COMING UP

 

APURON TRIAL:UPDATE

From the Minutes of Status Conference on Feb. 13, 2025.

PROCEEDINGS: Status Conference

 Parties informed the court that they reached an agreement for the deposition dates of off-island deponents which will be scheduled March 24-28, 2025, and March 31 through April 4, 2025. Parties agreed to do a check-in with Magistrate Judge Bordallo during the deposition days at 8:00 AM (ChST) with regard to any objections or discovery issues.

 Parties agreed to and requested for an extension for defendant to respond to request for admissions and interrogatories to February 21, 2025, and to extend the discovery motions deadline to April 30, 2025.

 Ms. Lujan Wolff to disclose to Ms. Terlaje the compensation agreement of her clients and to redact any other names other than her client. Ms. Terlaje to provide the names and contact information for defendant's canon lawyers to Ms. Lujan Wolff. Counsel shall exchange information by 12 noon on February 19, 2025.

 Court to issue order setting a further hearing date and deadlines. 

APURON'S NOT DONE AND I HOPE HE SUBPOENAS ME

By Tim Rohr

In a recent post, I shared the pope's case against Archbishop Vigano and Vigano's defiant response. For a summary of what's going on, see National Catholic Register's recent post: "Archbishop Viganò’s Astonishing Transformation from Vatican Insider to Alleged Schismatic."

Here in Guam, we should pay special attention. If not for Vigano, many of us are very sure that Apuron would still be Archbishop of Agana. And here's why.

On March 16, 2018, the Holy See Press Office published the following release:

The canonical trial of minors, brought against the Most Reverend Anthony Sablan APURON,OFMCap., Archbishop of Agaña, Guam, has been concluded. The Apostolic Tribunal of the Congregation, composed of five judges, has issued its sentence of first instance, finding the accused guilty of certain of the accusations and imposing upon the accused the penalties of privation of office and prohibition of residence in the Archdiocese of Guam.

The sentence remains subject to possible appeal. In the absence of an appeal, the sentence becomes final and effective. The penalties are suspended until final resolution.

For whatever reason, the release did not specify what exactly Apuron was found guilty of. And as expected, Apuron, or more precisely, his people, immediately pounced on the opportunity to exploit the vague "verdict," claiming that it didn't say he was found guilty of child sex abuse.

However, the release was later amended to include a clearer announcement:

PRESS RELEASE OF THE APOSTOLIC COURT OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH

The canonical process in relation to the accusations, including those of child sexual abuse, charged against the Reverend Anthony Sablan Apuron, OFM Cap., Archbishop of Agaña, Guam, has concluded.

The Apostolic Tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, composed of five judges, issued the sentence of first instance, declaring the defendant guilty of some of the accusations and imposing to the defendant the penalties of termination from office and the prohibition of residence in the Archdiocese of Guam.

The sentence remains subject to an appeal. In the absence of an appeal, the sentence becomes final and effective. In the event of an appeal, the penalties imposed are suspended until the final resolution.

It's a bit clearer since the first paragraph states "including those of child sexual abuse," but the "clarification" still retains the vague language of "guilty of some of the accusations." The reader has to put 2 and 2 together and get 5 to figure out what Apuron was found guilty of - and a hard assumption can be made from the severity of the sentence: "termination from office and the prohibition of residence in the Archdiocese of Guam" - though his supporters spun the penalty as evidence that Apuron did not abuse minors:

If the archbishop has been found guilty of sexual abuse of minors, the penalty leveled against him is unusual - often a cleric found guilty of such crimes would be "laicized," or removed from the clerical state, sources said. - CNA. Aug. 28, 2018

The reference to "Guam" made the release sound even weirder, coming from such a high office in the Vatican, given that there is no "Archdiocese of Guam." Rather, it is officially the "Archdiocese of Agana."

At the time, those of us who had been in the heat of this battle for several years, recognized the Vatican mumbo-jumbo regarding such a serious matter as evidence that a certain highly-placed, neo-friendly cardinal had tampered with the announcement, and that said tampering was a red flag that there was more tampering to come. Saving Apuron was critical to the agenda of the Neocat generals so we expected Apuron to appeal and he did:

After he was found guilty, Apuron released a statement insisting on his innocence and announcing his appeal.

"I have been informed of the conclusion of the first instance canonical trial against me. While I am relieved that the tribunal dismissed the majority of the accusations against me, I have appealed the verdict," he said.

"God is my witness; I am innocent and I look forward to proving my innocence in the appeals process," the statement read. - CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY, August 28, 2018

Given that Cardinal Raymond Burke, probably the Vatican's most competent cardinal and lawyer, had been at the head of the Apuron investigation from the outset, we knew he had most likely presented the water-tight case that got the guilty verdict and booted Apuron out of Agana and that there was little possibility of Apuron winning an appeal.

We also must remember that Apuron was the first bishop in modern times to stand trial before a Vatican tribunal for crimes against minors. In fact, one of the reasons it took so long for the Vatican to take action is because at the time accusations against Apuron came to the attention of the Vatican there was no protocol in place to handle a bishop who had been thus accused. 

Bishops had been accused of such crimes before but none were put on trial. They were either removed by agreement or resigned their office. So why did Apuron go to trial? We have to continually remind ourselves that Apuron was never acting on his own. He was a pawn in a much larger power game orchestrated by the Neocat generals who had a lot to lose on their world stage since Apuron was their number one "priest-maker" - a key component to the expansion of power within the Church by the NCW. 

It's not over

And do not think that this is over. Apuron's personal abuse case in Guam has yet to go to trial: "Trial eyed in abuse cases against Apuron, others..." And besides "I didn't do it," Apuron's defense will be that he is a victim of a calumnious conspiracy orchestrated by me:

The church meanwhile is also accusing Martinez of being part of a conspiracy or the "Rohr Group" to topple the archbishop. (KUAM, June 3, 2016. Also see Apuron's press releases here and here.)

In 2012, a blog called “Jungle Watch” was created online, attacking Archbishop Apuron and the Neocatechumenal Way, accusing them of manipulating the prelate and “colonizing” the entire Agaña diocese. The site is managed by Tim Rohr, a real estate agent employed by Msgr. Benavente and involved in the projected sale of the seminary. - La Stampa. Sep. 21, 2017 

Note: I was never involved in the "projected sale of the seminary," as the record now shows. In response to the false allegations about my role, I was prepared to sue Apuron and the Archdiocese, but decided to hold back and let the truth come out via the real victims.

While it was a given that Apuron would appeal, a strange twist came when Pope Francis announced that he was bypassing the normal course of appeals and would be judging Apuron's appeal himself:

The pope explained that in considering Apuron's appeal, he is bypassing the traditional "giuria"--the council of bishops that make up a tribunal--and will be considering the appeal himself. This is because Apuron's situation is a "very difficult case." - CNA, August 28, 2018

Notice the date of the report of the pope's decision: August 28, 2018. Six days earlier, on August 22, 2018 *, Archbishop Vigano had shocked the Catholic world with a now-infamous 11-page letter wherein he blew the whistle on the now-defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick as well as the entire Vatican apparatus which in clear view of Pope Francis had protected McCarrick. 

Having blasted Francis directly as well as several other major prelates, Vigano called for Francis to resign:

Francis is abdicating the mandate which Christ gave to Peter to confirm the brethren. Indeed, by his action he has divided them, led them into error, and encouraged the wolves to continue to tear apart the sheep of Christ’s flock.

In this extremely dramatic moment for the universal Church, he must acknowledge his mistakes and, in keeping with the proclaimed principle of zero tolerance, Pope Francis must be the first to set a good example for cardinals and bishops who covered up McCarrick’s abuses and resign along with all of them. - Archbishop Vigano. Letter. Aug. 22, 2018

To be sure, Franics was not expecting such a challenge from such a highly-placed and well-respected Vatican insider. (Vigano had been second in command at the Vatican under Pope Benedict 16.) And while it is only my speculation, it is an educated speculation that Francis, in the glaring light of the disgusting McCarrick scandal, decided to throw Apuron under the bus as a little demonstration that he did not tolerate ordained sex abusers, and particularly consecrated ones (bishops). 

Without Vigano's very public and naked accusation of Francis and his "lavender" connections, it is quite possible that Francis would have let Apuron off the hook and he'd be back in Guam wreaking hell on all of us:

(Archbishop) Byrnes: Disaster if Apuron were to return (Pacific Daily News, July 6, 2017)

So now, as is his "MO" with his enemies, Francis intends to make Vigano pay. 

The O'Brien Thing

As a side note, this mess allows me the opportunity to once again bring up how Francis' Vatican tried to make me "pay" for exposing Apuron. 

In October 2013, I received a letter from Cardinal Edwin O'Brien threatening to remove me as a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem (of which he was then the Grandmaster) if I didn't stop picking on Apuron via my blog. At the time, the only thing I had posted was about Apuron's mistreatment of Fr. Paul Gofigan, nothing else had blown up yet. I wrote about it here. 

I challenged O'Brien multiple times to proceed to come after me. He never responded, leading me to believe what I had suspected: that O'Brien had no clue what was going on and had been put up to silencing me by the same people that were trying to silence me in Guam. 

However, in August 2018, I learned that there might be more to O'Brien's running for cover after I confronted him when he was called out by Archbishop Vigano in Vigano's letter of Aug. 22, 2018 (pg. 5):

As far as the Roman Curia is concerned, for the moment I will stop here, even if the names of other prelates in the Vatican are well known, even some very close to Pope Francis, such as Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio and Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, who belong to the homosexual current in favor of subverting Catholic doctrine on homosexuality...Cardinals Edwin Frederick O’Brien and Renato Raffaele Martino also belong to the same current...

By the way, and I have yet to develop this. After I snuffed out their (Apuron and his people) attempt to silence me even from the Vatican, they went after my family. I intended to expose all of it at a trial on a personal matter. However, the trial was "interrupted" after the first day and never continued. Three years later the matter was suddenly and unexpectedly closed via settlement. I chose to settle to protect my son. This is probably the most evil part of the story...which is why I hesitate to tell it. Maybe one day.

Now, back to Apuron's proposed Guam trial. Apuron fully intends to exonerate himself and condemn me at his trial by exposing the "pressure group that plotted to destroy" him:

Apuron, in his statement, said there's been a coordinated campaign against him. ("Tim Rohr and his associates" - See Apuron's press release of May 31, 2016)

"The pontifical secret prevents me from litigating my good name in public, but I wish to take this opportunity to offer my deepest thanks to the many individuals who have privately and publicly come forward in my defense, despite threats and the climate of fear on my beloved home of Guam," he said.

Apuron said this climate, "shown by the local media, which hampered the work of the court of first instance, testifies to the presence of a pressure group that plotted to destroy me, and which has made itself clearly known even to authorities in Rome." - USA TODAY, April 4, 2019

By the way, while the first announcement about Apuron's guilt did not name what he was found guilty of, the announcement regarding the denial of his appeal did:

On 7 February 2019, the Tribunal of Second Instance upheld the sentence of First Instance finding the Archbishop guilty of delicts against the Sixth Commandment with minors. - Press Release from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 04.04.2019

Thank you Archbishop Vigano for standing up to the deep church.

“Just as there is a deep state, there is also a deep church that betrays its duties and forswears its proper commitments before God." - Archbishop Vigano

* The release of Vigano's letter on August 22, 2018 was personally serendipitous. It was the worst and loneliest day of my life. I was in the Virgin Islands at the time to see my children and was in the middle of a very ugly legal battle that I won't detail now (or maybe ever). I learned of Vigano's letter three days later on my way back to Guam. When I saw the date of the letter I saw it as a sign from heaven that I was right about who was really behind the attempt to destroy me. I look forward to Apuron's Guam trial and I hope he subpoenas me.

 

WHY HAS Mc CARRICK BEEN THROWN UNDER THE BUS AT THIS PARTICULAR TIME.

(Posted by Frenchie)

It is often said, that being Catholic is a daily struggle. Struggle to be a good Catholic, specially in a modern and increasingly secular, if not openly hostile world. But also a struggle to keep the faith, while facing a constant negative flow about our leaders, and keeping the faith despite or because of the poor example these leaders send us, almost on a daily basis.

It goes without saying, that as a Church, we have had a cornucopia of events that could challenge the most devout faithful.

On Guam in particular, we have been put through a series of ups and downs, in regards to our own clergy, as well as with that colonizing new disease: the Neocatechumenate Way.

Last year, a Vatican tribunal presided by Cardinal Burke at the request of Cardinal Mueller and Pope Francis, investigated allegations against our own corrupt, and deeply flawed former Archbishop, and found him guilty.

He subsequently appealed and unlike Mc Carrick, his appeal was accepted.

What has followed is both unnerving and disgraceful.

Unnerving, because it has left the faithful of Guam, and many in the USA and throughout the world, unable to close that chapter and move forward

Disgraceful, because it revealed, well before the Mc Carrick scandal, the deep level of corruption and back stabbing politics of the worse kind, both in the Church in the USA, and at the Vatican.

Last summer, during his return trip from Dublin to Rome,  Pope Francis himself, faced by the ever developing Mc Carrick scandal, and the revelations (never contested by the Vatican directly) made by Archbishop Vigano (former Nuncio to DC, and former administrator of the Vatican) alluded without being prompted by the journalists, that he would from now on on be handling appeals by Bishops, as in the case of Apuron.

What Pope Francis did in one swift move, was to deny what Cardinal Mueller had wanted: a permanent tribunal run by the Congregation for the propagation of faith.

Instead Mueller was not confirmed in his role, and subsequently retired.

The whole affair, we found out later was the brainchild of one of the most controversial Cardinal in Rome: the now disgraced (another one) Cardinal Coccopalmerio. Also one of these Social Justice Warriors, that have doted the Church since Vatican II

POPE FRANCIS ON APURON: "THE EVIDENCE IS VERY CLEAR"

(photo credit: CNS/Paul Haring)

According to the National Catholic Reporter yesterday, Pope Francis refused to discuss the allegations made against him by Archbishop Vigano when talking to reporters on the flight back to Rome from Ireland.  During the same flight, however, the Pope could not help to discuss the case of Archbishop Anthony Apuron:

"I took it upon myself and I made a commission of canonists to help me..It is a complicated case on one hand, but also not difficult because the evidence is very clear.  But I cannot prejudge, I'll wait for the information, and then I will judge."

SHE'S JUST DOING HER JOB

Quotes from Attorney Jackie Terlaje, Apuron's civil attorney, taken from the KUAM special "Vatican Verdict Part 2". [My comments in red.]

"First of all, I want to emphasize that Archbishop Anthony was acquitted of the majority of charges against him. I think this is an important fact that has been underplayed by many of the media outlets that are out there."

[First of all, why is Apuron's civil attorney "practicing law" by speaking for a person who is represented by other lawyers in a jurisdiction (the Vatican) that she is not authorized to practice in? Second, how does she know that Apuron has been "acquitted of the majority of charges" against him, other than what Apuron told her? Third, regardless of the number of the charges he was accused of, Apuron was indeed found guilty - after a year long trial, and by papal-appointed tribunal of his peers - of at least some charges which were serious enough to remove him from office and banish him for life from residing ever again in his home diocese.]

"There is an appellate process in place, and he has already appealed the finding of guilt."

[As an attorney, Terlaje should know that while Apuron may have requested an appeal, there is no appeal until the Vatican publishes a notice that there is one. And it has not.]

"I was a bit disheartened and disturbed by Coadjutor (Michael) Byrnes' statement. To publicly condemn Archbishop Anthony without having the full information, for me, it's an unjust condemnation of him. We don't know today which of the accusations Archbishop Anthony was found guilty of."

[First, Byrnes is no longer "Coadjutor." He is Archbishop of Agana, which is how he signed his press release of March 17. In the same press release, Archbishop Byrnes addressed Apuron as "Bishop Apuron," NOT "Archbishop Apuron," which denotes Apuron's removal from office.]

"I don't even know what the grounds of appeal are. I'm not a canon lawyer, so I can't even tell you what Archbishop Anthony has the ability to appeal on. His canon lawyers are the ones handling that entire process, and this is the nature of the Vatican process as well - that we don't have information."

[This is what Terlaje should have said at the outset and cut if off at that: 1) "I'm not a canon lawyer;" 2) "I can't tell you (comment);" 3) "we" (I) don't have information." Anything beyond this could be construed as an unauthorized practice of law.]

"Archbishop Anthony has been consistently praying for the people of Guam. He has been consistently asserting his innocence. And he has been praying that this suffering, this problem, this hurt that we have on this island is healed."

[There's only one problem. Apuron RAN.]

"The reality of the situation...is that this particular verdict doesn't necessarily have a very big impact on the civil case."

[That's not what Terlaje herself said on June 13, 2017: "Terlaje told the judge the outcome of the canonical trial would impact the direction of the civil cases."]

[But there should be some sympathy for Terlaje. After all, she is a lawyer, and a lawyer's first duty is to his or her client. It's a tough job. Sometimes they have to defend the indefensible. She's just doing her job.]

NICE JOB KRYSTAL PACO OF KUAM

PDN: VATICAN DECIDES

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/10/02/byrnes-tribunal-re-apuron-verdict-sentence-but-waiting-archdiocese-say-sure-whether-apuron-guilty-no/721815001/

CRIMEN PESSIMUM - FILONI'S FULL COURT PRESS TO INTERFERE WITH APURON'S SENTENCE

Posted by Tim

So, here’s what’s happening. And it’s no surprise. In fact, we have been reporting on this without the intel we now have because we knew exactly what “they" would do.

As expected, Filoni-Baloney and Kiko are putting a full court press on the outcome of Apuron's trial to keep the verdict from taking down the NCW worldwide.

To review.

Because of Apuron’s status in the NCW (i.e. the only bishop who is actually “one of the brothers"), his canonical demise does not bode well for the future of the KHW (Kiko’s Heretical Way). 

Loads of bishops around the world, upon the canonical demise of Apuron, will be emboldened to at last extricate the NCW from their dioceses. 

Even though these bishops have always had the authority to get rid of the KHW (aka NCW) in their dioceses - or at least limit or not permit it in the first place, it is no secret that so many of the world’s bishops are wimps and look for cover before they take action on what they already know they SHOULD take action on!

Kiko and Filoni-Baloney know this. They also know that Apuron has been found GUILTY. There simply is no doubt about it. At the very least he has been undoubtedly found guilty of running a DISASTER of a diocese for thirty years, as both Archbishop Hon and Byrnes have publicly stated. 

At most, he has also been found guilty of child sex abuse. As every Guam senator present at the public hearings for Bill 326-33 can testify: NO ONE can look Walter Denton in the eyes and say he’s lying. And the chief investigator and judge, Cardinal Burke, was able to do that. 

Thus, Kiko and Filoni-Baloney have nothing left...EXCEPT to interfere with the sentence. 

Not that they care about Apuron's actual punishment. They only care about the harm any publicity of the verdict and his punishment will do to KHW (aka NCW). 

So here’s what they’re doing.

Rather than permit the verdict to be transmitted directly to Pope Francis, as it should be. Filoni-Baloney is arguing that Apuron's trial falls under the Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela and therefore should come under the review of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). 

Filoni-Baloney is the former Secretary to that Congregation so he knows well its inner workings as well as the current leadership and how to screw with it. And screw with it, he is!

You can read the full document at this link, however, here is the relevant paragraph:

"The 1922 Instruction included a short section dedicated to another canonical delict: the “crimen pessimum” which dealt with same-sex clerical misconduct. This further section determined that the special procedures for solicitation cases should be used for “crimen pessimum” cases, with those adaptations rendered necessary by the nature of the case. The norms concerning the “crimen pessimum” also extended to the heinous crime of sexual abuse of prepubescent children and to bestiality."

Filoni-Baloney's strategy (in collusion with Kiko) is simple: delay, delay, delay. 

The objective is to delay everything, including the announcement of the verdict, until Apuron turns 75, three years from now, when he must submit his resignation as Archbishop of Agana. At that point, the strategy is to lessen the verdict to simply mismanagement and to give Apuron time to build his narrative that he was unjustly ousted by pro-gambling/pro-gay forces. (A narrative that even now has all the bishops laughing!)

And to that end, Kiko met with Pope Francis on September 4. 

I heard Francis was NOT amused.

GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY!

Posted by Tim

"She said any settlement discussion also hinges on the result of Apuron's ongoing Vatican canonical trial." - Federal judge offers court services for clergy abuse mediation

So, apparently if the Vatican finds Apuron guilty of the sex abuse of children, Apuron will (?) participate in "settlement discussions?" And if not, then apparently he won't?

It appears to me that the "trained lawyer" is admitting that her client is guilty. But it also appears that the "trained lawyer" is aware of what is going on with the Vatican trial and that she and Apuron have been given reason for hope, and probably by Filoni Baloney. 

This tells me that there is probably a war of the titans going on in Rome: Burke vs Filoni. 

In one way Filoni has the upper hand because he's a Vatican insider and Burke is on the out. Yet, Francis personally appointed Burke as one of the judges for Apuron's trial and obviously the prime investigator. 

Since there's no one tougher at the Vatican than Burke, and who, one on one, could make mincemeat of Filoni Baloney, one wonders why Francis chose Burke. 

UPDATE ON "APURON OUT" - AND LOOKING FORWARD TO WATCHING DAVID SQUIRM

Posted by Tim

It's time to take a serious and sober look at what we are really after - or at least what I am after. My goals have always been twofold:

1. Expose Apuron and the evils he perpetrated - with the aim of having him removed as Archbishop of Agana.

2. Expose the machinations of the leadership of the Neocatechumenal Way, first within our diocese, and beyond that, the rest of the world. 

While I would also like to see Apuron "defrocked," that was never my aim. "Defrocked" became more a battle cry for the desire of many to have Apuron punished for his demonstrable wickedness.

With talk of a forthcoming conclusion of Apuron's canonical trial, I believe that the most we can hope for from the Vatican is his removal from active ministry in the Archdiocese of Agana. As has often been speculated, he will be made to retire to a so-called "life of prayer." 

Make no mistake, this is still a verdict of "guilty" even if the Vatican won't call it that. If they say anything, it will be more along the lines of he has "lost his ability to lead," or something like that. In fact, any mention of sex abuse will probably be avoided. The Vatican will default to "lapses in administrative decisions." 

We have to understand that this is simply what it is, while at the same time, recognizing that we have accomplished our goal which at its most basic has always been: APURON OUT!

On the civil front, I am hoping that Apuron's victims and Attorney Lujan will NOT settle out of court. While charges against clergy who are either dead or dead broke, out of court settlements are going to be better for everyone. 

However, the charges against Apuron MUST go to court. And the reason is not just so that the victims can find justice, but also because of what we can learn through depositions from the likes of Cristobal, Quitugua, The Waldo, Apuron himself, and maybe even the "Dakon."

There is good reason to believe that a lot more than just the covering up of decades-old sex crimes was going on. And now that Quitugua has been elected to the Presbyteral Council by his peers, and personally appointed to the College of Consultors by Archbishop Byrnes, it will be all the more fun to see him squirm on the stand. 

ARCHDIOCESE OF AGANA IN THE NEWS - MAY 8, 2017

May 8, 2017. GUAM DAILY POST
Apuron accusers testify; decision by early summer
CONTINUED

May 8, 2017. PACIFIC DAILY NEWS
Apuron church trial breaks new ground
CONTINUED

May 8, 2017. PACIFIC DAILY NEWS
Vatican gets testimony from more Apuron accusers
CONTINUED

NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER: BURKE PRESIDES OVER TRIAL

Cardinal Burke presides over trial investigating Guam archbishop

VATICAN CITY -  Cardinal Raymond Burke, a church law expert and former head of the Vatican's highest court, arrived in Guam Feb. 15 as the presiding judge in a church trial investigating allegations of sexual abuse leveled against Archbishop Anthony Apuron of Agana. CONTINUED

GUAM DAILY POST: SECRET TRIBUNAL PROCESS REVEALED

Secret tribunal process revealed

A canon law expert said confidential documents obtained by the Post, which summon one of Archbishop Anthony Apuron’s accusers to appear before a Vatican-sent tribunal, are the first pieces of evidence that Apuron faces the church’s version of a criminal case, rather than an administrative proceeding.

CONTINUED

PNC: APURON'S TRIAL

Archbishop Apuron's trial entering its second phase in Rome

Guam - Suspended Archbishop Anthony Apuron's canonical trial is already in its second phase, according to his replacement, Coadjutor Archbishop Michael Byrnes. CONTINUED