MEEEEELLIONS AND MEEEEELLIONS OF DOLLARS...

Posted by Tim Rohr

...we have been defrauded into pouring into this "institute" and they can't even spell "Profesor" (sic) on their website. In fact, it has been misspelled for nearly ten years. Fr. Jeff, how's that "dramatic and shocking" report coming?

GUAM RMS VS A REAL SEMINARY (PART II) THE ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

Posted by Frenchie


Today, we shall compare the Academic Programs of both the RMS Guam and St Patrick Seminary, where our priests used to be educated, prior to the take over of the vocations by the Neos, under failed Archbishop Apuron, and with the full participation of Pius, Quitagua and Cristobal.

IT'S TIME TO TALK FRANKLY ABOUT THIS

It's time to talk frankly about the use of the JP2 seminarians to solicit support for the Appeal.

There is no doubt that each of these men are sincere in their desire to be ordained diocesan priests for the Archdiocese of Agana.

However, their sincerity does not turn the institution that purports to train them for the priesthood into a credible institution, nor does the sincerity of those who support their vocations.

None of us would send our son or daughter to an institution of higher learning without having some evidence that the institution is in fact what it purports itself to be. 

This is all we are asking.

WHO IS ARCHBISHOP CONVOLOO?

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APOSTOLIC VISTORS. NOTE: "IT'S SCARY THAT THEY RUN PARISHES AND CARE FOR SOULS"

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   AnonymousJanuary 5, 2015 at 3:59 AM

   It states, "The Institute is composed of six departments." How confusing with there being eight listed on the page.
   
   The use of "etc." is not very professional when listing items that should be known.
   
   How does one spell professor/profesor? It's spelled two different ways. Maybe spell check wasn't working.
   
   The list of "permanent" faculty alone is inconsistent or problematic.
   1) Pontifical Gregorian vs Gregorian
   2) Ph.D. vs. Ph.D. Doctorate (redundant)
   3) Three are still candidates for their Doctorate.
   4) Samut is an instructor for Pastoral Theology, but his degrees are for Spirituality.
   
   Someone with a Master in Sciences of Education (Guidance/Counseling) will be teaching Languages and Liturgy and Sacraments.
   
   One of the faculty has a Master's EdD equivalent from UOG which doesn't grant anything beyond a Master's.
   
   How does a degree in Elementary Education prepare one to teach Language in a seminary? Is Language the same as ESL? Is Language the same as Languages? I would hope Languages is the study of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew and not ESL. I am amazed that instruction can happen with so many levels of mastery of English.
   
   One of the faculty with a degree from Weston, whose curriculum vitae states he was only a lecturer at Mater Dei Regional Seminary, Guam, in the summer of 2006, doesn't even get S.J. for his name.
   
   One of the faculty who last taught at Redemptoris Mater in 2002, is listed as a Ph.D. candidate at Marquette in 1996. I doubt the courses still count after so many years.
   
   I guess some of the faculty haven't been back for years.
   
   I would love to serve in our diocese, but I don't know about this type of preparation. I've dealt with some of the priests prepared by Redemptoris Mater and it's scary that they run parishes and care for souls.

INVESTIGATE THE BLESSED DIEGO INSTITUTE

Dear Apostolic Visitors:

We are certain that while you are here you will be looking into the academic qualifications of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary and its accompanying Blessed Diego Institute.

To assist you, here is a self-congratulatory blurb about the Blessed Diego Institute and how it came to be affiliated with the Lateran University. Of course, being that its a product of the Neocatechumenal Way, the authors of the article include the obligatory "miraculous" description of its coming to be. 

Here is one matter of concern. The article states that in order to achieve an affiliation with the Lateran the "Institute needed to have six permanent professors with PHD degrees."

In October of last year, I researched the Institute's website (since there is no academic handbook or other information available) and did not find  the names of "six permanent professors" with academic degrees. In fact, the website listed "professors" who I knew had not been on Guam in years and others who are rarely here. 

I posted about this and apparently the people at the Institute read it because shortly thereafter they eliminated the link to the list of faculty which you can see here. The link is also missing to the "Program of Studies" (which I also questioned) and the "Courses by Department" link takes you to a page which says "File Not Found."

So WHO are these "six permanent professors with PHD degrees"? 

We are asked to support this institution and in fact trust it with the priestly formation of our sons, but they:

• can't tell us who the faculty is,
• can't tell us what the Program of Studies is, and
• the Courses by Department is a "File Not Found.

The article also states that the Institute's "academic credits are recognized by several institutions around the world." 

Really? If that were true, then why did Fr. Adrian Cristobal write to Aaron Quitugua, an aspiring seminarian, and tell him that the Blessed  Diego Institute is not able to accept his college credits and credits will only transfer out to Pontifical universities?

Read it for yourself here. 

Dear Visitors. We believe that the faithful Catholics of Guam are being lied to and used. We hope you can do something about it. Soon. 

THE XIPHIAS GLADIUS PROJECT

By Chuck White

The Xiphias Gladius Project.  It sounds like something from a sci-fi movie, but it’s not.  ”Xiphias Gladius”, a phrase taken from the Greek and Latin words for “sword”, is the name of a team of Neocatechumenal academics dedicated to researching and teaching the theories of Rene Girard,  a French-born American academic.  Girard is famous for his theory of religious anthropology called “Mimetic Desire.”  I will describe this theory and it’s great danger after I describe how we stumbled upon the issue and the discovered the Xiphias Gladius team.

Read more

AT THE HEART OF OUR DIVISION

At the heart of our faith is the Eucharist. And at the heart of our division with other Christian religions is what we believe about it. 

Catholics (and our close Orthodox cousins) believe that when Jesus said "This is my Body...This is my Blood", the bread and wine in his hands truly, actually, and substantially became Him - as it does today in the hands and at the same words of our priests (who are not otherwise impeded). 

WHO TEACHES AT BLESSED DIEGO?

In the wake of all the questions about the educational worthiness of the Blessed Diego Institute which is supposed to provide the academic formation for our seminarians, and which we are asked to financially sustain, it might be wise for the Institute to update its list of professors.

While perusing the list, I came across the name of a friend who has not taught at the Institute since 2003. Yet, even after more than a decade since his last class, he is listed as one of the "Visiting Professors." Also, I came across the name of Dan Bradley, who the Institute recently fired because, according to Bradley, he wouldn't give the seminarians a passing grade in Latin if they didn't deserve one.