THE HEARTBEAT BILL AND THE REAL MATTER BEFORE THE LEGISLATURE

By Tim Rohr

As our own lawmakers currently debate Guam's Heartbeat Bill, a story in today's PDN relates a news story from Texas wherein a lawsuit under the Texas Heartbeat Act, from which the Guam bill was modeled, was thrown out of court. 

Texas ruling raises questions over private enforcement of abortion ban

Per the details of the story, the whole deal in Texas seems to have been a setup. A doctor performed an abortion in clear defiance of the new law and a lawyer filed a lawsuit against the doctor "with the intention of having the court...declare the law constitutional."

BY TROY TORRES: THE ARCHDIOCESE TEACHER WHO RAPED ME AND THE CHURCH THAT SAVED ME

This is quite a testimony by Troy Torres of Kandit News, and not because he mentions me. Link to Troy's post on Facebook and Kandit website. The JW post that Troy refers to is here. 

The archdiocese teacher who raped me, and the Church that saved me • By Troy Torres

Twenty nine years ago today, a St. Anthony School teacher raped me for the first time. I was 13. When he was done taking my innocence, he showered as I put my school uniform back on, then stared at the salt-water aquarium he kept in his living room. 

His ruse for taking me to his house from the school campus was he needed to pick something up at home before taking me to eat. So, when he was done doing as he pleased - the hour on that December 8, 1993 afternoon approaching the start of the procession to Our Lady of Camarin - my consolation prize was one of those microwaveable treats. I think it was a pizza bagel or a pepperoni hot pocket. As he handed it to me, he said, “You better stop eating these. You’re getting pimples.”

I published this story along with many other details this day last year. I struggled with the idea of retelling this story today, and decided instead to focus on what happened after the first rape.

He took me to Agana for the procession, but dropped me far from where people could see me leaving his car. I’m pretty sure it was the parking lot, where Winchells is now. As I walked to the Cathedral grounds, the music became louder, and families leaving their cars to assemble began walking with and past me. I was with so many, but ironically very much alone in my first night as a prisoner of my own mind.

IT'S DECEMBER 8 AND TIME FOR MY SOMETIMES ANNUAL MINI-RANT

By Tim Rohr

Today is December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and time for my sometimes annual mini-rant about translations, and in this case, a particularly terrible translation in that it kicks Mary out of the plan of salvation. 

CONTINUED

SOUNDS FAMILIAR: PERHAPS THE VATICAN HAS LEARNED SOMETHING FROM GUAM

A new scandal involving a Cardinal in Honduras and a close friend of Pope Francis has surfaced:

Vatican Awaits Developments as It Investigates Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga and Honduras’ Catholic University

- LINK

The Honduran scandal is very reminiscent of our own RMS property scandal from a few years ago:

In 2015, JungleWatch discovered a document which functionally deeded an Archdiocese of Agana property, thought, at the time, to be worth approximately SEVENTY FIVE MILLION DOLLARS, to the Neocatechumenal Way. You can read about the RMS scandal at the above tab "Certificate of Title Fiasco," and/or get the larger story at the tab "Orchestrated." 

UPDATE ON ARCHBISHOP BYRNES

 

KANDIT NEWS PUBLISHES ROHR'S LETTER TO THE EDITOR. COMMENTERS GO NUTS.

By Tim Rohr

Funny. Looks like almost all the commenters (if not all) did not even read the post before commenting. I think they just saw my picture and went nuts.  😂😂

AND SO THEY CRUSHED HIM

Five years ago, this month, the infamous Redemptoris Mater Seminary was closed by Archbishop Michael Byrnes. 

Coincidentally, today, Kandit News ran a story about the absence of Archbishop Byrnes and his suspected health issues. 

We will have more to say about the Kandit story later, but there is little doubt that the “crushers” ("The Kikos") who run the Neocatechumenal Way have made Archbishop Byrnes pay for daring to be the first bishop in the world to close one of their fake seminaries.

And so they crushed him.

Go here to a local media interview with Archbishop Byrnes about his closure of the seminary in 2017. 

Go here for Part II of this story. 

ATTY ANITA ARRIOLA AND THOSE EVIL MEN

By Tim Rohr

This morning on K57, Patti Arroyo interviewed Attorney Anita Arriola regarding the current status of the Heartbeat Bill. The whole of Arriola's position was functionally: "those evil men," specifically Doug Moylan, Bob Klitzkie, Peter Sgro, and Tim Rohr. And Arriola's charge against said "evil men" was 1) that said men "write letters to the editor," and 2) they are men.

Meanwhile...

• Never mind the fact that the aforesaid letter writers have no public power other than to voice an opinion.
• Never mind the fact that the Heartbeat Bill was actually introduced by a woman lawmaker. 
• Never mind the fact that 4 of the 8 senators who voted to place the bill on the current legislative agenda are female senators.
• Never mind the fact that the real reason abortion is not available in Guam is because women doctors who openly advocate for abortion (and write their own letters to the editor) like Dr. Ellen Bez, an OB-GYN from Sagua Managu, will not provide abortions or even abortion information as required by the informed consent law. 
• Never mind the fact that the current governor, a woman, and a registered nurse - and as such a "qualified person," chooses not to provide informed consent information to women seeking abortion and instead forces women to access the required information via teleconference with doctors in Hawaii who they don't know and who will not be in Guam to care for them should something go wrong with their do-it-yourself, mail-order abortions.

ARCHDIOCESE OF AGANA SENDS WRONG MESSAGE: OKAY TO KILL UNBORN UNTIL HEARTBEAT IS DETECTED

By Tim Rohr

The following was sent to the Pacific Daily News as a Letter to the Editor. It has not yet been published. Given that the subject bill is expected to come up on the floor of the legislature this week for a vote, JW chooses to make the letter public via this forum now - with supporting links and references. Note: the Letter was published by the Pacific Daily News on Dec. 5, 2022. 

Per a recent news story in the Pacific Daily News, the Archdiocese of Agana, specifically its vicar general, Father Romeo Convocar, has called on Vice-Speaker Barnes to place the Guam "Heartbeat Bill" on its session agenda.

Unfortunately, Fr. Convocar's support of the "Heartbeat Bill" inadvertently implies that killing a child in the womb is okay up until a fetal heartbeat is detected. This is in direct contradiction to universal Catholic teaching which holds that life begins at conception and that the direct killing of an innocent, defenseless human being is always intrinsically evil. 

2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.

Prior to the Dobbs decision overturning Roe, incremental pro-life legislation like the "Heartbeat Bill" was the best that could be hoped for, and advocating for such legislation was even officially encouraged by Pope John Paul II in his encyclical, Evangelium Vitae.

"...when it is not possible to overturn or completely abrogate a pro-abortion law, an elected official, whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was well known, could licitly support proposals aimed at limiting the harm done by such a law and at lessening its negative consequences at the level of general opinion and public morality. This does not in fact represent an illicit cooperation with an unjust law, but rather a legitimate and proper attempt to limit its evil aspects." - Evangelium Vitae 73 Note: Between 2008 and 2018, the Esperansa Project did precisely this in backing eight pro-life bills into law and functionally shutting down Guam's abortion clinics in 2018. 

However, since the Dobbs decision has opened the door for a full, legal ban on abortion, Fr. Convocar would have better served the church he represents by writing a letter of support to Attorney General-elect, Douglas Moylan, who has stated his intent to dissolve the injunction placed on Guam’s 1990 abortion ban.

Fr. Convocar’s letter to Vice-Speaker Barnes is yet another example of Guam’s Catholic Church leadership continually stepping on itself when it wanders into the public arena - usually after being baited - and without proper counsel. Unfortunately, as recent history has demonstrated, said leadership’s public missteps are not paid for by the Catholics on the altar, but by the Catholics in the pews. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS (AND NOT "MERRY CHRISTMAS")

By Tim Rohr

In 2011, I wrote a column for the Umatuna, the newspaper for the Archdiocese of Agana, as to why Catholics (and all Christians) should - prior to Christmas - say "Happy Holidays" and not "Merry Christmas." 

It's an issue that comes up almost every year under the generic Christian banner of "keep Christ in Christmas" ... even though the "mas" (Mass) part of Christmas is absolutely ignored. 

I re-share that column here as posted on my other blog:

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

SERIOUSLY. MORE TO COME.

JUNGLEWATCH STATCOUNTER - 11/20/22

Weekly Analytics Report http://www.junglewatch.info/ 14 Nov - 20 Nov 2022 Average Daily Traffic Page Views 95.6  Prev Week 67.1   Unique Visits 89.9  Prev Week 61.9   First Time Visits 80.6  Prev Week 54   Returning Visits 9.3  Prev Week 7.9 Daily Traffic Breakdown   Page Views Unique Visits First Time Visits Returning Visits Mon 100 100 93 7 Tue 88 86 75 11 Wed 105 103 91 12 Thu 89 85 80 5 Fri 94 91 85 6 Sat 104 90 76 14 Sun 89 74 64 10 Total 669 629 564 65 Avg 96 90 81 9

FUNCTIONALLY KIDNAPPED - NOTE TO THE 37TH GUAM LEGISLATURE

Posted by Tim Rohr

The following is a Letter to the Editor to the Guam Daily Post which was published on 11/28/22. The following is the text of the article with supporting links. 

+++++

Despite the automatic rallying cry every election season of “Our children are our future!” Guam’s lack of concern for its children continues to worsen.

In 2012, a local news story labeled child abuse on Guam an “epidemic.” Ten years later, and judging by the almost daily news, it does not appear this atrocity has improved.

In the 36th Guam Legislature, two bills were introduced to address Guan’s shameful child abuse problem, Bill 299-36 and Bill 312-36). However - at least according to the published history of both bills - neither bill even made it to a public hearing. Maybe our children are not “our future” after all… at least not until the next election.

Substance abuse usually gets the blame for our battered kids. However, family fragmentation, a significant reality in Guam as well as the rest of the nation, is the more likely culprit. Following are some statistics published by Marripedia:

ACLU MYTHS RE ABORTION IN GUAM

The following letter to the editor was submitted to the Pacific Daily News on Sep. 16, 2022. To my knowledge, and after several follow ups to the editor, it was never published so I am publishing it here with the addition of links and references.

+++++

By Tim Rohr

According to the ACLU, Guam’s informed consent law for abortion violates the 14th amendment and “causes irreparable harm and unnecessary shame in a community where the procedure is stigmatized.” (Pacific Daily News, Sep. 16, 2022)

That abortion is stigmatized in Guam is an ACLU myth. Compared to a study published by Americans United for Life in 2008, Guam, due to its lack of abortion regulation, was the easiest place in the nation to procure an abortion.

Since 2008, regulation has increased, but not through any effort by “stigmatizing” religious groups or pro-life lawmakers, but mostly via the efforts of The Esperansa Project which purposely steered clear of religious arguments, and in doing so, helped enact eight pro-life laws in eight years. 

WHAT ARCHBISHOP BYRNES SAID RE THE NCW IN MARCH 2017

 Posted by Tim Rohr

PDF

RELATED

Archdiocese of Agana halts growth of NCW

LONG BEFORE...

Posted by Tim Rohr

 

Long before there were any lawyers or legislators involved there were a very few who cared enough to stand up and say "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore."

Today I came across an email referencing a post I wrote in 2017 in response to a johnny-come-lately lawyer. The fact is that it was the "regular Catholics" of this diocese - and NOT Lawyers nor Lawmakers -  who brought (and BOUGHT) justice for the victims of the clergy they trusted and supported for decades, if not centuries. 

Here is the post:

http://www.junglewatch.info/2017/05/response-to-pesch-legislation-not.html

COMMENTING ON PDN'S TAKE ON "BILL TO RESTRICT ABORTION"

Posted by Tim Rohr

PDN: Bill to restrict abortion was stalled until days after election

"Legislation to further restrict access to abortion on Guam sat idle until just days after this year’s general election.

Over a thousand people testified for and against the Guam Heartbeat Act of 2022, which would ban abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected in the womb. The measure was unable to be debated by lawmakers and go to vote on the session floor without final approval from the Legislature’s Committee on Health — until Nov. 10, the day after the final, unofficial results for the general election were tabulated."

Bill 291-36 sat idle because the sponsors did not care to move the bill through the Legislature. Apparently they only wanted to get the credit for introducing said legislation and then ran and hid. Nothing new here.

For contrast, in 2012, and just days before the election, The Esperansa Project pushed then-Governor Eddie Calvo to call for a special session to debate a bill requiring informed consent for abortion - which had been languishing for nearly 2 years.

The session was held and it was quite a spectacle with certain lawmakers breaking into tears, leashing hell on Calvo, and attacking me personally (though not by name), NOT for the actual issue, but for actually requiring them to do their job before an election: which was to publicly take a stand.

A very smart pro-abort senator (BJ Cruz) publicly testified in favor of the bill and then later and quietly added a provision that would require the bill to go through the administrative rules process in the next legislature. Smart guy.

The bill was eventually enacted into law but not until The Esperansa Project had to fight the battle all over again and get the bill past the rules process.

BTW, the informed consent legislation is the law which is currently at issue relative to the ACLU lawsuit re "zoom abortions." 

Note: As time permits, I will add links to the 2012 matter and the ACLU lawsuit later.

EVEN A DEGRADED BISHOP CAN ORDAIN

Posted by Tim Rohr

As we know, Apuron, while having been removed as Archbishop of Agana and prohibited from ever returning to Guam (by the Vatican), was never laicized and remains a bishop in the Catholic Church. 

The bottom line is that Ordination, like Baptism, "imprints" an indelible mark on the soul. And thus even a priest who has been laicized (removed from active ministry) remains a priest for eternity. 

Thus, Apuron will always be a priest, even if he is laicized ("defrocked"). Whether or not he will always be a bishop is beyond the scope of my present research, but for now, we know that the Vatican has not removed him from the episcopacy. So while he is not "Archbishop Apuron," he remains "Bishop Apuron."

Like most of us, I didn't know what that meant...and, at the time of his removal (2018), didn't really care. However, in listening to this...

The Holy Priesthood and the Cities of Refuge

...I think I have a better understanding. 

At about 3:40 into the recording, the priest (name unknown) says: 

Any consecrated bishop can validly ordain, even a degraded bishop can ordain…he has the power. And it’s valid. That’s why…they should be very careful who they choose as a bishop. 

The priest is not speaking of Apuron, or even of any bishop in particular, but of the episcopacy generally, and the power of that office.

Relative to the "Where is Tony?" question:

Knowing the cunning and craftiness of the Neocat Generals - once they realized that retaining Apuron as Archbishop of Agana was a lost cause - it is quite probable to assume that they worked through their Vatican insiders to get Apuron "the H" out of Guam - where the facts were cascading against him - and then functionally hand him over to the Neocats where "even a degraded bishop can ordain," which is all they wanted him for anyway, i.e. to manufacture their army of cloned clerics. 

+++++

A SIDE NOTE: I recently spent nearly 4 months in the U.S Territory of the Virgin Islands. While there, a certain priest with a beard, a youngish guy with a distinctive Italian accent, began showing up and concelebrating Masses I attended. 

One day, the pastor of the parish approached me for no reason other than I was a stranger. I used the opportunity to inquire more about the "priest with the accent." Sure enough. The pastor confirmed that the new priest was a Neocat and, via the VI's new bishop, had been assigned to the VI by the Neocat supporting Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, who had once been the bishop of the VI. 

I couldn't help but put 2 and 2 together. RMS, having been recently ousted from Guam...is now looking for a new home. And by now, has probably found one. 

WHAT I TOLD CARDINAL BURKE

Posted by Tim Rohr

In February of 2017, the Vatican sent Cardinal Raymond Burke to Guam to get to the bottom of the Apuron situation. 

Cardinal Burke presides over trial investigating Guam archbishop

Cardinal Burke sent to Guam to oversee sex abuse trial

Pope: Cardinal Burke sent to Guam because of terrible incidents

El Papa “destierra” a su máximo opositor a la isla de Guam

It was recommended to Burke that he interview me. He declined. I understood. I had no official standing and no position in the archdiocese. In fact, I was really just a "trouble-maker." Nevertheless, after Burke returned to the Vatican, his secretary requested that I send a notarized copy of what I would have told Burke if he had interviewed me. In a way, it worked out for the best. In writing, I was much better able to relate everything as I had come to know it. 

It would be awhile before Apuron would be removed as Archbishop of Agana, and more than another year before the Pope himself would deny Apuron's appeal and officially and finally remove Apuron as Archbishop of Agana. For the record, I set out to do none of this. And my notarized testimony to Cardinal Burke makes that clear. The names of which I do not have permission to publish and whose record is not already public are redacted. 

PDF

I KNOW THERE WILL BE AN AVALANCHE

Posted by Tim Rohr

Note: For several years I have been urged to write a book about the happenings in the Archdiocese of Agana from approximately 2013 to the present. As the ugliness is still ongoing (the archdiocesan bankruptcy, settlement with the victims, and Apuron's personal trial - which is yet to happen), I am holding off. However, as I sort through old communications that led up to the present "ugliness," I see no reason not to share some of it now. Following is an email between myself and a Vatican official:

Yes, there have always been several others. They've known for years about Apuron, but now they have had enough. The stories coming out are simply horrid. BTW, I just received a phone call from the person who took the three gentlemen to meet with the attorney today. After the meeting my friend met with the attorney privately. The attorney advised that the three are willing to go "all the way," meaning they want to go public about their abuse. Once they do, I know that there will be an avalanche. I've been listening to the stories for many years. Feel free to advise me on anything I should know or do...

Sincerely, 

Tim

HOW TO ANSWER THE ABORTION QUESTION

Posted by Tim Rohr 

"If you're asking me if it is ever okay to kill a helpless, defenseless, innocent human being, the answer is no."

This is how to answer the abortion question. And here's why.

First, it puts you in control of the question. Your interrogator has most likely framed the question in the context of "choice," reproductive freedom, or even "health care." And your "pro-life" answer, such as "I am for life," I oppose abortion," I believe life begins at conception," etc. is easily translated into your being against choice, against freedom, against health care, against women, etc. 

TIM ROHR...A "REAL ESTATE MEDIATOR"

Posted by Tim Rohr 

NOTE: I'm not done with this by the way. 

REDACTED...FOR NOW

Posted by Tim Rohr 

For several years I have been urged to write a book about the happenings in the Archdiocese of Agana from approximately 2013 to the present. As the ugliness is still ongoing (the archdiocesan bankruptcy, settlement with the victims, and Apuron's personal trial - which is yet to happen), I am holding off. However, as I sort through old communications that led up to the present "ugliness," I see no reason not to share some of it now. Following is an email from 2016 between myself and a Vatican official. Redacted for now:

From: Tim Rohr [mailto:timrohr.guam@gmail.com]
Sent: Montag, 27. Juni 2016 21:33
To: [REDACTED]
Subject: [REDACTED

 

I believe [VICTIM] emailed this you earlier but she wasn't sure if she sent it correctly and asked me to email to you. 

 

I spoke with [VICTIM] after her meeting with Archbishop Hon today. His advice was just to forgive and that "everybody makes mistakes." She also related the account of her friend who was raped by [NAME OF PRIEST REDACTED]. Hon told her the same thing.

 

I believe [NAME OF PRIEST REDACTED] rape victim will have a statement soon and may be going public. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Tim

THERE'S NOBODY THAT'S REALLY WILLING TO FIGHT FOR IT

Posted by Tim Rohr  

Catholic blogger Tim Rohr, who equated abortion to killing babies, said that regardless of the outcome in the legislative race, a local abortion ban won’t find its legs “because there’s nobody that’s really willing to fight for it.”

37th Guam Legislature's path on abortion unclear, by Joe Taitano II, Pacific Daily News, Nov. 9, 2022

MY NOTE: This is a demonstrable fact. Which candidate made abortion the war cry of his or her platform? None. Where have the sponsors of the Heartbeat Bill been after they introduced the bill? Who is willing to put their face on the news time and time again and call out the baby killers? Nobody. 

WELL, THAT'S WHO YOU VOTED FOR, GUAM

Posted by Tim Rohr 

That an unborn child is a human being is no longer the issue. Science has long demonstrated that the unborn child is not "potential life" as Roe termed it, but a real, living, growing human person. 

The issue now is who can kill that child and when. That's the only issue. And the Supreme Court has said that it's up to you, i.e. the states.

In Guam, given who we just re-elected, apparently Guamanians support not only killing an unborn child all the way until birth, but even after the child is born to a mother who doesn't want to be a mother. (Per the now-governor's testimony to in opposition to a bill mandating normal medical care for a child who survived a failed abortion.)

This is not to say good or bad. This is to say this is Guam: one of the world's most "Catholic" populations per capita. We need to stop lying to ourselves. Guam is NOT "pro-life." Guam is pro-death. Over and over again the majority has voted for death. And we just did that again yesterday.

But not only are the majority of Guam voters "pro-death in the womb," they are pro-self-extermination since nearly 2/3 of abortions are of Chamorro children while the Chamorro population of Guam has sunk to less than 30%.

LINK

Well , that's what and who you voted for.