By Jose Martinez
On December 11, 2025, Archbishop Jimenez issued a pastoral letter addressing “The Case of Luis Camacho.” While it appeared to bring closure to the charges of sexual misconduct against Luis Camacho, the letter is better understood as only the first installment in what should rightly be called “The Saga of Luis Camacho.” (thoroughly documented on JungleWatch)
What is most striking in Archbishop Jimenez’s letter is its silence regarding a central player in this saga: the Neocatechumenal Way (NCW). Far from being a peripheral presence, the NCW orchestrated Camacho’s removal from the island, shielded him from accountability, and launched a campaign to discredit Deacon Steve Martinez, who had courageously exposed (here and here) both the sexual misconduct justifying Camacho’s 2015 arrest and Archbishop Apuron’s failure to enforce the Archdiocese’s Sexual Misconduct Policy. In 2016, the NCW coordinated press releases and interviews, issued on Archdiocesan letterhead, attacking Deacon Steve. These included statements from Chancellor Adrian Cristobal, now disgraced and laicized, while Archbishop Apuron himself was effectively sidelined by his NCW catechists.
The NCW’s involvement is unsurprising. At the time, Father Luis Camacho was one of the newly ordained “poster priests” of the NCW’s Redemptoris Mater Seminary. His arrest was not merely another blemish on the NCW’s troubled record in Guam; it was a direct blow to their image. To protect their prized local Chamorro son, they scrambled frantically, more like Keystone Kops than shepherds, but unlike silent-era comedy, their maneuvers inflicted real and lasting harm.
The damage, both spiritual and temporal, to our Archdiocese demands serious admonition. Archbishop Jimenez' pastoral letter ought to be followed by a forthright acknowledgment of the NCW’s role, especially now that Deacon Steve Martinez has been publicly vindicated.
In his December 11 letter, Archbishop Jimnez affirmed “our Archdiocese’s continuing commitment to transparency, accountability, and the protection of minors and vulnerable persons, as we continue the long effort and difficult work of restoring trust.” Those words would resonate if followed by a second part that directly addresses the NCW’s actions: their squirreling away of Luis Camacho from civil and Church authority, their slander against Deacon Steve Martinez, Tim Rohr, and others, and their deliberate deception of the faithful.
The harm inflicted by the NCW on Guam cannot be minimized. It was orchestrated. It was deliberate. It was coordinated. And it was deceptive. To leave such conduct unrebuked undermines the Archdiocese’s credibility in its pledge to accountability and trust. The NCW seized control of our Archdiocese during a time of vulnerability, wreaking havoc on families, parishes, and even depriving us of a sacred space once graced by Saint John Paul II during his visit to Guam.
It is time for the NCW to be properly addressed. No moment is more fitting than now, in the wake of Archbishop Jimenez’ “part one” conclusion to The Saga of Luis Camacho.
RELATED NEWS
Archbishop: Luis Camacho no longer a priest after Vatican review, Pacific Daily News, Dec. 11, 2025
LUIS CAMACHO RETURNS - BUT THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM, JungleWatch, May 8, 2024
The Luis Camacho FILE
At the time of the incident, Fr Luis immediately gave his resignation to Archbishop Apuron, who accepted it. Then things changed… for some reason. My take is he (Fr Luis) knew he was done for, but then the NCW interceded to keep him active. They sent him to be protected, and they succeeded in protecting him on Guam legally. They suppressed his arrest record. They stalled the arraignment. And finally His record was expunged. But at any time if Fr Luis wanted the truth to be told he could have this info released to his employer…but he did not.
ReplyDeleteBecause he had already basically admitted his guilt by resigning as pastor, the Neo went into full cover up mode. They convinced Apuron to hide the evidence with the hope people will just forget. But we didn’t.
They sent him to a distant foreign land to continue in the NCW proliferation. And Qatar was happy to oblige. When asked to send Fr Luis back to Guam the bishop of Qatar first refused saying Fr Luis belonged to him. But upon further pushing the bishop of Qatar said Fr Luis mental health was too fragile and it would be bad for his health to go back to Guam. My guess is a new bishop (Byrnes) went to Qatar and asked about Fr Luis and why he wasn’t in Guam anymore. Well, early last year Fr Luis shows up in Guam asking to be reinstated as a priest in Guam. Somewhere recently, 2024/2025, an investigation was done which ultimately found him guilty as charged. And then Rome concurred.
The Neo protected Fr Luis because he did the unthinkable, resigned as a sign of his guilt, but not wanting to lose a Neo priest, they went into full protection mode. They made him look innocent and whisked him off to other islands and foreign lands to carry forward the Neo message.
Now, Fr Luis is no longer a priest. But my guess he will leave Guam (where his stigma is too strong) and go to other Neo lands to catechize and work for the Neo. It is just like what they did for Fr John Wadeson. And who knows how many others have been protected by the Neo in similar ways.