THE POWER OF THE NEOCATS - ESPECIALLY IN ROME

By Tim Rohr

On October 9, 2026, EWTN News announced: "Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has been elected dean of the College of Cardinals, succeeding Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who has held the position since 2020. The Filipino prelate is the first Asian to serve as dean."

This is no small promotion. Benedict 16 held the same position prior to becoming Benedict 16.  The timing is interesting, given that we also just learned that Leo 14 will undergo surgery in the next day or two.

The surgery is reportedly minor, and there is little chance that Leo won't survive it, but if he doesn't, then:

The Dean plays a prominent public and liturgical role:

• Summons all cardinals to Rome.

• Presides over the General Congregations of cardinals.

• Celebrates the funeral Mass for the deceased pope and presides over the opening of the Conclave (unless he is over the age limit of 80, in which case the senior cardinal elector takes over).

Meanwhile, closer to home, I believe the elevation of Tagle will lead to Archbishop Jimenez taking a position in Rome. Jimenez already has one, having been appointed to serve on the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication; however, I believe Jimenez's new job will take him physically and permanently to Rome - where, of course, I believe he has always planned to be.

For Jimenez, the appointment to Guam was always a stepping stone, and, as I've pointed out several times, his main job was to salvage the Neocatechumenal Way. And, if he did that, he'd soon find himself in Rome. 

Meanwhile, I also believe the plan all along was to move Convocar to Saipan, but only temporarily, and that after Jimenez moved to Rome, Convocar would return to Guam as the new archbishop.

The only thing that doesn't quite add up is that Tagle is not a friend of the Neocats - at least he wasn't several years ago- so I don't know how Jimenez track record of taking care of the Neocats in Guam adds up to a promotion under Tagle. 

However, never discount the power of the Neocats. Especially in Rome. 

SOMEONE TELL JIMENEZ

By Tim Rohr

A comment on the following:

 

While Guam does have particularly shameful laws that invite "Divorce Tourism," per court records, divorce tourism is rare.

Go to GuamCourt.gov > Superior Court > Decisions and Orders, and search for cases that start with DM. You will see mostly local names. The few non-local names are usually military. 

There is little to no "divorce tourism" going on. The divorce rate in Guam - "among the highest per-capita...in the world" is mostly local - and thus, mostly Catholic.

Someone tell Jimenez

AND WHILE THEY'RE AT IT

By Tim Rohr

And while they're at it (this meeting in the Vatican to reflect on Amoris Laetitia, I will just post the Church's teaching on Divorce - since you are not going to hear this from any of them. (Emphases added)

Divorce

2382 The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.173 He abrogates the accommodations that had slipped into the old Law.174 Between the baptized, "a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death."175

2383 The separation of spouses while maintaining the marriage bond can be legitimate in certain cases provided for by canon law.176 If civil divorce remains the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the care of the children, or the protection of inheritance, it can be tolerated and does not constitute a moral offense.

2384 Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law. It claims to break the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death. Divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation, of which sacramental marriage is the sign. Contracting a new union, even if it is recognized by civil law, adds to the gravity of the rupture: the remarried spouse is then in a situation of public and permanent adultery:

If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery, and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another's husband to herself.177

2385 Divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society. This disorder brings grave harm to the deserted spouse, to children traumatized by the separation of their parents and often torn between them, and because of its contagious effect which makes it truly a plague on society.

2386 It can happen that one of the spouses is the innocent victim of a divorce decreed by civil law; this spouse therefore has not contravened the moral law. There is a considerable difference between a spouse who has sincerely tried to be faithful to the sacrament of marriage and is unjustly abandoned, and one who through his (or her) own grave fault destroys a canonically valid marriage.178

AS THE CHURCH GOES, SO GOES THE WORLD

By Tim Rohr

So the Pope and bishops are (once again) trying to figure out how to stop the bleeding in marriage and families. 

It's ironic that the focus for their current figure-it-out session is to "reflect" on the previous pope's "teaching" on the matter, Amoris Laetitia, a "teaching" which, in my opinion (and the opinion of many others), undermines marriage and the family, something our church leaders have been actually doing for decades, beginning with Pope John 23's creation of a Vatican Frankenstein, the Papal Commission on Birth Control (1961).

I call it a Frankenstein because the Commission grew into something neither John nor his successor (Paul 6) ever imagined: a Commission that voted overwhelmingly to permit married couples to contracept, forcing Paul to pen Humanae Vitae in the middle of the night to kill the beast he (and John) created. 

By the time the Holy Spirit showed up, slapped Paul around his room, and put a pen in his hand, the horses had already left the barn. And today, Catholics (in the West, anyway) contracept, abort, and divorce at the same rate as the rest of the society they live in.

Prior to the Commission's conclusion in 1968, Paul had been hinting that the Church's position on contraception - as a grave moral evil - could be changed and probably would be.

In 1964, upon expanding the Commission from the original 6 members (which included only Catholic prelates) to 72 (which included lay people), Paul said (emphases added):

"We say frankly that so far we do not have sufficient reason to consider the norms given by Pope Pius XII on this matter [of contraception] as out of date and therefore as not binding. They must be considered as valid, at least until We feel obliged in conscience to change them." - Paul VI Acta apostolicae sedis (AAS) 56 (1964) 588-59, 1964 address to the special papal commission on the use of contraceptives.

When a Pope uses "We," as he does here, he is not expressing a personal opinion. He is speaking magisterially. He also refers to the Church's teaching on contraception as a "norm," as if it is a discipline and not an unchangeable doctrine - which it is.

True, Paul tried to fix it with Humanae Vitae, but too late. John 23 had opened the door by establishing a commission to look into a moral matter that could never be changed, and Paul, upon radically expanding and prolonging the term of the commission, speaking with a papal "We," had let the world know that the teaching could change if "We feel obliged in conscience to change them." 

The Pope's "shindig" at the Vatican (with Jimenez in attendance) is going to go down the usual road, trotting out the usual bogeymen: economic and social pressures, blah, blah, blah. In short: blaming "the world - in fact, blaming everything and everyone but themselves.

They'll come up with another document, like all the other ones. And other than some new stuff added to the already useless offices of marriage and family, nothing will be done. Nothing.

As the Church goes, so goes the World. But don't expect our Church leaders to admit that. Nevertheless, don't despair. Christ is not sleeping.

By the way, here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church OFFICIALLY teaches on the matter:

2370 ... "every action which, whether in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible" is intrinsically evil. 

BTW

By Tim Rohr

BTW, the Vatican.va article about the event Archbishop Jimenez is currently attending begins with the following:

"On the first day of the meeting dedicated to the 10th anniversary of Amoris laetitia, Sr. Helen Alford calls for ways to encourage young people to embrace the “great challenge” of family life."

Sr. Helen shared an interesting take on Jesus' conversation with the woman at the well, suggesting that Jesus was flirting with the woman.

She described the initial approach, in a “somewhat provocative” way, as a “flirting”: a man and a woman are speaking alone, and their exchange remains ambiguous until Jesus confronts her with the truth: “Go and call your husband . . . and come back here.”

Yeah, that should be a great encouragement to young people to embrace family life. 

Thanks, Sister.

FUNNY (NOT)

By Tim Rohr

Archbishop Jimenez is currently in Rome (again) participating in an event titled "Amoris laetitia: Rediscovering the Gospel through challenges facing families."

LINK

LINK

Meanwhile, back at home:

KIKO'S GLOBAL SHELL GAME: THE MAGIC TRICK OF THE HEADLESS CLERGY

By Rodney

(Responding to "JUST CURIOUS")

 The Magic Trick of the "Headless" Clergy: Kiko’s Global Shell Game

Ah, the miraculous reappearance of Fr. Harold in Hagat! It’s truly a marvel of the modern NeoCat age. One day they vanish into the ether without a trace, and a year later, poof—they magically drop back into a parish administrator slot. No aviso, no explanation, just another round of the Neocatechumenal Way’s favorite board game: Where in the World is Kiko’s Presbyter?

But let’s be honest, we shouldn't be surprised. This isn't just about Harold; this is the NCW’s patented loophole to revive a practice the Catholic Church has spent the last 1,500 years trying to destroy: the Vagrant Clergy.

For centuries, the Holy See has absolutely despised clerici vagantes or acephali (literally, "headless" clergy). They saw the danger of wandering, unaccountable priests centuries ago. Just look at the history:

• The Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) declared that any "absolute ordination" (ordaining a guy without tying him to a specific local church) was null and void.

• The Council of Valencia (524 AD) threatened these wandering clerics with excommunication and penalized anyone who gave them shelter.

• The Council of Trent cracked down hard, ruling that nobody gets ordained unless a specific diocese actually needs them.

• The 1917 Code of Canon Law (Canon 111) formally declared that vagrant clerics are "not at all recognized."

• And today, Canon 265 of the 1983 Code explicitly states that "unattached or transient clerics are not allowed at all."

The Church’s message has been clear for a millennium and a half: Priests belong to a Bishop, and they stay put.

But the master deceivers of the Way found a brilliant cheat code. Enter the NeoCat Bishops—or as they are more accurately known in the real world: Kiko’s Puppets.

These puppet bishops technically "incardinate" the NCW priests on paper to satisfy Canon 265 and keep Rome off their backs. But the ink is barely dry before they hand the leash straight to Kiko Argüello and his handlers. From that moment on, these priests are effectively vagrant. They are treated like disposable toys, shipped across the globe at the whims and fancies of Kiko's itinerary, completely abandoning the spiritual and physical welfare of the men they ordained.

And canonical procedure? Please. When a normal priest moves to a new diocese, there is a formal, documented exchange of a scripto (commendatory letters) between the ordaining bishop and the receiving bishop. But in the NeoCat travel agency, who needs a scripto when you have a guitar, a black trash bag, and Kiko's nod? They are just dumped into a new jurisdiction to do the Way's bidding, completely hoodwinking the spirit of ecclesiastical law.

Of course, this global shell game serves a much darker purpose than just spreading the "Way." It is the perfect system for dodging accountability. When a presbyter becomes a liability—whether by protecting arch-abusers like Apuron, or becoming a rogue abuser themselves—they don't face legal consequences. They get the "Harold Treatment." They vanish.

The NCW bishops simply shuffle these abusive or disgraced clerics to some far-flung corner of the globe to protect the "pristine" reputation of the Way.. Rogue priest like Camacho are hidden away until he can be hidden no more, with some even turning up dead under highly mysterious circumstances. It's not a pastoral assignment; it's a witness protection program for clerics.

So welcome back, Harold! We don't know where you were hidden, and your Puppet Bishop probably doesn't know either. But hey, as long as Kiko is happy, who cares about 1,500 years of Canon Law?

JUST CURIOUS

By Tim Rohr

Recently, someone asked me about the status of Fr. Harold (Colorado Prieto, Rev. Fr. Harold). I suppose I was asked because I live in Hagat, where Harold was assigned in 2024. 

I don't attend Mass in Hagat, mostly because I can't get out of my mind how Harold and his Neocat defenders fought tooth and nail to protect Arch-child-molester Apuron. 

More than any other Neocat "presbyter," Harold was one of "those." "Tony's toys," as one elderly local Catholic called them. 

The elderly man said it in such a way, and with a quiet smile, that it was quite apparent that the metaphor was not new, that Tony and his "toys" was something long known, with the Noecat presbyters, and specifically, Harold, just being the latest in a long line of such "toys." 

Of course, the discovery of those "toys" would eventually drive this archdiocese into bankruptcy, but what did Harold and his "bro's" care? Their communities with their "black trash bags" would take care of them.

Sometime in mid 2025, Harold disappeared. There was no aviso. Around the same time, his Neocat bro, Krzysztof Szafarski, also disappeared. However, there was, correctly, an aviso:

AVISO - NEW PASTORAL ASSIGNMENTS - Effective September 14, 2025 
On Study Leave: Fr. Krzysztof Szafarski

But no such aviso for Harold. For several months, the diocesan website simply said "priest off-island" next to his name. The website stated this as recently as August 30, 2026, when I posted about it. 

So, at least according to the diocesan website, Harold was gone for about a year.

And then suddenly, he's back.

Colorado Prieto, Rev. Fr. Harold

Parochial Administrator - Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Hagat

No aviso, no announcement, no nothing.

Apparently, like with Apuron, Harold's movements, now under Jimenez, are not to be known. Just curious. That's all. 

DUMB DOGS THAT CANNOT BARK

By Tim Rohr 

From today's Office of Readings. A lesson from the Sixth Century.

From the Pastoral Guide by Saint Gregory the Great, pope

A spiritual guide should be silent when discretion requires and speak when words are of service. Otherwise he may say what he should not or be silent when he should speak. Indiscreet speech may lead men into error and an imprudent silence may leave in error those who could have been taught. Pastors who lack foresight hesitate to say openly what is right because they fear losing the favor of men. As the voice of truth tells us, such leaders are not zealous pastors who protect their flocks, rather they are like mercenaries who flee by taking refuge in silence when the wolf appears.

The Lord reproaches them through the prophet: They are dumb dogs that cannot bark. On another occasion he complains: You did not advance against the foe or set up a wall in front of the house of Israel, so that you might stand fast in battle on the day of the Lord. To advance against the foe involves a bold resistance to the powers of this world in defense of the flock. To stand fast in battle on the day of the Lord means to oppose the wicked enemy out of love for what is right.

When a pastor has been afraid to assert what is right, has he not turned his back and fled by remaining silent? Whereas if he intervenes on behalf of the flock, he sets up a wall against the enemy in front of the house of Israel. Therefore, the Lord again says to his unfaithful people: Your prophets saw false and foolish visions and did not point out your wickedness, that you might repent of your sins. The name of the prophet is sometimes given in the sacred writings to teachers who both declare the present to be fleeting and reveal what is to come. The word of God accuses them of seeing false visions because they are afraid to reproach men for their faults and thereby lull the evildoer with an empty promise of safety. Because they fear reproach, they keep silent and fail to point out the sinner’s wrongdoing.

The word of reproach is a key that unlocks a door, because reproach reveals a fault of which the evildoer is himself often unaware. That is why Paul says of the bishop: He must be able to encourage men in sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. For the same reason God tells us through Malachi: The lips of the priest are to preserve knowledge, and men shall look to him for the law, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. Finally, that is also the reason why the Lord warns us through Isaiah: Cry out and be not still; raise your voice in a trumpet call.

Anyone ordained a priest undertakes the task of preaching, so that with a loud cry he may go on ahead of the terrible judge who follows. If, then, a priest does not know how to preach, what kind of cry can such a dumb herald utter? It was to bring this home that the Holy Spirit descended in the form of tongues on the first pastors, for he causes those whom he has filled, to speak out spontaneously.

THAT TIME WHEN APURON GAVE THE INVOCATION AT THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

By Tim Rohr

At the invitation of Rep. Madeline Bordallo, (D-GU), then Archbishop of Agana, Anthony Sablan Apuron, gave the opening prayer to a meeting of the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 12, 2003.

LINK here or here

Most Reverend Anthony Sablan Apuron

Archbishop of Agana

Agana, GU

Sponsor: Rep. Rep. Madeline Bordallo, (D-GU)

Date of Prayer: 11/12/2003

One Minute Speech Given in Recognition of the Guest Chaplain:

Mrs. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and privilege to welcome the Most Reverend Anthony Sablan Apuron, OFM Cap, DD, Metropolitan Archbishop of Agana to the People's House and to thank him for offering today's prayer.

Archbishop Apuron has served God and His people first as priest and now bishop for over 31 years. Born November 1, 1945, he was ordained a priest in the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin on August 26, 1972. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Agana by the late Archbishop Felixberto C. Flores on December 8, 1983 and consecrated Titular Bishop of Muzuca on February 19, 1984. On May 11, 1986, (1)  the Most Reverend Anthony S. Apuron was elevated to Metropolitan Archbishop of Agana.

As the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Agana, he is the spiritual leader for over 350,000 Roman Catholics in Guam, the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa in the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Diocese of the Caroline and the Marshall Islands. He has been the moral voice for the faithful who look to him for direction in these difficult times. (2) Under his leadership, the Archdiocese of Agana has expanded its ministries to meet the changing needs of the community.

On behalf of the people of Guam, I want to thank Archbishop Apuron for being with us today and for his leadership and guidance of the people of Metropolitan Archdiocese of Agana. Si Yu'os Ma'ase.

Opening Prayer Given by the Guest Chaplain:

The Most Reverend Anthony Sablan Apuron, Archbishop of Agana, Guam, offered the following prayer:

Almighty God, whose goodness fills our hearts with joy. You are blessed for bringing us together to work in harmony, in peace, and in justice. Send Your blessings upon our United States House of Representatives, who generously devote themselves to the work of our Nation and Territories in the laws they pass and the resolutions they create.

In times of difficulty and need, grant them the strength to transcend personal interests and seek after the common good for all. Strengthen them with Your grace and wisdom so that everything that they begin with Your inspiration, continue with Your guidance and by You be happily ended. Grace us with Your saving presence and aid us with Your constant blessing.

All glory and praise be to You, our ever–living God, forever and ever. Amen. 

(1) May 11, 1986. I always thought it coincidental that Apuron was elevated to Archbishop on the very day and date my wife and I married.

(2) A moral voice? Madeleine had to know. Everybody did. 

AMERICAN JUSTICE FOUNDATION: MAKE AMERICA WISE AGAIN

By Tim Rohr

This may seem like a different sort of issue for regular readers; however, it isn't. Empowering ordinary people to do extraordinary things is what JW has been about from the beginning. And, as the record shows, that is exactly what we - through this blog, through the posts, through your comments - have done. Amazing accomplishments. 

However, in addition to our passion and our activism, knowledge was needed, particularly knowledge of the law, of lawful procedures, both canon and civil, and ultimately, knowledge of how to use that knowledge to bring about justice as well as rein in those who deny it. In the past, we benefited greatly from the late, great Bob Klitzkie, whose knowledge of all of the above kept us on course as we battled impossible odds. 

I mean, just think of it! We got the Vatican, in fact, the Pope himself, to remove an archbishop; we exposed decades of horrific clergy sex abuse; we brought justice to hundreds (that we know of) who, as children, were molested, mutilated, and otherwise ruined by perverse abusers; and we got enacted into law legislation to bring about that justice and deter similar abusive terror going forward. And let's not forget that we are the only place in the world that has shut down an RMS. 

All of the above resulted from knowledge and passion working together for a just cause. In the same vein, I am using this post to promote an organization known as the AMERICAN JUSTICE FOUNDATION. The founder is an attorney, Dr. Frederick Graves, whose course HOW TO WIN IN COURT WITHOUT A LAWYER literally saved me from what was on course to be a major life disaster - a story I will tell another time. (See graphic in the sidebar: No Lawyer No Problem)

I am copying here the AMERICAN JUSTICE FOUNDATION's "manifesto." If any of it strikes a chord with you, go to the HOME PAGE and JOIN. 

America's motto "We Trust In God" has nothing to do with "religion".

God is the Reality that decides the destiny of men and nations.

We Americans have rights because they are God-given.

We were born with them.

This is the First and Primary Principle of American Justice.

To deny this is insanity. 

For government to deny this is tyranny!

America's government exists to protect your God-given rights.

Our rights are not "permissions" granted by judges or politicians.

American Justice Foundation® wants you to fight for your rights,

so we teach you and your children the common-sense Rules of

Court that give you power to fight peaceably to restore God in

government ... our only guarantee of Liberty and Justice for ALL!

"MAKE AMERICA WISE AGAIN !"