By Tim Rohr
By Tim Rohr
Whenever there is new news about something going on with the Neocats - as there was this week - there is usually a flurry of activity on old posts. Given the gravity of the Luis Camacho Affair, I really didn't expect to see any old posts near the top. However, this post from 2016 is ranked 3rd over the last 7 days. I really don't know what caused all the views. There wasn't anything in it about Luis Camacho. The comments - 9 years later - are amusing though.
https://www.junglewatch.info/2016/06/diana-no-biggie.html
For context, the post, featuring comments from The Diana, was posted the day Walter Denton spilled his guts at a street press conference in Hagatna, recounting how, as a 12 year-old altar boy in Agat, he was sodomized by then-Fr. Anthony Apuron. In hindsight, it was Walter's testimony, more than any other, which brought the canonical investigation down on Apuron and the literal Gotterdamerung which followed.
https://www.junglewatch.info/2016/06/altar-boy-sodomized-by-father-apuron.html
By Tim Rohr
The Diana has a new post titled THE TRUTH ABOUT CCOG (Concerned Catholics of Guam). It's been nearly seven years and two archbishops since Pope Francis removed Apuron and banned him from Guam, so why is The Diana posting about this now?
There are lots of reasons, but it probably has nothing to do with love for Apuron. Apuron's removal was a black eye for Kiko and his Klan, so it's probably more about fixing that black eye so the NCW can reinsert itself back into Guam as well as continue its expansion around the world.
The Diana, as usual, does a lot of jumping to conclusions by trying to connect very distant dots. Ultimately, her story is the same: Apuron was framed by Tim Rohr and the CCOG, blah, blah, blah... Supposedly we did this to cash in on a Chinese casino, or massive real estate deals, or whatever.
Well seven years later and I have yet to realize a single cent and no one from the CCOG has either. So much for that theory.
Despite The Diana's best efforts to resurrect Apuron and "untarnish" him, the bottom line is that Apuron ran away after one - just one - accuser came forward: Roy Quintanilla in May 2016. Apuron was on a plane to Rome the very next day and never returned.
If he had done nothing wrong then why did he run? He pronounced himself guilty when he did that.
-----
NOTE: By they way, the article from the Catholic News Agency where I pulled the above picture refers to Apuron as "Emeritus Archbishop..." Hmmmm.
Vatican City, Apr 4, 2019 / 10:01 am
Emeritus Archbishop Anthony Apuron of Agaña said Thursday that despite the failure of his appeal and the confirmation of a conviction against him, he is innocent of sexual abuse against minors.
By Tim Rohr
It all backfired of course when their hero, then-Archbishop Apuron, was outed for his crimes against children, crimes which had long been known but had been kept comfortably in the dark for decades until it became obvious that Apuron was no longer running things in the Archdiocese of Agana but was firmly in the control of the Kiko's in New Jersey.
For those who don't know, "The Diana" is the fake name of the author of the neocat blog, Neocatechumenal Way - An Insider's View. It's a fake name because actually being forthright, upfront, and transparent is not the neocat way, at least not when it comes to the machinations behind the nice stuff they want us to see.
By contrast, while we at JungleWatch have had a few authors with a nom de plume, Tim Rohr has always been the real Tim Rohr. I have paid for it, but I have nothing to fear with the Truth on my side. And fundamentally, being untruthful is why The Diana has to hide.
I give credit to The Diana because it was posts like the one she posted today that drove up the views on JungleWatch during the years of the Apuronic Wars, approximately 2013 to 2018, when Apuron was finally canned by Pope Francis, despite The Diana and the Kiko Cabal's attempt to keep him propped up.
The Diana's current post references a post by Troy Torres of Kandit News and my critique of Troy's post, both of which are about the Neocat-priest, Fr. Harold Colorado Prieto.
Before I take apart The Diana's post, I will copy here an FB post that came up (by coincidence?) in my memories today from 2013. I am copying it because, as I have often said, I have great admiration and appreciation for much of what the NCW does and the sincerity of the average member. Here it is:
Not sure. Maybe it's just the stormy weather that has me in a philosophical mood. But I hereby have decided to unfriend Zoltan and block him from these pages. Here's why.
Zoltan is a member of the Neocatechumenal Way. Almost everyone I know in the Way is a good person, sincere, truly seeking a deeper relationship with Christ, and overall, very good people. In fact, I deem the Way to be a very good thing with many fruits. The Way does what the parishes have long failed to do: find the little and the lost and bring them in.
This is good. Shame on us who have overlooked the hurting, and praises for the NCW for having done what the rest of us have failed to do. I gave a long account of my praises for the NCW in 2008 which you can find on my blog at TheMassNeverEnds.com It remains one of the most oft-viewed posts.
There are only a few things about "the Way" that I have an issue with, and one of those things is really just a local problem (which I'll get to another time). Most in "the Way" are willing to engage me politely or quietly ignore me. Both are acceptable. I do the same for many of my Facebook friends with whom I disagree on other matters but desire to remain friends.
However, Zoltan, by the viciousness of his attacks, insults, slander, and an artifice of superiority, is a real discredit to "the Way" and the most of the good people in it. It is not fair to them to continue to let him smear the rest through his ill-use of my pages.
I continue to disagree with some of the practices of "the Way", and will continue to voice my concerns. I will also continue to entertain intelligent inquiries into my views and my own inquiries.
Perhaps someone in "the Way" who would like to engage my concerns on an intelligent level will rise to the occasion. Maybe not. It's not necessary. The Way will continue. I have no means of interfering or stopping it, and I don't intend to.
Like many, I have legitimate questions about what seems to be being imposed upon our island with increasing aggressiveness. The Father Paul "thing" brought this out. But it brought it out in the media first. I only responded to it.
However, it appears that even the mere questioning of the NCW is not allowed by people like Zoltan. And anyone who does so, at least according to Zoltan, is in need of conversion. And in my long experience of dealing with this sort of thing, I have found that those who preach to you about your need for conversion are usually the ones most in need of it.
My only regret in unfriending Zoltan is that he has thus far provided us so much evidence for what most of us knew but had no first hand information of, and I am sure there is much more we could have learned. But as mentioned, as a courtesy to the good people in "the Way", there is no point in allowing him to defame the movement even more.
Let us persist with real friends: people who care about you enough to disagree politely and intelligently or to quietly ignore you. Both are acceptable. And I have many.
The End.
Back in 2013, Zoltan was "The Diana" before "The Diana." However, at least Zoltan had the courage to use his real name. And in the end, Zoltan actually came around. In any case, the foregoing is more evidence that I am not hostile to the Neocatechumenal Way and indeed supportive of much of what happens within it. But my position has always been, and still is, that all of the nice stuff is a front for the nefarious purposes of the red wizards behind the curtain, and that average Catholics were and are being used.
Now, on to The Diana's post re Harold.
The Diana essentially makes my point in appealing to "there are two sides to every story." In fact, that's why I titled my first post about Troy's Harold: ONCE UPON A TIME HAROLD WAS NOT THE HAROLD TROY NOW KNOWS. (My second post is titled: THERE HAS BEEN NO APOLOGY.)
The title and the content of my first post makes the point that if Harold is who Troy says he is NOW, then there are two Harold's, the Harold from the Apuron years and the Harold now, with a significant absence in between.
My first post also sets out all the posts from ten years ago in which Harold is the subject, detailing and evidencing why Harold was targeted ("persecuted" as The Diana says) by this blog. The fact then was that Harold was Apuron's right hand boy.
And by the way, I don't want to take credit away from Frenchie. I did not nickname Harold "Boboboy," as The Diana claims. That was Frenchie's creation and I documented it in my post. But thanks anyway, Diana.
Diana further makes my case by recalling how parishioners in Talofofo didn't like Harold, but parishioners in Tamuning, Umatac, and Merizo (I still use the old spelling) do. So what's the difference?
Ten years. That's the difference. Harold was assigned to Talofofo ten years ago, or thereabouts, or at least during the Apuronic Wars, during which Harold was a very visible Apuron crusader, and only in the last few years at the other parishes just mentioned.
The question is, where was Harold for several years after Apuron was canned and Harold disappeared? Why did he leave Guam, and why did he come back?
It's not hard to see for those of us who have been in the trenches for more than a decade now. The Neocats, and I mean their generals, are re-infiltrating Guam, but this time, they are doing it nicely.
It's a typical tactic. Their crush and destroy tactics of ten years ago blew up in their faces - thanks to the courage of a few - and, like good, Alinsky-ites, following the playbook, "Rules for Radicals," the Neocats are re-growing their base in the Marianas beginning with the appointment of Archbishop Jimenez - whether he's in on it or not.
The specific rule I believe the Neocats are using is #2: "Never go outside the experience of your people."
That was their mistake the first time around. They went "outside the experience" of the average Catholic with too much too soon, and it was THAT which stirred up the locals, NOT the horrors about Apuron's crimes - which were already mostly known for decades.
So they're back, in the new "inside the experience" of the people version, which is why Harold is now likable. It's quite obvious that while Harold was away from Guam (ran away?) that he was re-trained.
One thing I do admire about these guys is that they're persistent. If us regular Catholics would be half as persistent in studying and practicing the true Catholic Faith, we wouldn't have to deal with The Diana's and The Harold's. They'd have to find someplace else to subvert.
By Tim Rohr
(Sorry for being so cryptic, but longtime readers will understand. For newer readers - catch up at ORCHESTRATED.)
My recent little post, "So there are two chosen peoples?" which I wrote in response to The Diana's "I stand with Israel" has already had triple the traffic in half the time as any other recent post, and the traffic isn't a result of my brilliant writing but because of the attention The Diana brought to it when "she" (we don't know who or what "The Diana is) chose to "Correct the Jungle."
So that's nice.
But to the matter at hand.
In The Diana's "Correction,", The Diana, apparently unable to dismantle my position, opts for creating a new target in order to have something other than her foot to shoot at.
Quoting Catholic apologist, Jimmy Akin, The Diana maintains: "The Church rejects the idea that the covenant with Israel has been nullified or revoked."
The Diana goes on to quote then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI): "God has not, then, retracted his word that Israel is the chosen people? No, because he is faithful."
In my post, I did not claim that God's covenant with Israel had been nullified or revoked, as The Diana tries to imply. What I wrote was:
"...the TRUE TEACHING OF CATHOLICISM (is) that Jesus Christ is the MESSIAH prophesied throughout the Old Testament and that THE CHURCH is the 'New Israel'."
In other words, Catholicism holds that the Church Christ left us in the the persons of the Apostles with Peter as the head, is not the nullification, revocation, or replacement of God's Covenant with Israel (there is no need to label it "Old"), but the FULFILLMENT of said Covenant.
In fact, The Diana, in continuing the quote from Cardinal Ratzinger, supports the point:
Of course, we can see that Israel still has some way to go. As Christians, we believe that they will in the end be together with us in Christ. But they are not simply done with and left out of God's plans; rather they still stand within the faithful covenant of God. (Emphases added)
Yes, "we believe that they will in the end be together with us in Christ."
Zionists (including, apparently, The Diana) believe that the Jews must return to the physical/geographical/biblically historical Israel and rebuild the Temple before the Messiah (for the Jewish Zionists) will come at last, and (for the Christian Zionists) will come again.
However, the Temple has already been rebuilt:
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn. 2:19).
And now it is the task of all Christians to bring the whole world into it.
As a P.S., and as long as The Diana is quoting popes (or at least a future pope), there is this from Pius X who spoke directly with the founder of Jewish Zionism, Theodore Herzl, upon Herzl's seeking the pope's approval for the return of the Jews to the biblical Holy Land:
‘We are unable to favor this movement. We cannot prevent the Jews from going to Jerusalem — but we could never sanction it. The ground of Jerusalem, if it were not always sacred, has been sanctified by the life of Jesus Christ. As the head of the Church, I cannot answer you otherwise. The Jews have not recognized Our Lord; therefore, we cannot recognize the Jewish people.’" - SOURCE
Also, you may want to read Theodore Herzl's own account of his meeting with Pius X (here).
By Tim Rohr
This month, July, will mark ten years since JW took off when we began chronicling that Apuron v Gofigan Saga, which began in July, 2013.
So that's an average of a million views a year, 87,500 per month, or about 3,000 per day.
Our highest page view day ever was about 14k on this post about Apuron's removal of Msgr. James Benavente as rector of the Cathedral: MSGR. JAMES BENAVENTE REMOVED AS RECTOR OF CATHEDRAL BASILICA
The post which has received the most views overall is actually not a story, but a picture posted in September 2015: ARCHBISHOP APURON WITH CARDINAL SEAN O'MALLEY AT THE VATICAN, SEPTEMBER 2015 It has 77k+ views.
Additionally, there have been 5,273 posts, and 68,734 comments, everyone of which I have read and sometimes responded to.
After the Vatican took over the Apuron thing, JW essentially took a rest. And I personally took a nearly 5 year break to deal with personal matters.
While those personal matters will never be fully settled in this world, they are at a place that has allowed me to return to JW and keep the lights on, or more specifically, the "spotlights" on.
In the relative absence of Apuron-related scandal stuff, JW has kept busy with other matters, especially the abortion issue in Guam.
However, as already shared many times, Guam really isn't interested in the abortion thing.
That's understandable. As the legislatively-mandated abortion reports continue to show, Guamanians, and specifically those who ethnically identify as "Chamorro" - despite being a demographic minority - represent the largest number of those who procure abortions.
So, for the last several months - if not years - JW has been bumping along at about 20k page views per month.
However, as already shared in a previous post, JW, just like the old days, received some wonderful help from our old friend, The Diana, the "spokesperson" for Guam's NCW - or at least its leadership, and we got a nice bump in this past month of June:
From an average of just below 20k views per month to nearly 50k...well that was nice. And it was only a post or two. Thank you to The Diana. Please continue to find fault with JW. Nothing else seems to interest our viewership as much.
Courage
By Tim Rohr
First, I want to thank The Diana.
JW had been bumping along at about 20,000 pageviews per month with boring posts about abortion and same-sex marriage, but we are barely halfway through June and JW already has nearly double the views:
The only thing that can account for the sudden increase is a single JW post about the NCW, which I wouldn't have posted except that The Diana functionally invited it (as demonstrated in the JW post). And now that The Diana has replied with a retaliatory post, I'm excited about the numbers going even higher.
Well, no, it's not really about "the numbers" as in "stats," it's about the number of people around the world (see the Flag Counter in the sidebar) who otherwise would never know the truth since the NCW leadership continues to operate behind cloak and veil.
Speaking of "cloak and veil," the fact that The Diana still has to post behind a pseudonym after all these years tells us all we need to know. (Note: It's true that some contributors to JW have used pseudonyms. However, the name Tim Rohr was and is always on this blog, and in such a way that I can be held personally accountable - and "persecute-able" by my detractors.)
Also, before going on, I again want to make the distinction between the rank and file members of the NCW and its leadership. Any post on JW about the NCW is about its leadership, not the rank and file members who, as far as I know, are sincere Catholics only wanting to deepen their faith and are kept in the dark or misled by the NCW leadership as much as the rest of us are.
Just Like Old Times
Just like old times, it's always hard to know where to start when countering The Diana. (I'll assign the pronouns "she" and "her" for convenience.) As usual, she makes the most laughable "reaches" in efforts to make the most absurd connections.
The Diana's main "thesis" in her retaliatory post is...well, I'll copy it here:
Nowhere in Scripture does it mention the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. So, where did we get this teaching? Well, certainly not from Tim Rohr.
Here's the context:
Rohr misleads people by focusing that the letter was to the Rome Diocese. However, what I placed in bold clearly showed that the Statutes of the Neocatecumenal Way allowed for small-group celebrations of the Easter Vigil. Does Tim Rohr think that the NCW in Rome have a DIFFERENT approved Statutes? Rome was referring to the Statutes that all NCW worldwide have. Rohr goes on to say:
Meanwhile, the episcopal council of Rome appears not to have read the NCW Statutes which say nothing about "small-group celebrations of the Easter vigil."
So what? Nowhere in Scripture does it mention the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. So, where did we get this teaching? Well, certainly not from Tim Rohr. We got this from the Holy See...the Vatican. Tim Rohr is simply taking a stance that all Protestants use against the Catholic Church. Who is Tim Rohr to dictate what should be and should not be in the approved Statutes?
So The Diana says that because the Dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not found explicitly in Scripture then neither do the practices of the NCW have to be found explicitly in its Statutes. (Note: See how The Diana equates the NCW Statute with Dogma, the Dogma of the Assumption!)
It would be fun to go on and on about the those things which are set forth explicitly in the Church's official teaching and its laws which are wholly ignored by Kiko and his clan (the NCW leadership), but Chuck White has already done a pretty good job of doing that here.
Meanwhile, for the edification of all, let's review some stuff The Diana says - however ridiculous and tiresome this exercise may seem.
The Diana says:
Rohr misleads people by focusing that the letter was to the Rome Diocese. However, what I placed in bold clearly showed that the Statutes of the Neocatecumenal (sic) Way allowed for small-group celebrations of the Easter Vigil.
What The Diana placed in bold is this:
An exception exists for “national churches,” like the U.S. Catholic community at St. Patrick Church in Rome, and for members of the Neocatechumenal Way, whose Vatican-approved statutes allow for small-group celebrations of the Easter vigil, Midili said.
In my initial post, I noted that Midili and his crew appeared to have not read the NCW Statutes since the Statutes say nothing about "small-group celebrations of the Easter vigil." I shall copy the relevant Statute again here:
Art. 12
[Paschal Vigil]
§ 1. Axis and source of Christian life is the paschal mystery, lived and celebrated in a pre- eminent way in the Sacred Triduum,42 whose brilliance fills the whole liturgical year with light.43 For this reason, it constitutes the fulcrum of the Neocatechumenate, since this is a rediscovery of Christian initiation.
§ 2. “The Paschal Vigil, focal point of the Christian liturgy, and its baptismal spirituality inspire all Catechesis.”44 It is for this reason that during the itinerary, the neocatechumens are initiated gradually45 into an ever more perfect participation in all that the holy night signifies, celebrates and realizes.
§ 3. In this way, the Neocatechumenate will stimulate the parish to have a richer celebration of the Paschal Vigil.46
(Full Statutes of the NCW linked here.)
Clearly, nothing about the NCW celebrating the Easter Vigil in small groups. And, as pointed out in JW's initial post, the fact that the NCW Statutes set out the provisions for the celebration of the Eucharist in small groups for the other Sundays of the year in a separate statute (the very next one), clearly indicates that The Pasch/Easter is separate and unique to the other Sundays of the year. But then most of us already know that, or should.
More Fun
Here's another fun Diana statement:
Does Tim Rohr think that the NCW in Rome have a DIFFERENT approved Statutes? Rome was referring to the Statutes that all NCW worldwide have.
Well, yes. There may in fact be a difference between the Diocese of Rome and the Archdiocese of Agana and in fact, every diocese in the world because the NCW Statutes clearly state that the NCW is "at the service of the bishop," not the pope:
Art. 1
[Nature of the Neocatechumenal Way]
§ 1. The nature of the Neocatechumenal Way is defined by His Holiness John Paul II when he writes: “I recognize the Neocatechumenal Way as an itinerary of Catholic formation, valid for our society and for our times.”1
§ 2. The Neocatechumenal Way is at the service of the bishop as one of the forms of diocesan implementation of Christian initiation and of ongoing education in faith.
Thus, the diocesan bishop is authorized by the NCW's own Statutes, and in its very first article, to implement, apply, enforce, regulate, or completely disregard and/or dismiss the NCW Statutes however said bishop pleases.
Thus, contrary to The Diana's claim that Fr. Romy has to obey the pope, Fr. Romy, the papal-appointed Apostolic Administrator for the Archdiocese of Agana, with all the administrative authority of a bishop, pursuant to Article 1 of the NCW Statutes, can require the NCW to do or not do whatever he sees fit.
The bishop's role and authority is further emphasized - and precisely relative to the NCW's celebration of the Easter Vigil - in Art. 21 §2:
...the neocatechumens solemnly renew their baptismal promises in the Paschal Vigil presided over by the bishop...
So, if the NCW is celebrating the Easter Vigil in their "small groups" then just how is "the bishop" to preside over all of "the neocatechumens solemnly renew(ing) their baptismal promises in the Paschal Vigil?"
Obviously, the subject statute presumes absolute attendance and participation in the Easter Vigil as presided over by the diocesan bishop (or his canonically appointed substitute) which can only be (normally) at the diocesan cathedral.
Meanwhile, as Chuck White demonstrates, the Neocats' own "pope," Kiko Arguello, commands "his people" to not only avoid the cathedral, the bishop, and even the parish church, but to celebrate the Paschal Vigil in their homes. See: Sprinting Towards Schism
The authority of the bishop, as set forth in the NCW Statutes, also speaks to The Diana's conclusion at the end of her retaliatory post:
The NCW received its instruction and interpretation from the Holy See since the approval of its Statutes. And the NCW recognize only Pope Francis...not pope Tim.
Once again, as so often in the past, The Diana (and whoever backs her) refuses to acknowledge the plain meaning of the text of the NCW Statutes which clearly set forth the authority of the diocesan bishop relative to the governance of the NCW and NOT the pope - who, in his capacity as a bishop, is only the bishop of the Diocese of Rome.
And Finally
Finally, The Diana says this:
In the same way, just because one does not see "small-group celebrations of the Easter Vigil" in the Statutes does not mean that we should not celebrate it in small groups. The NCW have been saying all along that we are allowed to celebrate the Easter Vigil in small groups, and it was that document from the Episcopal Council of the Rome Diocese who interpreted the approved Statutes in that way. So, why should one listen to Tim Rohr?
As noted in my initial post, while the NCW has "been saying all along that we are allowed to celebrate the Easter Vigil in small groups," the fact is that it - the NCW in Guam - doesn't. And it didn't even before Fr. Romy's recent directive. Instead, the NCW in Guam has historically gathered all the communities together for a single "large-group" celebration of the Paschal Vigil, albeit in their own unconsecrated space.
So "why should one listen to Tim Rohr?" Well because Tim Rohr does not say anything that the NCW Statutes don't already say. The NCW leadership just can't keep track of its fabrications. And I do. It's not hard.
Meanwhile, thank you for Diana for the bump up in pageviews. Please reply. Yours Always. Tim
