brings a case or controversy. I inserted “temporal” because of course there are always eternal consequences.
When Apuron violated canon law by alienating a particularly valuable property, it didn’t matter that there was a church law prohibiting Apuron from doing it. He did it anyway. There were only consequences to Apuron when certain persons (the CCOG) brought the matter forward in a legal manner.
The issue never reached a canonical court but it was on its way there when the newly-appointed Archbishop Byrnes took action which restored the property to the Archdiocese of Agana, or more properly, to the Archbishop of Agana.
It appears that the next project for the CCOG is to explore a way to bring a canonical suit against those who continue to violate published norms (neocat catechists and responsibles) and those who are allowing the violations, i.e. the current apostolic administrator).
Such a suit would probably require all the elements of a civil suit: standing, etc.
Meanwhile, the only other option is once again promote a campaign to “stop the money.” It’s the only language the folks on the hill understand.
Unfortunately in canon law there is no specific penalty for liturgical abuse. The NCW liturgical abuses in many dioceses are carried out in connivance with the Bishop
DeleteThat is true. But there may be other grounds to bring suit as this is not specifically about liturgical abuses but about violation of published statutes. A case could be made that said violations have caused damage to a parish or parishes. An example could be financial damages. If neocats are availing themselves of parish services and properties but redirecting their financial support to the black trash bags, parishioners may be able to sue the pastor for misuse of parish assets and by extension mistreatment of parishioners. I know it all sounds terrible and I hope it never comes to that, but what else is there - if one wants to do more than complain.
DeleteThere are innumerable red flags about this group of which every bishop should be aware. For example, here is a list of some of the the most egregious instances of Kiko employing “eisegesis”, an interpretation of Scripture that expresses one’s own ideas and biases rather than the meaning of the text. In most of these cases, Kiko contradicts the interpretation of a Church Father: https://thoughtfulcatholic.com/?page_id=44881
ReplyDeleteWhat will happen now with the so-called "Neo evangelization" here on Guam? Being sent there by Apuron almost a decade ago, neocat Fr. Jason is back per the recent aviso on February 20 as chaplain of GMH and the Naval Hospital.
ReplyDeleteThe Neo-evangelization has never subsided in Guam despite Archbishop Byrnes several directives for it to be curbed or limited. It has functionally gone underground and continues to prosper.
DeleteYes, this underground Neo-evangelization is disturbing. Is anyone in the Archdiocese monitoring their activities? Equally disturbing is that the Protestant churches seem to be making headway within the local population.
Delete