THE CATHEDRAL RECTOR'S VALENTINE'S DAY MISSIVE AND WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW

Let us examine the key statements in the Cathedral Rector's February 14 missive to the Cathedral parish relative to the celebration of Mass:

"All Masses must be celebrated with the Roman Missal with adherence to the letter and spirit of its General Instructions or GIRM." 

"Some groups may have been given special permission (also known as an indult) by Rome to change certain parts of the Mass. If your group falls within this category, please submit such permission to me before Ash Wednesday so that we can all be advised. Also note that all indults must have a start date and specifically state if it has an expiration date or is permanent/ongoing."

Of course there are not "some groups," there is only one "group": the Neocatechumenal Way. The NCW claims to have special permission to "change certain parts of the Mass." We will examine those in a minute. But first we can expect the NCW to avoid the missive by resorting to any of the following:

CHESS MASTER HON LEARNS A NEW MOVE--THE BACKFIRE!

Posted by Bob

"TO HON WE'RE MERE PAWNS IN HIS CHESS GAME" 

was posted on Saturday. In that post AB Hon's masterful gambits and a pin were recognized. Hon took one piece, a knight--well, in this case we'll call it a horse, off the board. Lest you think I'm being too complimentary to Pius remember how a knight horse moves.  It is the only chess piece that can jump over other pieces. Its the only piece that can go around corners.It's the only piece that cannot move in a straight line. So it's fitting that Pius is characterized as a horse. Hon moved one horse off the board and replaced him with another, Quituqua, the younger.

Hon moved a couple pawns around so that one, Father Paul, blocked the other, Msgr. James. Clever as they were, the Pius-Quitugua and Paul-James gambits were but distractions to guide our attention away from Hon's major move: to checkmate us. If Hon could break our picket line it would be checkmate.

OR....IT COULD BE SOMETHING ELSE..AND MAYBE, NOBODY WANTS TO GO THERE

Posted by Tim

While it has and may still be argued that Msgr. James was the de facto pastor of the Agana Cathedral Parish and thus entitled to canonical rights, having never formally been given that title, his official position remained rector, and thus was subject to a reassignment by the Ordinary at any time. 

However, Msgr. James was NOT reassigned. He was removed. And he was removed by Decree. 

A Decree of Removal is an extremely serious matter, and Canon Law prescribes it only as a "last resort in a series of attempts to correct a perceived problem." A Decree of Removal effectively declares that "the presence of a particular pastor (or rector in the case of Msgr. James) seriously harms the spiritual or temporal welfare of the parish..." (Canon 1740).

LOOKS LIKE I NEED TO WEIGH IN HERE

Posted by Tim

There's been some back and forth about whether or not we should proceed with the picket tomorrow. Look, here's the deal. If you don't want to join the picket then don't. But don't tell other people what they should and shouldn't do. 

No one is forcing anyone to picket so if you don't want to picket and you want to go to the Mass then do it. The problem here is that those who think they need to go to the Mass to "support Fr. Paul" think that it is their duty to convince others to do the same. This is the very "neo-think" we are fighting against.  

And I also want to make another thing EXTREMELY CLEAR...AGAIN. Fr. Paul redefined what he meant by "restore." Unfortunately, he DID NOT bother to notify the rest of us. I was EXTREMELY OFFENDED when he did this, so I will NOT be supporting Fr. Paul. 

WHO WILL BE THE PASTOR OF THE AGANA CATHEDRAL AND WHY THE FIGHT GOES ON

Posted by Tim

At the root of Msgr. James' Canon Law case is whether or not he, as rector of the Cathedral, was also in fact the pastor of the Agana Cathedral parish. If he was, then he has canonical rights that were violated by his abrupt removal by Apuron and the evil step-sisters (David and Adrian). 

REAL REMEDY AND RENEWAL

Posted by Jose Martinez

As Catholics, when we confess our sins we are forgiven by Christ (through the priest) and the sacrament ends there. However, in order to grow and nourish our selves through this sacrament, we are usually tasked to perform a penance, and many times this means rectifying that which we have wronged.  While forgiveness neither requires nor is dependent on our works, Christ’s mercy is not void of justice. 

Abp. Hon, as an ordained Catholic priest, should know good and well that his verbal acknowledging and rescinding of the wrong deeds and decrees of his predecessor (and others) does not complete his effort towards reconciliation in our Archdiocese. If he is truly seeking a unified Church on Guam, then any progress that stops at forgiveness may be rendered futile. Progress should also include action.  Penance is required, mitigation is in order and restoration should become a priority.

GET OUT OF OUR WAY

Posted by Tim Rohr

Sadly, Fr. Paul thinks this is about him. It is not. I engaged this battle to fight Apuron’s rabid abuse of episcopal power which he has used to damage countless souls over three decades. Fr. Paul was just the latest and most high profile victim at the time. Because while clergy like Fr. Paul waited around for the Holy Spirit to "come" and called for peace and patience, Apuron (as per Champ Quinata and Walter’s testimony) was pinning 9 year old boys to his bed, ramming their rectums and leaving them for dead. So now that Fr. Paul has his little pardon, the rest of you need to sit down and shut up. Yes, so more little boys can be destroyed by the clerical obeisance that has been the fertilizer for  this “filth in the church.” It’s not about you, Fr. Paul. Get over yourself. 

KUAM NEWS: VIDEO FROM TODAY'S PRESS CONFERENCE

Posted by Chuck White

Press Conference with Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai

Agana Cathedral Basilica, 10:00am, July 27, 2016

LINK to Archdiocese of Agana statement read at press conference.

THE FIRST ISSUE. LET'S FIX THIS NOW!

We are willing to give Archbishop Hon a point or two for at least getting the names David C. Quitugua and Adrian Cristobal out of our faces. I have some ideas about their replacements which I will share later - and granted, I realize that probably neither of them wanted these jobs. 

So for now, let's move on to the next issue, which should have been the FIRST issue (after extending a personal helping and welcoming embrace to the sex abuse survivors - alleged or otherwise, which of course did not happen.) 

The FIRST issue is the status of Fr. Paul Gofigan and Msgr. James Benavente. It is the FIRST issue because it was the treatment of these two priests by Apuron, David, and Adrian which was the catalyst for the explosion that followed.

It is also the issue that Archbishop Hon has had the most time to deal with as well as the authority to do something about. Both cases were known to Hon in his capacity as Secretary to the "competent congregation" for at least a year and half. That NOTHING was done regarding either case before Hon arrived here is telling. That NOTHING has been done SINCE Hon arrived here is even more telling. 

When I say "nothing has been done," I don't mean poking the issue and floating proposals for a possible resolution. I mean: 

1. a clear and public condemnation of how these two priests were treated by Apuron, David, and Adrian, and 
2. an immediate restoration of the two priests to their positions. 

Let me explain.

1. Hon must PUBLICLY condemn the actions of Apuron, David and Adrian against Fr. Paul and Msgr. James because these two priests were themselves PUBLICLY condemned by Apuron, David and Adrian. 

2. Both MUST be restored to the previous positions, Fr. Paul as pastor of Santa Barbara and Msgr. James as Rector of the Cathedral and Pastor of the Cathedral Parish (he was both), because both were removed in a manner that was canonically illegal. 

In Fr. Paul's case, he was illegal replaced by a parochial administrator without first being removed according to the canonical provisions for the removal of pastors. In Msgr. James' case, he was removed without being afforded his canonical right to due process to address the accusations Apuron made against him. 

The key word is "removed." Neither priest was transferred. Both were suddenly and abruptly REMOVED. Neither priest was offered a different assignment. Both were assigned later to St. Anthony only after the expression of public outrage.

Given that both priests had their canonical rights violated, Archbishop Hon, in the name of justice and unity, MUST condemn Apuron's illegal acts against them and restore them to their positions.

Once that is done, Hon can then ask for their courtesy resignation, which (I've heard) he is asking of everyone, and they can be reassigned as he sees fit. 

The Cathedral

However, one thing must be clear, the NEO's are NOT to hang on to the Cathedral. The Cathedral MUST be the seat of unity. The NEO's, who only represent a tiny percentage of the diocese, should not be permitted to occupy the "seat of unity." 

What's more, it is EXTREMELY CLEAR that their "eucharist" is so dissimilar to our Catholic Mass, that the NEO celebration of their "eucharist" in our Cathedral is a shot through the heart of any attempt at Catholic unity. 

The Neo Communion Rite

And as long as we are on that subject it is time for Archbishop Hon to either show us the document permitting the NEO's communion rite or publicly prohibit it. To review, there are two elements of the communion rite which do not conform to the liturgical books nor are they permitted in the NCW statute:

1. The priest delays his communion until the sacred species has first been distributed to the communicants. (The liturgical books require the priest to first consume the sacred species, and THEN distribute Holy Communion.)

2. The neo-communicants "receive" the consecrated bread* in their hands but do not immediately consume as required by the liturgical books. They return to their seats, consecrated bread in hand, and then consume upon receiving a signal from the celebrant. 

* We are not sure if the bread is actually consecrated since from what we can tell, the Neo belief is that Jesus was a sinner and thus not God. But we will address that another time.

You could say that this manner of receiving communion is GROUND ZERO for the heartache in this diocese as this is the practice Apuron openly defended during his infamous 2006 KOLG radio tirade. Hon MUST either show us the document permitting this practice or must officially and publicly prohibit it. 

Okay? Ready, set, go!

A PRIEST PROBLEM?

Lately the poor fools on Apuron's side have given up on blaming me and the CCOG for the battleground that this diocese has turned into and retreated to their former position that this is "a priest problem." 

KEEP AN EYE ON THIS

With the VG and Adrian running the show, we can bet that "no-good" for us "regular Catholics" is afoot.

WHY WE CANNOT TRUST THE VICAR GENERAL

In order not to confuse Msgr. David C. Quitugua, the Vicar General with Msgr. David I.A. Quitugua, the pastor of Ordot church, Msgr. David C. Quitugua will hereafter be referred to  as Msgr. David the VG.

As we know, Msgr. David the VG, in addition to being the VG, is also the current rector of the Agana Cathedral. And as we also know, he distributed a letter in his name on January 23 to all the parishioners of the Cathedral, attempting to blame Msgr. James for the Cathedral's financial woes. And as we further know, his representative was dismissed from the CCOG village meeting last night for attempting to do so again. 

We appreciate these sordid attempt to further vilify Msgr. James, Fr. Paul, etc., because they give us a reason to once again state the facts and show who these people really are.

PROVIDENTIALLY...THE REST OF THE STORY

In a recent comment, a coward again tried to smear Mr. Lastimoza in order to defend Archbishop Apuron's mistreatment of Fr. Paul. Apparently only in the Neocatechumenal Way is one never forgiven (unless of course you join them). 

I wasn't going to address it and I thought long and hard before bringing this to a post. But an email I received yesterday providentially changed my mind. It's a part of the story that hasn't been told yet, at least not here. The sender gave me permission to share it:

THINGS GET EMOTIONAL

Wednesday, 10 December 2014

Father Paul Gofigan with Patti Arroyo

http://pacificnewscenter.com/pnc-k57-interviews/item/1180-father-paul-gofigan-with-patti-arroyo

WRONG PRIEST. WRONG DAY.

Do you remember back when we got hit with by Supertyphoon Pongsona? It was a big one. Prior to Pongsona, everyone use to compare typhoons to "Pamela", but not after Pongsona. 

Do you remember the date? December 8. Do you remember the blowback against the government about it? The typhoon was seen as divine retribution for canceling the traditional holiday for that day. Some said Our Lady of Kamalin was sending Guam a message. 

Did you know that December 8 is Fr. Paul Gofigan's birthday? Some say that the blowback against the church government is divine retribution for Archbishop Apuron's evil treatment of a priest born on that day.

Divine retribution or not. Treating Fr. Paul in such an evil way has brought retribution nonetheless. It breached a seal, a seal on the minds, hearts, and mouths of many. The seal is gone. The minds, hearts, and mouths are open. And they are pouring forth a supertyphoon of angry truth.

Archbishop Apuron knows this. He knows he had best go. That he had best run for shelter. The wind is getting louder outside his door. He also knows that he cannot fight it with threats and silence. But he won't go. He will stay. 

Why? 

Because his neo superiors have ordered him to. They need him to ordain their boys out of RMS. Even now Kiko is working to reduce the number of years needed for his RMS boys to become priests to only 4 years. They need Apuron to stay standing. They will prop him up. 

But as John Toves said: "Archbishop, you don't have enough shutters."

December 8. Fr. Paul's birthday. The Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The day we honor Our Lady of Kamalin. The day of Supertyphoon Pongona.

Wrong priest. Wrong day. 

WHY NOW?

The question continues to be asked by some who want to discredit those who have come forward against Archbishop Apuron.

The answer is very simple and it was recently given to us by Pope Francis himself. In fact, it was given on THE VERY DAY he met with Archbishop Apuron:

"But there are two things that the people of God cannot forgive: a priest attached to money and a priest who mistreats people. This they cannot forgive!"

For more than 30 years, the people of the Archdiocese of Agana have been willing to overlook and forgive the Archbishop for his human failings. However, as Pope Francis himself said, they CANNOT forgive "a priest attached to money and a priest who mistreats people." 

And on July 16, 2013, Archbishop Apuron officially began to mistreat people.

Perhaps the Pope knew exactly who stood in front of him that day.

Here is the letter that began it all. And now that we know for sure that Joseph Lastimoza was NEVER a "danger" to anyone and in fact was permitted by the Archbishop to work at the same parish for three years upon his release from prison in 2000, we can also now know for sure that this action against Fr. Paul was nothing more than a vicious act to destroy a priest who stood in Archbishop Apuron's (neocatechumenal) way.

SMH! THE LATEST LIE.

As part of Archbishop Apuron's current campaign to restore his image to some semblance of a pastor, he is attempting to reframe the original crisis that got him in trouble in the first place: his mistreatment of Fr. Paul Gofigan.

Recently we saw a public attempt to justify the Archbishop's firing of Fr. Paul in the pathetically inept letter to the editor of a person calling himself "David Mills" and claiming to be simply a casual observer from New York. 

Mills completely gave himself away as an Apuron/Neo-operative by providing a level of detail about the case that no casual observer from New York could access. (See my response to "Mills" on this blog here and in the PDN here.)

APURON VS PAROLE BOARD

What Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron, Ofm. Cap. DD, Metropolitan Archbishop of Agana, Guam said about Joseph B. Lastimoza:

Letter to Fr. Paul Gofigan. July 16, 2013. Prot. No. 013-047

• a grave harm to the parish
• a probable threat to children of a nearby school
• a lasting and potential threat to the safety and well-being of parishioners and office staff
• gravely detrimental to the parish
• harmful
• grave, lasting and proven harm to the parish

Archdiocese Statement to the Media. July 22, 2013.

• a danger to “a school full of children…CCD students, Confirmation students, and other youth groups…”

1999

This morning, the Pacific Daily News carried the story "Lastimoza speaks out". I happen to know that Mr. Lastimoza did not want to speak out. He only did so because of what Archbishop Apuron is doing to his family and Fr. Paul. 

But whereas Mr. Lastimoza understands and accepts the responsibility and consequences of his crimes, Archbishop Apuron does not. It is only because Archbishop Apuron needed an excuse to fire Fr. Paul that Mr. Lastimoza and his family have been pulled back into the news. 

We know that Mr. Lastimoza was used as an excuse by Archbishop Apuron because of what we learn from this story:

"He was paroled in 1999 and began doing court-ordered community service at the Santa Barbara Church."

You see, when Mr. Lastimoza was fresh out of prison, he was sent to Santa Barbara parish to work for the parish as a condition of his parole. 

See the full parole document here.

ARCHBISHOP APURON: HE SHOULD HAVE SUED YOU!

Joesph Lastimoza and his wife speak out on accusations of sexual relations with a local priest

http://www.guampdn.com/videonetwork/3846273357001/Convicted-killer-Joesph-Lastimoza-and-his-wife-speak-out-on-accusations-of-sexual-relations-with-a-local-priest