JungleWatch: LUIS CAMACHO RETURNS - BUT THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

LUIS CAMACHO RETURNS - BUT THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM

By Tim Rohr

So Fr. Luis Camacho has returned to Guam after nine years. I hope things work out for him. However, the real problem at this point is not Luis Camacho, but Fr. Romeo Convocar, our Apostolic Administrator. And here’s why.

In the above press release, Fr. Convocar states the following:

According to archdiocesan records, Father Luis was arrested on March 17, 2015 on Guam for custodial interference. He resigned as Pastor of San Dimas, Malesso and San Dionisio, Umatac. He was prohibited from hearing confession and restricted from celebrating Mass publicly. He may celebrate Mass only privately. Those restrictions of his faculties have not been lifted. Former Archbishop Anthony Apuron sent the priest off-island to a priestly renewal program after the incident in 2015.

Other than the fact that Camacho was arrested on March 17, 2015, none of the rest is true.

1. There was no restriction of Camacho’s faculties. Camacho was immediately hurried away the next day to Saipan where he stayed with then-Bishop Camacho who was said to be his uncle.

2. There was no “off-island priestly renewal program.” After Saipan, Camacho was scurried away by the Neocat hierarchy to the Middle East where he surfaced at a parish in Qatar and was put in charge of youth ministry.

3. Camacho was apparently incardinated by the bishop in Qatar, Camillo Ballin, in a diocese that was building up a large neocatechumenal presence.

And then there's this:

Rome opened a canonical investigation on Father Luis following the incident in 2015. Though the Vatican has not been able to make a canonical ruling due to insufficient evidence, the case is not closed. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith informed then Archbishop Michael Byrnes on Nov. 18, 2022 that the case is filed in the archives at this time as it is not possible to proceed with any canonical action.

This conflicts with a 2016 letter published in Qatar by Camacho's "new bishop" clearing Camacho:

Note: This letter appears to be the work of the Neocat cabal in Qatar and their using Ballin like they used Apuron: a rubber stamp. Nevertheless, Fr. Convocar needs to know the real history and needs to make it clear.

The Camacho incident was huge at the time because it occurred just as things were heating up for Apuron regarding his sex abuse of minors as well as the whole RMS scam. Had Camacho publicly confessed and said "I'm sorry," I am quite sure all of Guam would have forgiven and embraced him.

Perhaps Camacho wanted to do that. But Apuron and his Neocat handlers got rid of Camacho as fast as they could, not to protect Camacho, but to protect their own back sides - given what was coming.

JungleWatch followed the whole mess very closely. There are 62 posts on this blog about Luis Camacho and a whole page (Luis Camacho File) with links to all the news stories generated by his arrest.

Fr. Convocar should spend a few days studying those posts and the file before he sends out any more press releases. We've been lied to and lied to. We don't need anymore. And neither does Fr. Luis Camacho.

And one last thing. The press release has Tony Diaz' name at the bottom of it, not Fr. Convocar's. While Tony as Director of Communications can certainly write and distribute press releases, they should always be in the name of Fr. Convocar. We don't want to be guessing who is running this place all over again.

By the way. The Camacho affair wasn't just local news.

From Osservatorio sul Cammino Neocatechumenale secondo verità

(translated)

the Neocatechumenal priest arrested on a secluded beach in Guam while having sex with a Neocatechumenal minor was sent to Qatar probably to avoid extradition should a criminal trial begin against him in Guam. The Attorney General of Guam herself, moreover, had done everything to support the kikos despite the law requiring her to continue the proceedings against the neocat "presbyter".
On the one hand, the mgr. Camillo Ballin , Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia, competent for Qatar, had stated that the arrested presbyter belongs to "his him" he clergy (as if he had formally incardinated him); who knows, maybe he is convinced that at some point he will make a career and leave the hot potato to his successor... On the other hand, however, the Neocatechumenal chancellor of the Curia of Guam had said in a press release (Statement published in the diocesan newspaper ) that the presbyter was still belonging to the clergy of Guam. The Neocatechumenal bishop of Guam, in fact, to protect the arrested man, had always avoided following his own provisions . Which of the two bishops will end up with a lit match in their hand?