In the Saipan Tribune:
A betrayal of trust and heritage: Where are our indigenous leaders?
Nov. 25, 2024, was a heartbreaking and infuriating day for our Chamorro and Carolinian people! Why are our indigenous Chamorro and Carolinian priests consistently overlooked to lead our faith and people? Are our indigenous priests not deemed worthy enough? Last night and today, the pain in their eyes was undeniable—our community deeply feels the weight of this injustice.
The Church in any Pacific culture, is supposed to protect the language and culture. Our Chamorro and Carolinian language and culture have withstood centuries of foreign domination. We survived the Spanish, German, and Japanese cultural purges, only to now face the slow erasure of our heritage by the very institution that should be defending it—the Catholic Church. This is nothing less than a tragedy for the people of the CNMI. CONTINUED
This piece makes no mention of the fact that at least 10 of the 13 active priests in the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa are not Chamorro. Why so few Chamorro priests? Does this have anything to do with the issue?
ReplyDeleteI am sure it does. Plus there is the issue of how it worked out with the last two local bishops of both Guam and Saipan.
DeleteHoliness is a million times more important than language and culture when choosing a bishop.
ReplyDeleteIn past times, it was common to choose a bishop who was NOT from the same language and culture or village or town for the same reason Jesus had no credibility in Nazareth.
DeleteI thought the move was to recombine Saipan with Guam. Chalan Kanoa as a diocese is tiny.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is. From what I remember, it was somewhat artificially created, as was the Diocese of the Marshalls, back in 1984 (or thereabouts) so that the Diocese of Agana would have the two required "suffragan" dioceses in order to make Agana an Archdiocese so that our bishop would be an "archbishop." Prior to that, Agana was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. This has caused all kinds of problems because it removed Agana from the USCCB and placed it with CEPAC. And so we see the archbishop invoking the USCCB when its expedient and claiming independence when it isn't. Another mess descended from the inculturation craze fostered by Vatican II.
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