Concerned Catholics of Guam, Inc. with the Faithful who follow and support our work are committed to strengthening our Catholic Faith among the people of Guam. Additionally, we encourage and support local young men who want to pursue their studies and vocation to become priests to serve in our Archdiocese.
I read today the Aviso (Prot. No. 01-147) from the Chancery Office-which you posted on your webpage also-where certain priests in the Archdiocese of Agana are being given new pastoral assignments effective 14 September 2025.
Concerned Catholics of Guam, Inc. has always been apprehensive about the few priests still in our Archdiocese who are affiliated and are active with the Neocatechumenal Way.
As Bishop Athanasius Schneider (who visited Guam in January 2020 at the invitation of the late Michael Byrnes, Archbishop Emeritus of Agana) stated in an April 22, 2016 interview at the John Henry Newman Center in Hungary that the Neocatechumenal Way is a "Trojan horse in the Church." Speaking openly without diplomacy, he further stated, "The Neocathecumenate is a Protestant-Jewish community inside the Church with a Catholic decoration only."
Bishop Schneider knows very well the Neocatechumenal Way organization. He served as the episcopal delegate for the Neocatechumenal Way for several years in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. He attended their meetings and has read the writings of Kiko Arguello, their founder.
Which brings me to this question: Why are these Neocatechumenal Way priests still in our Archdiocese, and given assignments in some of the parishes of the Archdiocese of Agana?
They should not be allowed to minister in our Archdiocese. They are free to establish their own churches and set up their organization like the other Protestant communities in Guam. Archbishop Jimenez should remove them from the Archdiocese of Agana once and for all.
Several Neocatechumenal Way priests have left Guam and are no longer incardinated here. In fact, Fr. Adrian Cristobal, a supporter of the Neocatechumenal Way fled Guam and his whereabouts is not known. He abandoned his duties in our Archdiocese and just left. Around the time he left Guam, it was reported he allegedly was involved in a sex abuse scandal within the statute of limitations.
In the Aviso from the Chancery Office, Fr. Krzysztof Szafarski, a Neocatechumenal Way priest, is listed as "On Study Leave." I assume this means he is somewhere learning more of something. I truly hope the Archdiocese of Agana is not paying for his "studies."
Will Fr. Szafarski bring back some value to our Archdiocese after completing his studies? Or will he end up like two other Neocatechumenal Way priests who took advantage of furthering their studies off-island and then left the Archdiocese of Agana. I do not know if they reimbursed the Archdiocese for any expenses paid by the Archdiocese of Agana.
I bring this matter up about these Neocatechumenal Way priests because in January of 2016, I personally had a major confrontation with Fr. Krzyzstof Szafarski, when he was assigned to Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Santa Rita, Guam. His predecessor, Fr. Fabio Faiola, another Neocatechumenal Way priest, was worse as a pastor. Fr. Faiola left the parish in disarray. I left the parish for about 2 years because it was scandalous for me to attend Mass celebrated by these two priests.
Instead of getting thing back in order in Our Lady of Guadalupe parish, Fr. Szafarski, did not improve anything in the parish. He was hardly around in the parish or even in the parish office. And now, is he really deserving-if the Archdiocese of Agana is paying for his further education-to go on "Study Leave"? Are there no other priests in our Archdiocese who are not with the Neocatechumenal Way who would do well for our Archdiocese if they were sent to further their education, and who would be committed to remain in our Archdiocese?
Attached are notes I wrote about that heated meeting I had with Fr. Szafarski when he was at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish.
Sincerely,
David J. Sablan, President
Concerned Catholics of Guam, Inc.
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