AFTERNOON OF THE 3RD DAY OF TRIAL, FEBRUARY 22ND

 Posted by frenchie

Josephine Villanueva

CFO Agana Archdiocese

Was one of two witnesses to be heard that afternoon.

Following his now well oiled set of questionnaire, Mr Caldie the lead counsel for the "Creditors", helped by his eager , yet much less pleasant assistant Mr  Drew Glasovich, established the identity and responsibilities of Mrs Villanueva, by drumming in his boring but efficient sets of documents, which are then accepted as exhibits.

Mrs Villanueva was presented a series of documents, letters and memorandum, about Our Lady of the blessed Sacrament bank accounts and a couple of condos in Taigaitai (Phillipines) which were not in the original schedule of bankruptcy, or even in the first amended schedule, but were presented at a later date. 

It appear that Mr Glasovich was inferring a dishonest filing by the Chancery, asking on several occasion if there were other "hidden" asset. To which Mrs Villanueva  answered : "not to my knowledge"

This showed us that the lawyers for the creditors have a very superficial understanding of the damage the AAA administration (specially under Vicar General Adrian Cristobal) had actually done, and how they hid many things from the public at large, but also from the Clergy, religious, and councils supposed to oversee these matter.

Mr Glasovich continued by revisiting some testimonies already approached during the examination of Fr Gofigan. Then the conversation moved to overseeing parishes bank accounts and schools.

There were more identifications of documents to be filed as exhibits, followed by questions  regarding a uniform accounting system, human resources, Payroll, and financial reporting to the Nuncio.

Both the Judge and Mr Glasovich did not have a clue of who and what the office of Nuncio is, and when they questionned Mrs Villanueva she gave a very uneducated and innacurate answer. Mr Glasovich understanding rapidly that he might have opened a door on Canon Law, quickly brushed over the issue.

At this time there were over 50 people who had joined the hearing on Zoom, including many clergy, religious and survivors. 

Despite his monotone and at times soporiphic delivery Mr Glasovich   was able to hammer away at the notion that the system put in place by Mrs Villanueva and Archbishop Byrnes was in fact a detailed control of both the schools and the parishes. A very ironic situation brought on by the bankruptcy filing which is putting the Chancery in a situation of damm if you do, damm if you don't.

The relentless questions about collections, parish membership, visiting other parishes, attendance, demonstrated a deep lack of knowledge about Catholic faith and practices, yet they also establish their notion that the Archdiocese is one.

Of course this notion of one, which is a spiritual, even esoteric notion, is totally perverted by the plaintiffs representatives for civil  reasons.

Despite the plaintiffs lawyers being adamant about not dwelling in Canon Law, they continuously venture in that domain, without any challenge from the defense.

Cross examination was done by Mr Bruce Anderson, who deflected most of the objections from the plaintiffs. The exchanges were at time very tasty and you could really sense the irritation in the voice of Mr Caldie, when the judge overruled his objections repeatedly.  

Mr Anderson was very efficient in his cross, establishing that there was no take over of the Basilica administration by the Chancery, that the Archbishop does not manage the parishes and/or the Schools

Mr Anderson also covered very effectively the issues of Donations, pledges and 2nd collections.

The redirect by the plaintiffs was done after another recess.

We experienced more tech issues in the afternoon which led to delays and frustrations.

The last witness for the afternoon was Sister Angela Perez of Our Lady of Guam Academy

Again the same set of questions were asked to Sister Angela, regarding administration, documents, bank accounts and hierarchy.

The examination then moved on to the inane questions about parish she attend, if she gives to collections, until Sr Angela told Mr Caldie that as a religious who give their lives to God often with no compensation, they were not in the habit of giving to collection. At that time it seems to down on Mr Caldie that this line of robotic questions was not applicable, and after trying two more times to redirect these questions he stopped by saying " this is not applicable sorry".

A short cross by Mrs Diaz, followed by a very short redirect ended the day, with both parties being far apart as the acceptability of some of the written deposition of Sister Angela.

Judge ruled to clarify on Wednesday

Bankruptcy Hearing and Zoom audience.

 Posted by Frenchie.

Just as when the Archbishop makes a statement publicly, or celebrate the December 8th Mass, people are watching and taking note.

The Bankruptcy trial of the Archdiocese might not see too many people going to the court to follow the proceedings, but the internet audience has been growing steadily.

Starting with 15 to 18 people on Friday preliminary hearing the audience grew to 25 to 30 on Saturday

On Monday the audience has continued to grow at time reaching 55 people and averaging around 50.

This is why it is particularly important that the audio visual tech support for this trial remain in control of the challenges faced.

Unfortunately this morning and this afternoon, we had to suffer through some long hiatus because of technnical glitches which did not allow the public to hear anything.

A word of advice to the cheerful  and pleasant Judge Tydingco-Gatewood. Do not forget the large public following the trial on Zoom, on Kandit News, Junglewatch and the drive by Media.

To the plaintiffs attorneys: Guam is not populated by a bunch of backwater boobs. A little decorum and more respect for some of the elders you are interviewing, will go a long way. The opposite shall not help you.

I noticed a lot of priests and religious people watching from the beginning to the end. I also noted several of the survivors paying close attention. 

To the lawyers think a little less about the fees you are going to make, and more about the victims of Apuron and his hilks.

As Tim Rohr clearly reminded us in his letter to the editor in today's PDN, it was the Catholics in the pews, who brought down the perverted and devious previous administration. It was not lawyers, politicians or journalists.

Don't forget this in your approach of this trial.

The people will support justice, but they shall not support excesses of any kind.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR - GUAM'S CATHOLICS WILL REBUILD

Letter: Guam's Catholics will rebuild after abuse case

By Tim Rohr

As trial in the archdiocesan abuse case moves forward to determine whether assets of churches and schools should be included in the quest “to find an authentic and thorough resolution” for “real healing,” as one lawyer put it, all involved should be reminded why Guam’s case is different than any other.

In every other U.S. diocese which was similarly sued, the impetus for justice originated with lawyers, legislators or journalists. In Guam, lawyers, legislators and journalists had nothing to do with it.

CONTINUED

Bankruptcy of Archdiocese of Agana day 3

 Posted by Frenchie

Proceedings were scheduled to start at 8.00am on Tuesday 22nd of February, while apparently all parties were present, the trial started after 9.00am with what appear to be the interrogation of Deacon Kim, the former financial head of the Archdiocese under AA, and a CPA here on Guam.

While the lead attorney for the plaintiff Edwin Caldie partner for the firm Stinson LLP in Minneapolis MN first came forward. It was his associate Andrew Glasnovitch a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School (2016) who started questioning Mr Kim. It was hard to figure out what was going on, since the sound was off on the zoom court transmission.

After about 20 minutes of actual proceeding, a recess was called by the Judge while the technical snafus were worked on. 

Hopefully we can proceed at 9.45am as planned.

On a side note, the choice of Mr Glasnovitch as a lawyer against the Archdiocese is interesting in view of his personal activist background and his openly gay lifestyle. Stinson LLP  made him their outreach and recruit searcher for the LGBTQ community.

Think about where your money is going to go after all this is over.

Edwin Caldie restarted the questioning

Establishing who Mr Kim is, what his responsibilities were in the AA administration, before and after his hiatus in Sacramento CA.

 

Mr Kim was also asked if he knew of a policy to safeguard documents, he said he did not recalled.

Next set of question was about the Thomas Aquinas school process for closure, and what happened to the debt. Answer I do not remember . The plaintiffs added more documents as exhibits that showed a memorandum of actions to be taken after the closing, what to do with Rick Cruz.  Answer I do not remember but it is written in the memo.

The plaintiffs moved on to questions on being a Catholic, again with the same focus, on belonging to the same Church, being one with the Archdiocese. What do you expect the Archdiocese will do with the moneys collected.

We learned that Deacon Kim was Baptized in Korea while he was a senior in High School. That he became a CPA after studying at UOG, That he arrived on Guam in the 1970s and has lived here over 43 years. 

Mr Caldie went on with leading questions about donations, land, other investments, Would the parishioners defy the Archbishop if he attempted to close his parish? Answer yes. Mr Kim testified that donation were for GOD's work in his church (meaning the universal and apostolic church) Then Mr Caldie continued about giving money to the Archbishop. ...answer we don't give money to the archbishop, but assessment are governed by Church law. Of course Mr Caldie refused to hear this argument. 

On cross examination Mrs Diaz was a lot better prepared that the 2 previous days. She actually was able to establish the amount of money raised by the parishioners of St Andrew Kim, How and by whom the land property was aquired and who donated. She also was able to establish that other parishes in Korea participated in the fundraising of the construction of the Church. 

Mrs Diaz seemed to be even more combative in regards to the multiple objections from the plaintiffs who were for the most part overruled. The Judge also appeared to be slightly irritated at the condescending tone of some of Mr Caldies remarks. 

(was this an actual shift? Or just a temporary set- back for the plaintiffs? time will tell

Redirect was short and uneventful.

A recess was called for Lunch  

Return on Zoom at 12.15pm

ARCHBISHOP BYRNES TESTIMONY DAY 2 AND 3 OF BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDING

 Posted by frenchie

Starting on Monday the 21st of February in the afternoon for a period close to one hour and thirty minutes  Archbishop Byrnes  appearing tired and somber, but trying to put on a happy face took the stand, after he was sworn in by the clerk.

The lead counsel for the creditors started in a polite way (as he seems to do on a regular basis), and immediately presented a series of documents, letters, memos and asking the Archbishop if he recalled reading and/or writing these documents.

The first documents were articles of incorporation going as far back as Archbishop Flores, and several other amended articles of incorporation done by AAA and himself.

Byrnes read every documents intently to see what was put in front of him .

On several occasions Archbishop Byrnes seem to have difficulties reading some of the documents. This was a slow and drown out process.

On one occasion the Archbishop noted that several of the properties listed had since changed ownership.

When asked if he was familiar with the submissions brought by the creditors, Byrnes answered I do not remember.

This was then followed by a flurry of submission of 6 new documents as exhibits with no objection from the defense. 

A letter to the faithful by the Archbishop about the bankruptcy also came into questioning .

While Archbishop Byrnes was confused and lost at times, he also mentioned :"I am not sure what that means" .  

Later Mr Caldie decided to ask about the Vicar General, his role, the Curia... a very strange line of questions since the had been so adamant about not bringing Canon Law in the process, yet he was the one asking for clarification about Canon Law.

This morning Archbishop Byrnes is schedule to continue testifying after Mr Kim the former financial officer of the Archdiocese and a CPA himself.

So far the trial started one hour late, and the sound on Zoom is not working. Perhaps something the Judge can pay attention to since yesterday afternoon the audience reached 50 people on the zoom feed, and that this morning there was already 32 people waiting patiently.

IS JUDGE TYDINGCO GATEWOOD NAIVE OF VERY SLY?

 Posted by frenchie     

During her opening statement yesterday Judge Gatewood told us that there was two sides but one goal.

This was reported by Haidee Eugenio in the Post

Read Here

 

This leads us to ask: is the Judge plain naive? (that would be hard to believe) or is she very sly?

  Why are we asking this question?

 

 

Simply because since the start of these official proceedings, it is very apparent that the counsel for the creditors has no interest in finding a middle of the road solution, which would provide the survivors "just compensation", while not destroying the Archdiocese as we know it" with all its imperfections and all its needs for improvement.

It is becoming painfully obvious that the goal of the Hit Team from Minnesota, is to squeeze the lemon as dry as it can. 

Making sure that Canon Law cannot be used as an argument to explain the way an Archdiocese works, while at the same time using questions about canon law (without appearing to) to advance a narrow and deceptive argument . The Church is one..... which is meant in a spiritual way, not in a civil law sense.

Here lies the problem. 

It appears the Judge was sending a warning shots across the bow of both legal team, to let them know this might not fly, while keeping a strong image of neutrality.

Like Sherlock Holmes told Dr Watson: "it is not what the dog did, it is what he did not do"

DAY 2 BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDING AFTERNOON SESSION

 

After the Lunch recess, judge Tydingco-Gatewood restarted the hearing for the bankruptcy of the Archdiocese of Agana.

Mr Cruz from San Bernadita parish in Yigo took back where he had left prior to the recess, in what had been a tense redirect regarding Mr Cruz not agreeing with Mr Caldie's assertion.

Indeed Mr Caldie in his brand new Torri Richards Hawaiian shirt, (these shirts sell for around $100.00 a piece) kept on harping on what looks like his main argument: the archdiocese is whole and one, as the Archbishop declared, while talking in a methaphore about the survivors, on several occasion.

This is obviously a dishonest use of the declaration, but Mr Caldie is dead set on using this statement as a hammer to drive his point forward.

 

Fr Paul on Saturday and General Santos both brushed this assertion off during their respective testimony, pointing that we are one with the whole Catholic church worldwide, not just on Guam. I personally do not believe will stop this perverted version of the Archbishop statement, because it is one of his most powerful weapon in arguing that parishes are not independent entities, despite their canon law status and their separate bank accounts and separate financial council.The fact that we are one with our whole Church world wide does not mean Pope Francis is in Charge of the Agana Archdiocese, just as it does not mean the Archdiocese is controlling the parishes...

But we are not dealing with an honest individual, or team of individuals. They are here to make sure the pie is as large as possible, in order to get a bigger piece. Not particularly trying to bring justice to the survivors.  This is why the committee for the Creditors which include the Bank of Guam, brought in the Big Guns from Minnesota.

We should remind everybody that the Archdiocese has so far sold several properties, and that so far the survivors have not seen a single penny from it. Instead the Lawyers have done quite well, despite some minor adjustments by the Judge to some of their fees.

The next witness was Mr Richard Untalan who is the head of the Episcopal Finance committee

Again same tactic and technic. Mr Caldie who looked very confident and rested tried to establish the process for the identification of essential properties, (something Mr Felix had already alluded to) . By now the game is to continue to establish a corrolation between the properties and the Archdiocese.

Don't forget the exercise is  to attempt to fatten the piece of the pie. The other goal here is to see if any of the witness would contradict the statement of other witnesses. Mr Untalan remained cool as a cucumber despite the repeated attempt to confuse and/or trip him. He underlined the process they had to take to identify which property belonged to the Archdiocese, the parishes and other entities. Particularly he noted some properties which were thought to belong the Chancery, but in fact belonged to the Catholic Social Services or the Sisters of Mercy, as well as the Capuchin and the Dominicans.

Basically Mr Untalan confirmed the statements of Mr Felix on Saturday.

The Attorney for the plaintiffs introduced more documents as exhibits. During the process, question were asked about line of commands , again trying to establish the Archbishop as the ultimate Hierarchy. Mr Untalan continued unpertubed to describe their vetting process to establish the difference between essential and non essential properties. He explained quite well that pastors would defend their respective parishes teeth and nails, and the fact that Bishops in general have to follow rules of law that were over 2000years old.

Again the lawyer for the plaintiffs declared he should not bring up Canon law, because the judge had already ruled on the issue. Yet he was the one who had initiated the conversation. Mr Untalan remained relaxed, but concise and direct in his answers. He insisted that the Bishop relies on the college of consultors and the Presbyteral council for decisions.

Under cross examination by Geri Diaz attorney for the Archdiocese Mr Untalan insisted that while we are one Church on the island, we also were one Church around the world. What was true here, was true in France, here, in Korea or anywhere else in the globe.

Later on cross examination, Mr Caldie was more aggressive and less pleasant, telling Mr Untalan not to use the word pastoral for instance. Before asking if he knew any of the survivors, and how many? Mr Untalan recalled that he personally knew a dozen of them, and that he was aware of several others. Mr Caldie then pushed his line of questioning by asking if Mr Untalan thought that the victims were part of the Church to which he answered that we are all members of the Church of God.

Mr Untalan witnessing ended up on that note. It would then be up to Archbishop Byrnes to testify. 

We shall do a whole analysis of Archbishop Byrnes testimony later, because it was not ended today, but shall continue tomorrow.

BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDING, DAY 2: MONDAY FEBRUARY 21

 posted by frenchie

Proceedings restarted this morning, with a comical twist, as the suits and ties of the opening day were dropped by the Minnesotan lawyers for the benefit of brand new Hawaiin shirts...

I guess this is an odd attempt to look more "local" albeit not the most efficient one.

Michael Bevacqua will probably accused them of cultural appropriation, no doubt.

The examination of Mr Francis Guerrero chairman of the financial committee of our Lady of Purification continued, following the original one which started at the end of Saturday.

As we know on Guam, our Lady of Purification is a very small parish with a small but dedicated number of families who compose the body of parishioners.

This seemed to be totally overlooked by Mr Caldie, who stuck to his line of questioning which totally occulted this fact for the benefit of his very narrow line of questioning,which has remained the same with every witness.

How do you know the property is yours? Isn't the property held in trust by the Archbishop a corporation sole? How do you know the intentions of the person who gave the property away? All intended to show that the Archdiocese, not the parishes control the parishes.

Mr Caldie did not seem to make Mr Guerrero deviate from his testimony, ergo he went back to his mantra: "Are you one with the Archdiocese?" a very spurious argument which deviates the religious understanding of Catholics for the purpose of common law. 

It was not surprising that they had tried and succeeded to nullify the impact of Canon law, into said relation between the faithful and their Church.

Under cross examination by Mrs Jerry Diaz, (who seemed better prepared today than on Saturday), Mr Guerrero gave a very compelling testimony about his personal relationship to his parish and to his Church.

This seemed to rattle the representative of the Creditors who did a much tougher cross examination. Often bordering on the condescending and the sacrilegious with insulting questions about the survivors, which were taken back after several objections by the defense.

The examination continued for what appeared to be a very long and painful moment. Yet Mr Guerrero did not give what Mr Caldie seemed to look for.

The next witness Mrs Taitano of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Toto fell as an easy pray for the lawyer of the creditors. Mrs Taitano looked honest, but dismayed by the questions and not mentally ready for the barrage of questions that befelled her. Really the symbol of the clash of two very different worlds.

The last witness before the Lunch recess was Mr Taitano of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Yigo, the former Chapel of the Neo, turned parish by AAA under father Jeff...

As we know this is one of the stronghold of the Neos on the island.

Mr Cruz the representative for that parish, also did not appear to comprehend the avalanche of questions asked by Mr Caldie, but he basically stuck to his guns, and under cross examination did make a couple of strong points in the favor of his parish. 

This lead to a contentious redirect from Mr Caldie, who tried to introduce an article from 2018 from the Pacific Island Time, where Archbishop Byrnes apologized to the victims in the name of the whole Archdiocese.

Objection from the defense were overruled, and Mr Caldie tried to impeach the statement of Mr Cruz. 

The Judge called for lunch recess, with instruction to Mr Cruz to return.

Mr Cruz looked utterly confused by what had happened and what was transpiring.

Bankruptcy proceeding Day 1 Afternoon session

 After returning from the Lunch recess, the proceedings progressed with the continued deposition of Mr Benjamin Diaz.

Not much progress since the morning session, as the attorney for the plaintiffs continued to try to lead the witness to agree with his assessment, with a fairly heavy handed approach, partially hidden behind a simulated sense of conviviality.

On the cross examination for the defense by a different Attorney (Mrs Diaz)

The defense attorney seemed to be all over the board and without any real strategy and/or preparation.

The next witness after some confusion, was Mr Joaquin Santos Jr. Well dressed and dapper Mr Santos made the lawyers look like they were dressed in patatoe bags.

Mr Santos was well prepared, articulate, and did not get flustered by the leading questions of the plaintiff's lead attorney, whose main mission is to establish that the parishes' properties actually are controlled by the Archbishop, rather than being independent entities. Mr Santos who reside with his spouse in Merizo, is the head of the financial council of the Asan parish. Many of us here on junglewatch know him as the Neo leader of Asan, better known under his nickname Danny.

 

You can refer back to a very telling exchange following his defense of AAA.

Read Here

None the less Mr Santos gave a strong testimony which seemed to put off the plaintiff's side.

The next witness, Teresita Perez from our Lady of Piece Parish was obviously very nervous and easily flustered by the leading questions of Mr Caldie.

The Following witness was Fr Paul Gofigan the current pastor of our Lady of Lourdes in Yigo, and former Rector of the Cathedral Basilica.

The co-counsel of the plaintiffs Mr Lujan understanding this witness was going to be more compelling, used his legendary chuztpah to do little talk with the witness, prior to his deposition.

Mr Caldie continued the same line of questioning that he had asked the previous witnesses. The only problem for Mr Caldie being that Fr Paul was not easily manipulated as the previous ones. On several occasions Fr Paul asked for more clarification, which seem to keep the lawyer off balance.

Asked if he thought the Church was one (a back handed way to agree with his statement that all parishes are controlled by the Archdiocese) Fr Paul answered that yes the parish is one with the Archdiocese, just as it is one with the rest of the Catholic Church.

 

It seemed to have surprised Mr Caldie, who was off for a while. He tried then a different line of questions, which did not validate his point of contention. The examination continued for near 90 minutes. On several occasion Mr Caldie asked " would not you agree that...." to be answered with a strong NO, every time causing chuckles in the room.

On another occasion Fr Paul noted that the Pastor is in charge of the parish, and that while the Archbishop has temporal power over pastors, he is more of an overseer, rather than a micro manager, which is not his role

It was obvious to most local observers that there is a huge gap between the approach of the Minnesota Team, and the local lawyers. It is apparent that there is a huge cultural disconnect between these two approaches. This is not even including the complicating fact that some of these parishes are fully controlled by the Neos, who have their own agenda .

Cross examination was done by Mr Camacho who clarified several blurring issues raised by the plaintiffs.

The last witness for the day was Mr Francis Guerrero of our Lady of Purification.

Because the court ran out of time, the testimony of Mr Guerrero shall continue on Monday Morning

BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDING DAY 1. MORNING SESSION.

 

Federal Judge Tydingco-Gatewood

This morning slightly after 8.00am, after the Jury was seated, and the Judge sat down, the official proceedings about the Bankruptcy of the Archdiocese of Agana started in a classic way, with the usual false conviviality showed by lawyers. 

Opening statement was done by the lead counsel for the creditors  Edwin H Caldie Partner of Stinson LLP Minneapolis' office. 

Mr Caldie is what is usually called a heavy weight in the field of bankruptcy representation for creditors's rights and Business litigation. 

BA in Psychology from the University of MN

JD (cum Laude) Boston University School of Law. 

Admitted to the Bar in Minnesota, Illinois and DC

In his statement Mr Caldie affirmed that he would show that the Church assets are one and whole. In his argument he used the Archbishop's own words in his remarks about the survivors back in 2017.

Not a very honest approach, but still efficient as far as creating confusion in the mind of the Jury

Following the  Creditor's lawyer's opening statement, it was  time for the defense of the Debtor to do the same. Archbishop Byrnes representing the Archdiocese was sitting quietly at the defense table  surrounded by his attorneys.

The defense held that contrary to the creditor's attorney claims, they would show that the legal situation of the properties at the center of the dispute, is far from being black and white, but rather had many different shades of Grey. They claimed that they would demonstrate their point

From the opening statements, it was very obvious to the spectators, that we are going to see a clash of culture, between Chamorro tradition and usual customs and the cold representatives of English common law, as brought forward by the lawyers hailing from the cold steppes of Minnesota. The style, approach, and logic could not have been more stark "from the get go".

Between a highly respectful culture of elders and wisdom holders versus the cold analysis of a Lutheran world, where these factors have little to do with facts.This is probably even more distorted by the experience the law firm of Stinson LLP has acquired litigating Catholic bankruptcy cases in Minnesota, (Crookston, Mpls/St Paul, Duluth) . The only cultural thing close to the Chamorro identity in Minnesota would be the Indian reservations which sprinkle the State of 10 thousand lakes. These two world do not mix well at all..

The proceedings are opened to the Public, and a few people were attending in person. It is also available on Zoom, where there were around a dozen people at the start of the proceeding. The zoom crowd grew to 33 at one time before settling around 28 persons until the Lunch recess.A few technnical glitches were experienced, but were resolved fairly quickly, with the judge apologizing to the viewers.

The first person called to the witness stand was Mr Christopher Felix a long time realtor on Guam.

Mr Felix was grilled politely, but relentlessly by Mr Caldie about how he was recruited to identify and evaluate properties for the Archdiocese, and by whom.

The intent here being that the Archbishop are controlling all the assets of the Church on the island, and that the hierarchy of responsibilities links everything and everyone to the Chancery.

What transpired from this examination, was that the Archbishop does sit on the Finance council, but is not the all powerful potentate described by Mr Caldie, the questions were mostly leading, but were not challenged often by the defense, who opted to do a sober but efficient cross examination under the hospices of Mr Talbot

What transpired was that the parishes had been standing on their own financially for decades, and that there had been very little reporting to the chancery of financial matter until it was initiated before the Bankruptcy filing, for reasons of findings and identifications.

The Creditor's attorney included several exhibits in evidence to his arguments.

Redirection of question of Mr Felix continued, and tried to establish the fact that the Archbishop was fully in charge of assets.

Mr Felix resisted well to all the pressures of the Attorney. 

It was established that the Schools in Agat, the dominicans  in Yigo and Catholic charities were completely independant properties from the Archdiocese, other properties remaining to be determined.

After Mr Felix finished his testimony, it was time for the next witness Mr Benjamin Diaz.

Mr Caldie continued the examination of the witness until lunch recess.

TRADITIONIS CUSTODES

Following several years of continuous slanders of the Traditional Latin Mass, Pope Francis decided to slam a final nail in the heart of the TLM, with his Motu Proprio  titled Traditionis Custodes a very sarcastic title meaning Guardians of Traditions.

Beside the obvious shock this document generated (see our article on January 17 of this year)

Today I will share an excellent article from the Remnant Newspaper highlighting some of the major hurdles and concerns

Read Here

UPCOMING BANKRUPTCY TRIAL OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF AGANA

 posted by frenchie.

This morning Friday February 18th 2022, the final preliminary hearing before the actual trial for the Bankruptcy of the Archdiocese of Agana took place.

Federal Judge Tydingco-Gatewood was hearing the latest arguments from both parties on who was deposed, or not, as well as what is considered as hearsay regarding the testimonies of people called by the debtor in arguments regarding a long list of properties ruled to be part of the assets of the Archdiocese.

Guam being a small island, and many people knowing one another, the judge had to specify several times, that she knew several of the individuals scheduled to be heard during the trial, and noting that she could remain impartial during the trial, despite these social acquaintances.

Tomorrow the trial will start, and should continue next Saturday at least.

I will try my best to follow as closely as possible the upcoming proceedings.

One of the major stumbling block to any settlement so far has been the dispute between debtor and creditors, about what constitute the assets of the Archdiocese, and what is a fair and acceptable settlement for the victims, as well as the issue of moneys owed to entities like the Bank of Guam.

This last item, far from being incidental might actually be essential to the future of many parishes around Guam. 

So far the only people getting any type of benefit from this situation have been the lawyers representing all the parties. The sale of the Yona propery being the perfect example of the lawyers gobbling up all the proceeds of the sale of that property.

I would encourage anyone involved in volunteering in your parish to follow the trial, either in person, or via Zoom which allows you to follow the trial fom the comfort of your own home.

WHAT IS HAPPENING THESE DAYS?

 Posted by frenchie

Watching the drive by media does not really tell us what is happening around us that might affect the way we worship and how our local Church might be impacted.

Just to give you an idea of some of the challenges coming up, we have made a short list for you to refer to.

Upcoming bankruptcy trial in federal court which will affect every parish and school on the island, as well as to hopefully give some closure to the survivors of sexual abuse.

 

Synod on Synodality

 

Attacks of the Traditional Latin Mass

 

Corruption in the Church

 

How to remain a faithful Catholic

HELL YES I AM PRO-CHOICE

By Deacon Steve Martinez

Hell Yes I Am Pro-Choice

Someone asked me today how come I am not “pro-choice”? Is it just because I work for the Church, or do I truly believe that “pro-choice” is wrong?

My response shocked them…

I am very much pro-choice…all the way to my core. And every court in the land has also affirmed the concept of pro-choice. Case after case, courts have ruled that mothers AND FATHERS not only have a right to choose, but a solemn responsibility to choose on behalf of their children. 

BUT, that right/responsibility comes with a catch. When we make a choice on behalf of our children, we are required to do what we believe is in the best interest of our children. The court does not allow room for selfish interests of the parents. And God expects the same of us parents as well. So this right to choose is both legal and moral!

I’ve done more than 50 mediations for child custody for the Guam courts, and I always apply that same imperative, and no judge has ever found that guideline to be wrong. Every court in our country calls upon parents to do what is in the best interest of the child. And when the court has to choose one parent over the other in matters of custody, it is only interested in what is best for the child. 

That responsibility only goes away when the child reaches the age of majority, or 18, but only if they are competent to make those decisions for themselves. If they are not competent, when they turn 18, then the responsibility continues with the parents, unless they relinquish responsibility to the state. Then the state assumes that burden of choice on behalf of the child/adult. 

So, can anyone explain to me why that same right/responsibility would not apply to parents for the unborn child as well? I cannot think of any legal or moral reason why parents would be relieved of this “pro-choice” requirement for the most vulnerable children in the world. The only reason is selfishness, and that just doesn’t carry any weight at all in this discussion. 

No illness or disease gives a parent the right to terminate the life of a child already born. Ending their life is NOT in the child’s best interest, no matter what the circumstances! Even if it presents a huge inconvenience to one or both parents. 

AND, no illness, or disease should give any parent a right to end the life of their unborn child, either. 

So, hell yes I am pro-choice. And so are all US courts. And, obviously, so is God. 

But the choice must be in the best interest of the child. No consideration is given to the parents, and how the child may affect their life/lives. 

Any questions?

They had no response.  

LATEST MOVE AT THE CHANCERY

 Posted by frenchie        

                                        

After  a long hiatus of several months, the Archdiocese of Agana is going to be in communion with

Canon law.

Since the departure of  Fr Jeff as Vicar General, we had been left with an hybrid situation, where the 

special advisor to the Archbishop was Episcopal vicar, and a civilian had been nominated as the Chancellor, despite a complicated personal health issue.

We now have a new Vicar General, pending the official Aviso from the Chancery.

Fr. Romeo Concovar has been nominated as the New Vicar General.

Please pray for him to be successful, in this most difficult of position.

He certainly will have to make his voice heard over the Episcopal Vicar, even if said person is scheduled to go back to Detroit by the month of July.

The good news, at least for now, is that we are not in contravention of Canon law.

 

Best wishes for this weekend. 

WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE OF SYNODALITY FOR THE GUAM ARCHDIOCESE?

 Posted by frenchie

Our Archdiocese has been told, from the top down, that we shall have a discussion/input/conversation about Synodality.

Most people have no clue what Synodality means, and what it is supposed to achieve.

We shall try to make it simple for people to wrap their mind around this concept. Then we will attempt to see if and how we can, and should participate in a dialogue, which right off the bat, seems to have been locked in by a precious few at the Chancery.

We will look at what the Archdiocese communication tells us. We will try to compare it to what is being done in dioceses around the world. Try to reach a conclusion on the process and also on the results anticipated, here, in our regional conference of Bishops, as well as in Rome.

This is a large undertaking, at all levels. The process, approach and conclusions should reveal to us the real situation we have at our own chancery, which has for the last four years, been very opaque and contradictory on most subjects.

The results of this oversight by Junglewatch should shed light on the reality of the intentions of Archbishop Byrnes and his team.

Let us pray for discernment. 

Today we should just try to define for the general public what is Synodality.

Thank you for your patience and interest.  

 

Historically a Synod is the Council of the Church. convened to resolve issues of Doctrine or Administration.

Ethymologicall y, the word Synod comes from the Greek "Sinooos"which means assembly or meeting.

It has the same meaning as the Latin word "Concilium" which means council.

Traditionally Synods have been meetings of Bishops. This is usually the way the word is still used nowadays. In modern times it has taken a slightly different meaning, such as governing body. It does not matter whether the members of said Synod actually meet or not.
 

So far, the communication coming from the Archdiocese has been minimal, with a few shy improvements of their website over the last weeks. In order to have a better idea, I have added their link, which you can read Here

According to the calendar pushed by the Vatican, there should be two phases to the process.

1st phase: 10/21 to 04/22 , this is the Diocesan Phase

2nd phase: 09/22 to03/23, this is the Continental Phase.

Please make yourselves more knowledgeable by reading the official documentation.

I shall revisit in another article the questions raised, the suggested answers and the challenges that we shall face. 

JUNGLE WATCH PASSES TEN MILLION VIEWS..

 

Last 30 days: 16.6K Views

While many would have wished junglewatch would disappear, we not only are still here,

but we just passed a huge milestone with 

10 MILLION VIEWS

 

This would not have been possible without the collaboration of many people.

Writers, readers, contributors and critics.

Of course lets not forget its own founder Tim Rohr.

 

Not bad at all for a small Catholic blog on a tiny island in the Western Pacific.

 

Thank you, to all of you.

We could not have dreamed of a nicer gift for this new year, already full of challenges.

 

 

WHY THE ARCHDIOCESE OF AGANA NEEDS MORE PEOPLE LIKE MR CRUZ.....AND WHY WE MUST BEWARE OF THE SNAKES AMONG US

posted by Frenchie

 

 

 

Beware of the snakes in our island community, doing the work of the Evil One under the guise of Equity.

Last week, Mr Manny Cruz a long time fixture of the Guam public arena, wrote a letter to the Editor of the Pacific Daily News which I have often criticized for its unabashed anti Catholicism.

you can read it Here 

Mr Cruz had taken umbrage of the latest column of "Dr" Bevacqua, the habitual historical revisionist in chief of the Chamorro separatist movement on Guam.

As he is used to, in his weekly column in the PDN where he has had a friendly window to expand on his narrow and sectarian views, Mr Bevacqua had once again taken things out of context, and repackaged it, to take another cheap shot at the history of Catholicism and the Chamorro Culture.

This is what the former assistant professor of the UOG, former assistant to the one term gadfly senator Kelly Marsh "Taitano", and now curator of the Guam Museum, usually does in his weekly columns.

It is part of his constant drumbeat, made of half truths, innuendos, half baked studies, and outright lies, which he unleashes constantly on the Guam Public, with the wink, wink, nod, nod aquiescence of the majority of our local media, and with the protection of a substantial part of our political class.

You can read his column here

One could have hope that since we got rid of the corrupt and disgraced Apuron, our Archbishop, or someone from the Chancery would have had the fortitude to denounce this kind of stone age anti Christian, and specifically anti Catholic diatribes.

This would be a perfect opportunity for the official Press Secretary of the Chancery to justify his own salary by writing his own letter to the Editor, with the Archbishop's blessing.

Alas this would be too nice to be true!

Thanks God for strong Catholic men, specially for a man like Mr Manny Cruz, who clearly challenged the good Dr.

His letter must have hit its mark, because Mr Bevacqua (often called the Che Bevacqua because of his mimetism of the famous communist Argentinian revolutionary Che Guevarra, partner in crime of Fidel Castro), decided to attack Mr Cruz on his Facebook account, and remove his veil of respectability by making personal, vicious and obviously false accusation against Mr Cruz. Very much in line with the tactics of the former senator and openly racist Hope Cristobal.

Che Bevacqua posing in front of the UN assembly in NYC

with the failed Tahitian independence leader Oscar Temaru. Also a strong Anti Catholic.

 

We should therefore be thankful for strong Catholic men like Mr Cruz, for his courageous stand, and keep a close watch for the likes of Bevacqua, Underwood, Won Pat, Borja,Perez, Cristobal and their ilks for their termite work against our Church and against the political stability of our island. 

AN INTERESTING PERSPECTIVE ON THE "TRADUTIONIS CUSTODES"

Posted by Frenchie

Cardinal Sarah

Former Prefect of the Congregation of the Divine Worship

and 

Discipline of Sacraments

 

Cardinal Sarah, the de facto leader of African Catholic bishops ( the fastest growing constituency of the Catholic Church) submitted his resignation to Pope Francis almost a year ago, on February 20 2021, having reached the age of mandatory retirement.

Pope Francis accepted the Cardinal's resignation, even if  as contrary to tradition he did not have an immediate replacement, for such an essential and prestigious Congregation.

A prolific writer, Cardinal Sarah, just released his latest book, in France. The title being:

"Pour l'eternite" Meditations sur la figure du pretre.

(For the Eternity." Reflections on the image of the priest.)

Published by Fayard in French, it should be available to English readers around the time of Lent.

Pope Francis instead waited a few months before appointing a replacement in the person of Bishop Arthur Roche from England, (in May of last year) who was soon after elevated to the title of Cardinal. Becoming in the process the highest and most powerful British episcopal figure in an extremely long time. This also assures Francis of a less confrontational relationship with the congregation for the time being.

 

In the same sweep, Pope Francis revamped the whole leadership of the Congregation with the appointment of Bishop Vittorio Francesco Viola OFM as Secretary of the Congregation; as well as Spanish priest Aurelio Garcia Macias, a protege of Cardinal Blasquez the president of the Spanish Conference of Bishops.

For those interested in this musical chair game, and how it has consequences for the future, you can read an excellent article from the site Monday Vatican Here

(you will need to scroll down a couple of pages, click on previous to find the post from May 2021 titled Pope Francis begins the curia domino)

 

Just three months in his tenure as new Prefect of the Congregation of divine worship and the Discipline of Sacraments, the Vatican announced the Motus Proprio "Traditionis Custodes" which literally upends the long and difficult work of Pope St John Paul and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, in regards to the traditional latin mass and the sacraments tied to its celebration.

You can read the excellent essay by Phil Lawler the long time Catholic journalist of Catholic Culture, which highlights the issues brought forth by said Motus Proprio.

Read Here

I hope that this will help you understand a little better a corner stone of what is happening to our Church under the veil of the pandemic, and some of the epic challenges facing us, right now.

CHALLENGES IN 2022 COMING FROM OUR RELIGIOUS LEADERS, AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR GUAM

Posted by Frenchie

 

 

 In my recent post titled 2022, I mentioned the issue of Traditionis Custodes, a document released by the Vatican last summer, which took me a while to read and digest.

This Motus Proprio, is a poorly argumented document which blames the problem experienced by the Church, on the Catholic Tradition. In turn it concludes that the solution is therefore, to rid the Church of said tradition, while trying to switch the weight of this humongous decision on the local Bishops, by a supposed re enforcement of the Bishop's decision making. This is nothing less than the tried and true bait and switch, used by your local use cars salesman.

This of course will lead to more problems than solutions, and present the real danger of a de facto Balkanization of the Church.

If you pair that issue with the new concept of Synodality, which was announced last November by Archbishop Byrnes, we have in front of us, the building up of a perfect storm, or like governor Leon Guerrero calls it a Super Typhoon.

 

In his message to Catholics on Guam, last December, Archbishop Byrnes broke the news to the general public, that he is launching the process of the synod of synodality for our Archdiocese. 

While this is nothing really new, (we have seen hundreds of dioceses around the world already putting in place the process for such synod) the absence of our Archbishop for several long periods of time in 2021, coupled with the top down, management style of the people he left in charge, do not bide well for any kind of "synodality". Others dioceses have had this issue made public for several months already, with to go contacts and so on. Not here on Guam

Indeed the said process is supposed to have started this past December 7th, and the "communication was posted on the Archdiocese website in late November. This has all the markings of a "lets go through the motions anyway, but we know what needs to be included with our communication to the Vatican."

Synod (coming from the Greek) means traveling or walking together (something certainly not lost on the NCW).

Archbishop Byrnes short history on Guam, is anything, but transparent. As I mentioned in other articles last year, neither the prebysteral council, nor the college of consultants have met in a very long time, despite the clear directions of the Canonical Code. Further while we get the occasional release of a statement, the whole process is murky as hell.

We still do not have a Vicar General, since the departure of Fr. Jeff (officially for health reasons) also in contradiction to Canon law

We have a Civilian Female as a Chancellor in the person of Jenny Shimizu.

Since the Chancellor's role is essentially a keeper of records, this in itself is not impossible, even if it looks like a backroom deal.

A very woke decision, which surprisingly enough did not get the Kudos of Adelup, the Women Chamber of Commerce, or the usual feminist agitators. Yet one remains dubious of the efficiency of such appointment, in view of the personal health challenges facing Mrs Shimizu . Please pray for her.

As for the Special Assistant to the Archbishop, the unsufferable , pedantic and egocentric Fr Richards, who also hold the title Episcopal Vicar,  might still ram through this Synodality before his return to Detroit in July. (now that he has been promised an assignment to a rich parish, rather than the small country one he had been previously assigned to). Since the whole process is supposed to be wrapped up by April, the chances for real consultation with the laity are very, very slim.

 

(Any similarities with the past situation of Adrian Cristobal, being purely accidental).

Now you have two of the most important changes pushed by the Vatican in the last 60 years, being sneaked below our collective radar, with almost no laity consultation.

Tell your friends, and demand a better consultation at the parishes level.

A BEACON OF LIGHT IN A SEA OF DARKNESS.

 It was almost 2 years ago, just before the closing down of our beautiful island, that Guam hosted a unique personality, in the person of Bishop Schneider.

 

This was a joyous occasion,which was paired with the official reception by Archbishop Byrnes of his Pallium.

 

As the proverb tells us, a lot of water has traveled under the bridge since that nice weekend. Yet the essentials remain the same, and this crisis revealed to us the challenges God asks us to face.

Our decisions will have grave consequences, they are not easy to take. As the New Testament revealed to us, we shall be mocked and often persecuted for our faith, even inside our own Church. 

In fact throughout the world last year hundred of thousands of Catholics have suffered persecution, some even the martyr for their belief. It was true in Syria, Irak, Armenia, Lebanon, Cyprus, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, China, North Korea, the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia.

Bishop Schneider has a particular understanding of being persecuted for our faith, since he grew up in the German Catholic minority in the former USSR. Praying and receiving the sacraments thanks to courageous ministers who took great personal risks to tend to their flock, in an underground Church, just like the first Christians in the Roman Empire.

The contrast with our Church of Nice could not be wider.

Hence his perspective is unique, since he brings to us his own experience of how to deal with persecution.

Today I am sharing with you a video, of the interview of Bishop Schneider by Michael Matt of the Remnant.

It has been a privilege for me to meet both men on different occasions. What I have taken out of these meetings is a deeper knowledge of our religion, as well as an understanding that for us  living our lives as Catholics is not a proposition for the feeble, and the meek.Our faith shall be tested in ways we could not anticipate 2 years ago.

Watch Here

Enjoy the Video and reflect, on how his challenges apply to us in Guam right now.

As a footnote, Bishop Schneider has a strong German accent when he speaks English, therefore you might have to listen more carefully that you might otherwise

2022

Posted by Frenchie

 

 

 GOOD BYE 2021, HELLO 2022

The usual celebrations about a coming new year, were for the most part, dull compared to what most of us are used to. As we are now entering a third year of hysterical reactions to what many now consider as an unrelenting campaign of fear, intimidation, half truths, and sometimes blatant lies; observers can only be dismayed by what has unfolded in the past two years.

Under the pretense of protection of the general population, most of the rights we held dear, have been pushed in a corner, dismissed, even completely ignored.

Chief among these rights, the first amendment of the United States Constitution, which reads as follow:

Freedom of Religion, speech and the press,

Rights of Assembly and Petition

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

One would hope that anyone with the reading comprehension of an eighth grader would be able to put their mind around this simple, but essential concept. 

Unfortunately,  we have seen legions of politicians, (elected or not) and a myriad of obscure, often anonymous "civil servants" trample with great enthusiasm these founding principles of our Nation.

 

What is more troubling for us Catholics is the tepid reactions of our religious leaders to these gross infringements to our religious rights. Worse, some of our most senior and learned leaders have embraced without any questioning the egregious abuses of our religious freedoms, going as far as to condone the inexcusable .

Under the leadership of the newest President of the United States, who like the speaker of the House claims to be a person of faith, and a respectable Catholic, we have seen a complete disregard for the values of life, a quasi endorsement of eugenic policies, and an incessant flow of lies, and misrepresentations.

Confronted by this, and the growing concert of questions coming from the Catholic faithful, the Catholic Conference of Bishops, refused the debate at first, then tried to ignore it, before conveniently kicking offside (to use a sport allegory)

This lack of courage, and integrity by our bishops, was even made worse by the violent, disgraceful and hypocritical  attacks on Catholic Tradition by the "modernist"wing  who embraced without debate the latest Vatican inanity, coming to us under the guise of a motus proprio titled :

"Traditionis Custodes"

A misnomer meaning "Guardians of Tradition"

 

A document that is so replete in major canonical errors, that one could attribute it to a bad essay by a seminary sophomore.

I shall not bore you today with the intricate details of this destructive document, but we will go back to it at a later date.

What can be noted is the disturbing resemblance of this document, to the many media pieces of the so called legacy media (another misnomer) which have bombarded us over the last three years with what Marxist operators call the reversed accusatory. (An efficient, often used tactic, which consist of accusing your target of the sins you are yourself guilty of)

I shall grant you that at least (for the time being) the US Catholic Church has not yet fallen to the dismal level of the once great Canadian Catholic Church. Nothing guarantees us that our leaders' lack of backbone will not lead us to a total capitulation where God is no longer at the center of our lives, at the center of the Church.

Already we see disturbing but telling signs of things to come, with Bishops acting like HR directors, or CPAs, even hiding behind a dreaded legal jargon, but occulting God from the life of their dioceses.

 

What is at the center of all these evils, is this omission of God at the core of everything we do.

The message Christ left us (through his apostles) is that God is truth and love.

Ergo, everything that is not of truth and of love is against God, against his people, against his Church.

Let this sink in for a while, and reflect on the web of deception that has surrounded us for the last two years, which threaten to continue to surround us for a long time, unless we declare Enough! and resolve ourselves to take the Challenge to put God back at the center of our lives.

 

We need to demand accountability from our Bishop, and the people he put in places of power.

We need to demand accountability from our politicians, for what they have done, and what they have failed to do.

We need to demand accountability from our priests, who except for a few courageous and often ostracized individuals have failed their flock

We need to demand accountability from the Media, who instead of their self professed tenets, have been the MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS, to the lies, half truths, and omissions enveloping us daily.

We need to demand accountability from ourselves for our weaknesses, and lack of courage.

Lets pray that God grants us these demands, so we can once more put him at the center of our lives.