IT'S TIME FOR A CLARIFICATION

By Tim Rohr

Recently (in the last few days), a person known to me was invited (urged) to attend a “Neo catechesis” at the “Raina House” - the Neocat headquarters in Asan. 

Since the person known to me is not a member of the Neocatechumenal Way, the invitation appears to be the formation of a new community, or at least the expansion of an existing one. 

On March 27, 2023, then Vicar General Fr. Romy Convocar issued a MEMORANDUM re-affirming the 2017 INSTRUCTION of then Archbishop Michael Byrnes which placed a “‘pause’ on the formation of new (NCW) communities.”

Given that we are quite familiar with how the Neocat hierarchy historically squeezes around every word in every instruction which does not fully comport with what they want to do, it’s quite possible that they have interpreted the 2017 instruction to mean that there is no “pause” on expanding old communities - and thus are inviting “new” people to join establish communities. 

(NOTE: I was advised after this post that there is no such thing as the expansion of an existing community, so obviously the invite was to the formation of a new community.)

In any event, this is another matter that Archbishop Jimenez must immediately address, especially since it was the actions of the Neocat hierarchy which precipitated the mess that this archdiocese is now in, and that we are all being forced to pay for.

It’s time for a clarification: Exactly what is the Neocatechumenal Way in Guam permitted to do?

We need a new MEMORANDUM from the current Archbishop of Agana. No one else.  

Here is Archbishop Byrnes' INSTRUCTION:

KIKO: HE (GOD) WANTS US TO ANNOUNCE THE GOSPEL TO THE BISHOPS

By Tim Rohr

In the control cabin of the 'flying saucer': a Torah

Kiko is inviting 200 bishops for "a retreat" to his seaside space pad on the shores of the Sea of Galilee where he intends to "announce the Gospel" to them. And the communities are footing the bill. 

Here is the link to the original blog post in Italian. To read in English, try your browser translator. Otherwise here is a link to a Google Translation in PDF.

Just wondering if the Archbishop of Agana will be going. 

IVF AIN'T MAHA

LINK to online version

Donald Trump is considered to be the most pro-life president in U.S. history because he delivered on his promise to overturn Roe v Wade. However, his recent support for IVF (in-vitro fertilization) has been a cause of consternation for many hardline pro-lifers.

This is the problem when we opt for euphemisms instead of exact language. Pro-Lifers don’t like the label “anti-abortion,” and Pro-Choice-ers don’t like the label “pro-abortion,” but “life” and “choice” are not the issues. Abortion is.

Trump wasn’t even really anti-abortion. He was anti-Roe. He considered it bad law and he wasn’t alone. The late Justice Ginsburg, a staunch pro-abort, thought the same.

That said, I believe Trump is wrong about his support for IVF. However, at least for the purposes of this column, I am not opposing Trump’s position on moral grounds. I’ll explain that in a bit. But first, what is IVF?

Here’s a quick AI description: 1) The patient takes fertility drugs to stimulate the ovaries to produce eggs. 2) The eggs are removed from the ovaries. 3.) The eggs are fertilized with sperm in a laboratory. 4) One or more fertilized eggs are transferred to the uterus. 5)Pregnancy occurs when the embryo attaches to the lining of the uterus.

So what is the problem? Isn’t IVF “pro-life?” Well, yes and no. (And that’s the problem with the language.) IVF is “pro-life” in that the intent is to bring about a new human. And IVF is not pro-life in that for every baby born, there are approximately 15-20 embryonic human beings who are “discarded."

According to the CDC, in 2021, there were 238,000 IVF procedures in the U.S. At 7 to 8 eggs per try, that’s a total of nearly 2 million embryos with only about 100,000 who made it. That means nearly 1.8 million embryonic humans were discarded in 2021, a number that is nearly one million more than the number of reported abortions for the same year.

Perhaps because we are just discarding a microscopic “thing” in a glass tube, it doesn’t bother us as much as “disassembling” a baby-looking thing in the womb - which is what abortion is. But if we are going to argue that life begins at conception, then it doesn’t matter if that child is being pulled out of a womb and dumped into a bio-waste can, or dumped out of a test tube into the same can.

Most institutional religions don’t have a clear position on IVF, but the Catholic Church does:

“Techniques that entail the dissociation of husband and wife, by the intrusion of a person other than the couple (donation of sperm or ovum, surrogate uterus), are gravely immoral. These techniques…infringe the child's right to be born of a father and mother known to him and bound to each other by marriage…They dissociate the sexual act from the procreative act. (CCC 2376-7)

However, according to a Pew poll, only 13% of Catholics believe IVF is wrong. So I can’t get worked up about Catholic pro-lifers criticizing non-Catholic Trump for his position. We need to get our own house in order first.

Meanwhile, though, the more tangible problem with Trump’s support of IVF is that it “ain’t" MAHA - RFK, Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again.”

MAHA is all about going beyond our band-aid medical culture, getting to the root cause of disease, and then doing something about it.

Infertility is as old as Abraham and Sarah, but it’s never been common. Today it is. The World Health Organization reports that 1 in 6 people globally experience infertility. The WHO defines infertility as a “disease” and lists IVF as a “treatment.”

Obviously, IVF is not a treatment for infertility. Just like so many medical “treatments,” it’s a temporary technological workaround. And what it “works around” is the “something else” that is wrong. And what is that?

Well we can start with the fact that women are waiting longer to have children and during this “waiting” many women are chemically altering their reproductive system (with the pill) to not to do the thing that nature wants to do (ovulate). So you might say nature is slapping back.

However, beyond that, and according to a study published in the Journal of Human Reproductive Sciences, PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) is the leading cause of infertility. And, according to the CDC, insulin resistance is a major cause of PCOS. And guess what is the major cause of insulin resistance? Bad diet and lifestyle. Surprise.

Bottom line: IVF “ain’t" MAHA.

Tim Rohr has resided in Guam since 1987. He has raised a family of 11 children, owned several businesses, and is active in local issues via his blog, JungleWatch.info, letters to local publications, and occasional public appearances. He may be contacted at timrohr.guam@gmail.com  

HE'S NOT GOING TO TELL US

By Tim Rohr

Archbishop Ryan Jimenez has released a letter apologizing for the incident at Bishop Baumgartner Memorial School in which a lay person posed as a priest and led what appeared to be a Eucharistic Procession and Adoration. 

We first posted a video of the incident on JungleWatch on February 7, 2025 under the title WHY IS A LAY PERSON DOING THIS? 

The post quickly attracted much attention with over 2000 views and 31 comments - not including the comments we didn't post because of anonymous accusations. Note: We do publish accusations but only when the accuser identifies him or herself by name - a real one. 

On March 8, 2025, more than one month since we initially posted about the incident, we posted TICK, TICK, TICK...THE SILENCE IS THE SCANDAL. 

In the post we noted that if there had been no one at the top (in the chancery) who approved "the incident," then an explanation and discipline of the action would have been immediately forthcoming. But since there had been nothing in more than a month, then the only explanation was that chancery officials were scrambling for cover. 

Three days after we called out the scandal, Archbishop Ryan Jimenez has released a letter that, in my opinion, increases the scandal. 

In his letter, Archbishop Jimenez takes responsibility for the incident, but only in his capacity as the ultimate authority in a sort of "the buck stops here" move. Sounds nice, but it tells us nothing. 

It tells us nothing about who authorized this false and scandalous act. Nor, does his letter tell us anything about disciplining the actors - especially the main actor who, pursuant to some of the comments, this playing priest is nothing new.

Instead, we are getting a slew of new documents and bureaucratic directives reminiscent of the slew of documents and bureaucratic directives responsive to the clergy sex abuse of children scandal during the last days of Apuron when in fact it was the very people drafting those documents and directives who we now know had molested the children or were covering for those who did.

Someone in the chancery authorized "the incident" and Archbishop Jimenez is not going to tell us who. Here's his letter.

TICK, TICK, TICK - THE SILENCE IS THE SCANDAL

By Tim Rohr

As of today, WHY IS A LAY PERSON DOING THIS has received 1,863 views, many times more than any other recent post. It has also generated 31 comments, also many times more than any recent post. 

What hasn't happened, as of today, is an explanation from Archbishop Ryan Jimenez. 

Now, on a personal level, I really don't care. It's not that big of a deal to me. Liturgical abuses, theological abuses, religious abuses, child abuses, none of that is new in this archdiocese. In fact, all are quite common. However, the fact that the Archbishop has remained silent about the incident smacks of the secrecy we suffered through with the last administration. 

If this particular abuse - as shown in the aforesaid post - had occurred without approval from anyone in the chancery, then we would have had a statement by now because it would have been easy to make. It would have been something to the effect of: 

"We apologize for the abuse of the Blessed Sacrament at Bishop Baumgartner Memorial School on February 11, 2025. The abuse occurred without our knowledge or approval and we have taken steps to ensure that it doesn't happen again."

But the fact that there has been no such statement nearly one month later, and given the massive attention to the incident on this blog, there are only two other possibilities:

1. The incident WAS approved by a "higher-up," (someone in the chancery - maybe even the archbishop), and the "higher-ups" have been scrambling to come up with a story to protect their own; or

2. The incident WAS approved, as set forth in No. 1, and the "higher-ups" are hiding and waiting for the story to go away.

Hiding, waiting, lying, scrambling, deflecting, secrecy...all of that - we have seen too many times before -  from the arrest of a certain Neocat priest at an Agat beach in 2015 and his mysterious disappearance soon after, to the sudden disappearance of Apuron himself the night after his first accuser came forward. 

This measly little incident with a layman playing priest at a school event is nothing compared to the other scandals we have suffered through, but it is a scandal nonetheless. And the silence is making the scandal bigger by the day. In fact, the SILENCE is the SCANDAL.

So, just like the old days when we waited and waited on "the chancery" to comment on other mysteries (and got only lies or nothing at all), we're going to start a count up counter and see how long it takes. We'll put the counter in the right side bar as well. 

Tick, tick, tick.

NOTE: The counter was removed after an explanation was provided by Archbishop Jimenez on March 11, 2025

THE APURON CIVIL TRIAL - 1

Parties in Apuron clergy abuse cases seek more time

By Julianne Hernandez Pacific Daily News 

Attorneys in the clergy sex abuse and defamation case against former Archbishop Anthony Apuron are seeking more time to finalize schedules for depositions.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Delia Lujan Wolff and defense attorney Jacqueline Taitano Terlaje appeared before District Court of Guam Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood on Thursday to discuss the status of the case. 

CONTINUED