THE INQUISITION OF RMS

By Tim Rohr

Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, the Vatican-appointed Apostolic Administrator who administered this archdiocese between the time Apuron ran away in May 2016 and the appointment of Bishop Michael Byrnes as coadjutor bishop in October 2016, made some big errors that cost him. But the one good thing he did while he was here was the ordering of an Inquisition on the Neocat's seminary, RMS. 

The church doesn't call it an Inquisition anymore. They call such investigations a "Visitation." Thus, we have:

Visitation ad hoc Committee Report

September 12, 2016

Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary Redemptoris Mater

Archdiocese of Agana, Guam

The full report can be accessed here. Of particular interest is what the "Inquisitors" reported on pages 6 and 7:

For the past several years, the “diocesan” identity of the RMHF and the RMS has been seriously challenged. There are four basic concerns regarding this matter:

1. A legal opinion by Attorney Jacques G. Bronze (see Appendix V) was presented to the Archdiocese of Agana and holds that the land which is currently being used by the RMHF and RMS is not owned by the Archdiocese of Agana. The Bronze study concludes: 

It is my opinion that based on Guam statutes governing interpretation of deeds and contracts, the property interest conveyed is an absolute conveyance of the entire fee simple title of the subject properties to RMHF, subject to a restraint in use.

This uncertainty of title is due to the Declaration of Deed Restriction issued on November 22, 2011. (See Appendix M) without the review of the Archdiocesan Finance Council nor approval from the Holy See, which is required if, in fact, the alienation of Archdiocesan property resulted from the Deed Restriction.

The clandestine nature of how the Deed Restriction was filed has driven the belief among the faithful that the “absolute conveyance” of the property was intentional. Furthermore, it made clear that the “Archbishop of Agana, Corporation Sole” on the one hand, is a separate legal entity from the 501(c)3 nonprofit RMHF and RMS, on the other.

2. The statutes of the RMS are specifically designed to form presbyters for the “New Evangelization” as understood by the Neocatechumenal Way. As a result the seminarians’ formation does not prioritize the importance of parish ministry, parish management and the general familiarity of the seminarians with parish life.

While the RMHF and the RMS is strictly Neocatechumenal in its formation program, it was canonically erected as “The Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary Redemptoris Mater” and legally operates under the fictitious name (dba) “Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary”, names which emphasize its affiliation with the Archdiocese of Agana but this is not substantiated in its program. While this may be interpreted as a lack of transparency, at best, the seminary’s harshest critics call it dishonest.

Many of the faithful are speculating on why the RMHF and RMS felt a need to hide behind a fictitious name like “The Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary.”

There is speculation that the reason is to justify receipt of subsidies from the Archdiocese of Agana and/or to fulfill the stipulation of the donor who desired to support an Archdiocesan seminary.