ARCHDIOCESE OF AGANA, A SHIP WITHOUT A CAPTAIN WITH AN UPCOMING STORM

 (POSTED BY FRENCHIE)

    

After suffering directly and indirectly from the catastrophic 30 years administration of  the corrupt and deviant Anthony Apuron, we have had great hopes during the past five years, that something would change for the better. After a promising start, we are awakening with the feeling of a very bad hangover.

While we are discovering with horror a succession of gross errors, and a total lack of reactions from the Chancery, to what is nothing less than gross deviations by some of our priests, and the continued open rebellion to the authority of the Archbishop  by the NCW; it has become apparent that Archbishop Byrnes, for reasons not quite fully clear at this time, is not really in control of a situation deteriorating fast. We are at the eve a powerful storm, and the Captain of our ship is not here.

We have seen in a previous article, that both the Archbishop and the Chancellor are off island, and that the Vicar General gave his resignation. Ergo, there is nobody in charge at the Chancery, beside the same usual suspects who are left over from the Apuron Administration.

This is the reason why the latest incident regarding the Pastor of one of the largest and wealthiest parish, is so disheartening.

Pale Mike Crisostomo.

 

Pale Mike is the Pastor of the St Anthony and St Victor Parish in Tamuning.

He is also Vicar for the Clergy.

Beside these two very important positions, he also sits on the following: 

College of Consultors

Presbyteral Council

Liturgical committee

Plus he is also the Executive Director for the Ministry to the Homeless

Basically it is hard not to bump into Pale Mike, if you hang around the Chancery, or participate in the many activities of the Church.

This hyperactivity does not seem to stop Pale Mike, for being involved in the running of the School at St Anthony, despite his obvious conflict of interests with his brother as the School Principal, and the privileged relationship he has with the School board president.

Another involvement of Pale Mike, is his strong ties with the GLBTQ "community".

Mike is a good friend and strong supporter of Lt Governor Josh Tenorio, highly lauded in his "quality" of the first openly gay Lt Governor in the United States. Granted, there is nothing wrong being friend with the Lt Governor. Yet a priest like Pale Mike, with such a public and moral standing, should according to Catholic teachings, use his influence to try to save the soul of his friend and the cohorts of SJWs that hang around his coat tails, rather than abetting a lifestyle contrary to Church teachings. Many of our brothers and sisters with strong attractions for people of the same sex, do try to live a life of self effacement and prayers, in communion with the Church. It is a constant struggle for countless good Catholics whose cross it is to carry. Guam being a small island, we all know of friends or familly members who face that daily, and very personal struggle. Jesus taught us to love the sinner, while hating the sin. As far as priests with the same proclivities, just like their "straight" colleagues, they have taken a vow of celibacy. We have seen with Apuron, Cristobal, and many other priests that some of these priests put little value onto their vow. Just as we have seen other priests engaged in scandalous relations with some women, some of them siring children left to suffer in silence. None of these failures should be accepted and/or condoned. On paper at least, the Archdiocese condemn such behaviors. This is why it is so shocking and disheartening when you find out that a priest, in this case Pale Mike Crisostomo engaged in a serious violation of these principles.

 

So? What are we talking about?See Here ( Homily around 40')

 Pale Mike took it upon himself to celebrate a mass for the LGBTQ "community". Basically, a step forward in introducing  the CRT hateful divisions into the only true Catholic and Apostolic Church. In his homily he basically used the Judeo-Protestant canard of WWJD (what would Jesus do) to justify blaming the Church for its teaching, and endorsing the "victim" status of the  LGBTQ minority, going as far as to label  one of the local activist  (aka Glenn) as a modern St Peter!! He also allowed as lector a person who obviously is not in good standing with the Church.

Reaching to the LGBTQ community in a pastoral way might be useful, (even though I believe a person to person approach is more efficient than a group characterization) it is after all the role of the Shepperd to bring his sheep  back into the fold. Some have done so in the past. Unfortunately the exhortation to find the right passage back to the Church cannot be confused with the wanton endorsement of sin, the apology of the sinner, and the endorsement of a lifestyle contrary to Jesus teachings.

 Pale Mike is gravely erring when he attempts to mimic the infamous (and well connected) Fr. Martin SJ, who has all the cunning of a Jesuit upbringing, (which  Fr Mike is so painfully lacking). His poorly worded homily, his confusion about what would Jesus do, rather than what would Jesus teach, instead of helping the community he tries to reach out to, ends up shocking the common faithful who are for the most part offended and confused, as well as comforting his intended target in their errors. This type of gross deviation of the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, coming from someone who likes to picture himself as the next Bishop is extremely disheartening to the Guam Catholic community, it brings divisions,  and tensions where none were needed, at a critical time in the history of this Archdiocese.

As the Apostle John reminded us:"Every spirit that divided Jesus, is not of God; and this is the antichrist, of whom you have heard that he comes; and is now already in the world." (I John4:3)

The Catholic faithful of the Agana Archdiocese did not need this, at a time of difficult reorganization during the bankruptcy proceedings, and when we are facing continued and renewed challenges from that Sect called the NCW. The question now is: What will Archbishop Byrnes do to correct his priest? 

 

Archbishop Byrnes! We need your undivided attention!

Please take the right step to teach your priests, unburden Fr Mike of the obvious load he cannot carry, and help him find the right path. There is no way such a failed theologian could be of any help to you and the archdiocese in any other capacity, but a Parish priest. (even this remains to be proven)

Fr Mike! if you have any sense of decency, you should resign from the many hats you are wearing!

You have just proven to all of us, that you are not capable.

Your obvious conflict of interests, and some of the personal decisions you have taken are disqualifying you in the eyes of many Catholics on Guam. Being a Pastor, a Shepperd, takes a lot more than what you can offer at this time. Beware not to become a new Adrian Cristobal. I would personally hate to see you fall to that level.

Meanwhile I shall request that we all pray for Pale Mike and our brothers and sisters of the LGTB tendencies.

CONFUSION OR CLARITY?

 Pope Francis Coat of Arms

One thing about Pope Francis, is that he never leaves people with a feeling of neutrality. Almost always people react to his statements with very strong sense of disagreement or a strong sense of relief. Seldom does he leave you bored or unconcerned. Very often Catholics are left confused by his questioning of well established Dogma, often, in off the cuff statements rather than from a teaching position.

It seems that most of the members of the Curia at the Vatican, have taken their cue from Pope Francis, in how to communicate. Leaving us more troubled, rather than enlightened.

As many of the Cardinals, who have been steadfast defenders of the faith are retiring, they are being relentlessly replaced by Social Justice Warriors, rather than by Religious Leaders. While this is true in Rome, it has also happened extensively in the USA, thanks to stealth bishops and cardinals like Mc Carrick, George,Wuerl, Cupich, Gregory or Dolan, and the dozens of their minions who were entrusted with Dioceses and Archdioceses, despite their unabashed coverup of the evils done by their former bosses. (when they were not active participant themselves, as it is advanced now)

The Pope, the Vatican, the US conference of Bishops have rushed to give us the impression that they took things seriously in regards to the inexcusable wanton sexual abuses in the Church at large. We on Guam, have been the witnesses to this abuse at the hands of corrupt clergy, and their efforts to keep it from being exposed for all to see. Per capita, Guam has more victims that came forward, than any other diocese around the world. Even Francis, who seemed to want to sweep our scandal under the proverbial rug, could not not take action against the depraved and corrupt Apuron. Our new Archbishop took very good administrative measures to ensure such situation would not repeat itself. We were given directives on how to proceed if made aware of any abuse. The whole personnel apparatus working for the Archdiocese of Agana has had to go to sensitivity training, and were made aware of the dos and don't of what is appropriate behavior.

 

Yet despite all these measures, we are left with a sense of discomfort, because many if not most (in many cases) of the people that aided and abetted these abuses are still in position of power and responsibilities. Often these same people have taken retaliatory measures against good priests that denounced their wicked ways, using too many times the pervert  process of spreading doubts on people, by questioning their mental abilities. This criminalization by psychiatric process also seems to gain favor within the left side of the political arena. This is highly disturbing to observe when you know how the Soviet Union used this terrible weapon, and how Communist China still does, often against religious people they persecute.This problem is particularly acute in the Archdiocese of Detroit, where Archbishop Byrnes and Fr Richards come from, and where they were an active part of the administration of AOD (Archdiocese of Detroit) 

  The Catholic Channel "Church Militant" has been particularly vociferous regarding Archbishop Vigneron 's administration, his coverup of a lavender mafia at their main seminary, and the retaliation against good priests coming forward and denouncing abuses.(there are also many issues regarding the closing of parishes and some solutions brought forward) Looking at the way Fr Richards advances forward several agendas and policies, in a unilateral and dictatorial way, while Archbishop Byrnes seems strangely detached from the minutia of the Archdiocese's administration, many people are now questioning the legitimacy of said policies, and the validity of the Fr Richards diktaks.  Indeed, this top down approach by two of the most powerful people at the Chancery, Fr Richards and Josephine Villanueva, was at the center of the fiasco that led to the attempt to remove the principal of father Duenas Memorial School, who apparently pushed back on some of the duo's pronunciamentos.

What we are now facing is a mountain of doubts.

Doubts about who is in charge.

Doubts about the real participation of Archbishop Byrnes.

Doubts about the intentions and goals of Fr Richards

Doubts about the background of the Chancellor

Doubts about the real intentions in the writing of the Archdiocese policies.

Doubts about the seriousness with which the NCW is monitored.

Doubts in the true calling of some of our priests

Doubts about some of the key members of the Episcopal council.

Doubts about the professionalism and Catholic identity of certain members of the financial council.

Doubts about the commitment by the Chancery to the well being of the Archdiocese

Doubts about the commitment to the salvation of the souls of the faithful.

Doubts about the necessity of a communication director who remains mute about everything all the time.

This is only a short list of the issues we are getting on a daily basis from concerned parishioners and faithful throughout the diocese. The aloof approach of the Chancellor/ Episcopal Vicar/ Special council to Archbishop/ member of the Financial council/ member of the Episcopal council/ confident in chief is starting to become more and more detrimental to his increasing role.

Lets hope and pray the confusion will be lifted by the Archbishop, and that the very concerning rumors coming from the Archdiocese of Detroit, will be proven wrong. Perhaps this is why both the Archbishop and the Chancellor are off island at this time.

By the way, who is in charge when they are both gone, and the Vicar General has resigned?

Is the Archdiocese of Guam a rudderless boat left without a captain with some nasty weather in the forecast? 

 

UPDATE ON FR. HAROLD, AKA BOBOBOY

 

Fr. Harold , aka boboboy

According to the last Aviso from the Chancery, Fr Harold was supposed to take over as Parish Administrator, in Talafofo's San Miguel Church, effective July 1st 2021

Apparently when the news reached the shores of "God's country" as the locals self describe their beautiful parish, people were not too please, with the arrival of someone that many Catholics consider as a poorly educated (a product of the fake seminary the NCW ran in Yona) and morally dubious character (thanks to his not so discreet "relationship" with the disgraced Apuron) which earned him the moniker of Boboboy.

Whatever the kind of push back the Chancery ended up getting from different quarters, the appointment was then rescinded, without any explanation.

We shall wait to see, what changed the Chancery's mind, or what type of outside scandal attached to Harold (there are several) made the Chancery do such an about face.

Will there be more surprises in Talafofo?

If I was a betting man.......but I am not.

Meanwhile Fr Harold did not seem too disturbed by this set back, as he booked a plane ride back to New Jersey, where he is supposedly attending a "retreat".

Vicious rumors are suggesting he went to see his two old pals, in the NCW's US capital of Newark

The old adage might be right after all:" Birds of the same feathers, flock together"

MORE DUPLICITY FROM DR. RICARDO EUSEBIO

 

Dr Ricardo Eusebio

In the years leading to the departure of the failed and discredited Apuron, several members of the Neocatecumenal Way

 took the lead, in defending their protector, even though they knew of his sins and failures.

Of course no one can forget the infamous Diana and her blog, but also the strange professor, Magoo like Zoltan, the unsufferable Jackie Terlaje (the local attorney who is still representing Apuron, in his defense of civil suits), but no one came close to the arrogant, dishonest and zealous "Crazy Ricky", who during his leasure time poses as a respectable surgeon of the local medical community.

As I mentioned in my previous column, Ricky graced us with a letter to the Editor of the Guam Daily Post on Thursday June the 24th of this year, titled "Another option for the Manamko"

In his expose, Crazy Ricky first establish his argument that the island has a specific problem.

"For some who have fallen ill requiring hospitalization and prolonged postoperative care. This traumatic event creates a significant change in the direction of their lives, becoming more dependent on others. It may be temporary, but for many, depression with subsequent cognitive changes, leads to their decline and hastens their demise. Family support is critical to avoid the dire consequences of this dramatic event." 

Here Rick tells us something we already all knew, which is the consequence on aging for the individuals and their respective families. Most boomers are very familiar with this issue, and have faced this problem in their families or among their friends..... the "good" doctor to continues:

"Without family support, however, there are not too many alternatives in Guam. St Dominic's Senior Care Home in Barrigada is about the only option available, to my knowledge. Security deposits, insurance, the level of care mandated, availability and uncovered expenses are still required. Those unable to find placement or afford specialized care, can languish in the hospital for days and months incurring more hospital charges." 

As you can see the good doctor appears to be " very worried" about this whole situation, or is he? To me it looks like a solution looking for a problem. A solution the "good doctor"  most likely will share with us, out of his Christian moral duty. So here you go, better put your seat belt on.

"Thus I am elated to hear that the "Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly" desires to establish a mission here on Guam.

Their Mission is to care for the poor disabled elderly in all their needs, both spiritually and physically. They establish houses to cover the daily basic needs of the elderly, living by donations and welcoming anyone regardless of their financial situation".

As I guessed, the good doctor had a reasonable solution to this extremely grave issue.

Why would the great Ricardo Eusebio encourage the establishment of a new congregation of sisters on Guam, while he spends every ounce of his energy fighting for the supremacy of the NCW?

Who are these Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly? That is a very good question, and as you shall see, there is not a clear answer. 

 The congregation of the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly was created in Spain in 1872 in the City of Barbastro by St Teresa of Jesus Jornet. The Generalate of the Congregation is located in Valencia Spain. There are around 2400 sisters around the world in 210 communities, located in 20 countries.

Their Motto is : Cuidar los Cuerpos para salvar las Almas.

meaning : taking care of the bodies to save the souls.

The Generalate of the order is where St Teresa of Jesus Jornet created her first community, Valencia.The first development overseas was in Cuba in 1885, with the sending of their 10 newest recruits.

As you see nothing out of the ordinary for a Catholic order, except for its relatively small number of Sisters and geographic impact.

That is until you start looking beyond the varnish.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s the congregation,like other religious organizations around the world was facing steep challenges, namely the aging of its members and the lack of vocation to replace the aging sisters, which led to mounting financial challenges.  Enter the smartest and most ruthless founder of the NCW, Carmen Hernandez. As we have seen in other exposes, Carmen hails from one of the most prominent commercial family in Spain. That same family has many interests in the city of Valencia where the little sisters have their generalate.

Carmen always a shrewd negotiator and a consummate politician, saw a golden opportunity in this situation, at a time when the NCW was planning to open their first Seminary. The plan was basically the same as for the seminaries. Develop a system where, you bring plenty of new recruits, and generate fundraising campaigns to support these non profit organizations, with the intent of capitalizing on the goodwill generated, show a recruiting success and generate opportunities for a free flow of cash, under the cover of charitable work

Thus Carmen was able to co-opt an hailing organization, give it a new life, and get a perfect cover for their work of evangelization. The only true giveaway being that almost all the installations of the sisters are located in Dioceses that are either run by the NCW,or NCW friendly Bishops

Now it makes more sense when Eusebio in his letter to the editor, declares:

Let us welcome these nuns from the congregation of the Little sisters of the Abandoned Elderly. They do not seek financial support from the Archdiocese but a mere welcome and acknowledgement of the requisite need to care for our elderly. We have everything to gain for our Manamko. Encourage your pastors, friends and government leaders to have the archdiocese roll out the welcome mat!

Unfortunately the Neos have already played that movie several times. When they first arrived on the island, when they opened their fake seminary in Yona, when they used Apuron and the Archdiocese (plus some other well known businesses around town) as a money laundering scheme. For my part I shall pass on that fake opportunity, and I will encourage all Catholics on Guam, not to fall for that bait and switch. Let your friends and favorite politician know what is at stake here, which is nothing less than a full fledge come back of the Neos and their corrupting ways. Hopefully the Chancery is not asleep at the wheel, like it has been for the last 18months.

THEY ARE BAAAAACK!

 (Posted by Frenchie)

Actually they never really left, but they had taken a lower profile.

 Since the arrival of Archbishop Byrnes, the subsequent closure of the fake seminary in Yona, the condemnation of the failed and disgraced Apuron, the escape of yet another sexual pervert (Adrian Cristobal) the restrictions imposed (but not followed)  by the Archbishop, the commonly known Neos had gone into a semblance of hiding.

Many assumed that they had learned their lesson, and decided to follow a more obedient way.

Believing this, as many on Guam did, is utter nonsense. This Blog did warned the Catholic faithful, that this appearance of a newfound humility, was in fact a tactical retreat in order to better regroup for a comeback at a later date. The communities continued to meet in private homes, and at their new center in Asan, (when legally possible) often against the decisions of Archbishop Byrnes. Mr Atienza (the lead Cathechumen of the sect) met with the Archbishop often enough to swear on all the saints in heaven that they were following his instructions, knowing full well this was a blatant lie. The followers were told that this temporary setback was nothing less than the type of  persecution, all Neos must expect,in order to be able to go to heaven. Then again, every setback the Neos suffer are always persecution of course.

 

Dr Atienza (UOG) showing interest for a bat.

 

While the most well known mouthpieces of the Neos on the island went quite for almost four years. The leadership continued its termite like work in the shadows.

 

Where are we now in the middle of 2021, while the Chancery appears to be sleeping at the wheel? This is an important question. We are going to try to give you a good idea about the situation we are facing regarding the NCW on Guam almost 5 years after Apuron ran away.

In order to make sense of this complex situation, with many facets fairly hidden from the general public, we will break the situation in several chapters.

*Known NCW presbyters on the island, and their position.

* Absentee Presbyters that are incardinated on Guam, but are not present  here at this time.

*Presbyters on "Mission"

*Recent NCW Presbyters that have visited Guam and celebrated Mass.

*Latest developments. 

The NCW Presbyters that are in charge of a Parish.

Fr Julius Akinyemi Julius, Pastor San Dimas Merizo, San Dioniso Umatac.

Fr Jose Alberto Rodriguez, Pastor Our lady of Mt Carmel, Agat

Fr Antonino Caminiti, Pastor San Juan Batista, Ordot

Fr Krysztof Szafarski, Pastor San Bernadita, Yigo 

Fr Harold C Colorado Prieto,  Parochial administrator San Miguel, Talafofo (as of 7/1/21)

NCW Presbyters in other capacities

Fr Vicenzo Acamparo, Parochial Vicar San Vicente Ferrer, Barrigada

Fr Michael Vincent Jucatan, Parochial Vicar Santa Barbara, Dededo

NCW Deacons

 Dcn Claros Rizal, San Vincente Ferrer, Barrigada

Dcn Andrew Kim, San Andrew Kim, Dededo*

 

NCW Presbyters incardinated on Guam, that are officially "off Island"

Fr Francesco Asproni

Fr Luis Camacho#

Fr Edivaldo Da Silva Oliveira

Fr Pedro Durango

Fr Jason Granado

Fr Aurelius Stoia

Msg David Quitagua JCD#

 

Retired Personnel

Fr Rodolfo Arejola, retired. In residence St Anthony/St Victor *

Fr Edwin Bushu, retired. In residence St Anthony/St Victor

Fr John Wadeson, retired. Off island

Latest Presbyters to visit the island

 

Fr Preston Perez was here as recently as June 20th and celebrated mass in Barrigada. This was at the occasion of his graduation from the seminary he went to, after he left the one in Yona. We had been told by the infamous Dr Eusebio at the time that he and Gabe Camacho only needed 6 more months before graduating. It actually took them 4 and1/2 years. So much for Dr Eusebio expertise.

 

 

Prior to him both Gabe Camacho, as well as his brother the infamous Luis (cunilingus) Camacho, who was supposed to have quit from the Archdiocese and moved to Qatar, but is in fact still listed as incardinated here, but as "off island"priest; both visited and celebrated mass for the communities.

The point still unclear, being to know if the chancery had given  permission for such celebrations.

Latest move.

Last Thursday June 24th, the now infamous Dr Ricardo Eusebio, aka Crazy Ricky, graced us with a guest column in the Guam Daily Post titled "Another option for the Manamko". In this column the dear Dr.is advocating for the arrival of a new order of nuns to deal with a non existent problem.

As always when Crazy Ricky is pointing to a tree, it is because he does not want you to see the forest behind it. I shall explain a little more in another column. At this point and time, what can be said, is unlike what many people might believe, the NCW is still alive and well and still living on Guam. 

 

* Asterix denote someone who might not be a full fledge neo, but who has rendered an undo amount of help for them.

# Denotes someone with contradicting information about responsibilities and locations.

 

UPDATE ABOUT FR JEFF SAN NICOLAS

 (Posted by Frenchie)

Following our post from yesterday regarding the Canon legality of the vacuum at the Vicar General post, it seems that the chancery is monitoring this website. (Despite the silence of the communication office)

Fr Jeff San Nicolas apparently intervened earlier today on the Chat group for the Clergy to clarify, the allegation on one of our pages that there had been an incident between the Archbishop and himself.

"Regarding recent information shared about my role as vicar general: the reason for my request to be releaved for personal medical reason. I have been seeing a doctor regularly for the past year. I have never had an argument with the archbishop, verbal or otherwise. The archbishop has never raised his voice to me and I do not recall ever raising my voice to him. I continue to pray for our archbishop and the archdiocese."

This is obviously an internal clarification on the reason for Fr Jeff departure from his previous post.

While we are not a news organization, we take great care to verify our sources. We need at least two different sources, preferably three before we make our info public.

We therefore give you Fr Jeff official perspective, and will take him at his word until proven otherwise.

 

The fact remain that if the communication office of the Archdiocese, and its director would have made the official point of view known to us, as requested, and as promised by Archbishop Byrnes upon his arrival, Fr Jeff would not have had to make a clarification .

We stand by the information we shared yesterday, and through this release, we let our readers know that Fr Jeff has a different point of view than our sources. Unfortunately we are still missing an official position from the Chancery.

Meanwhile the Legality of the vacuum of the position of Vicar General remain.

IS THIS LATEST MOVE LEGAL? SURE DOES NOT LOOK LIKE IT.

 (Posted by Frenchie)

Fr Ronald Richards JCL

aka

The white colonizer.

From this picture it would seem that this man, really does not want to stay on Guam. One might even ask why he would have agreed to follow Archbishop Byrnes to Agana as a priest on loan from the Archdiocese of Detroit?

 

Fr Richards likes to remind  everyone that he is a "lawyer".

This is highly misleading, because Fr Richards holds a JCL, which is a licentiate of Canon law (the law of the Catholic Church) A licentiate is a degree necessary for you to pursue your Doctorate.

Doctor of Canon Law, is a JCD, not a JCL .

We do have two  other JCL in the Archdiocese of Agana, plus one JCD "off island" (Msg Quitagua). Perhaps he should consult with the real JCD to insure that the Archdiocese is actually following Canon Law. Of course that would be ironic, since Msg Quitagua was one of the cornerstone of the Apuron administration, who did not recognize the legitimacy of Abp Byrnes when he was Coadjutor. But then again, the Chancery is still full of key players who had a vital role during the Apuron administration.

According to the Chancery own official documentation:

"The Archdiocese of Agana Chancery (also referred to as the archdiocesan Curia) is organized in eight offices".

*the office of the Chancellor

*the office of Finance

*the office of Temporal affairs

*the office of Human resources

*the office of safe environment

*the office of communication

*the office of Catholic Education

*the office of Metropolitan Tribunal 

Furthermore, we are told:

"Additionally the office of the Vicar General moderates the work of the Archdiocesan Curia and ensures the priorities and directives of the Archbishop are followed."

So far, and at first sight it all looks fairly clear and above board. Yet something is not quite right, as some people would obviously like the general public to believe. Something is slightly askew.

For several years now, and until very recently, the person who had accepted the burden of Vicar General was Fr Jeff  San Nicolas.

Whatever you might think about Fr Jeff, he did fulfilled his duties without much fanfare, some vicious minds even said without much discernment,or energy. Yet he held the helm as best as he could despite some difficult circumstances, and without much support from anywhere.(specially during the repeated absences of Abp Byrnes) Not an easy task, no matter how you cut it.

From what we have been able to gather, a strong disagreement between Fr Jeff and Bsp Byrnes did occur, with tempers flaring and the decibel level reaching  unusual levels. While Fr Jeff is still listed as a member of the College of Consultors, as well as of the Presbyteral council, he is now listed as Parochial vicar at St Anthony, St Victor parish in Tamuning.( It is to be noted that neither group has met recently, as it should normally do.) This is where things get a little peculiar. After the official line about the role of the Vicar General, in the spot where Fr Jeff used to have his coordinate as Vicar General, we find in its stead the following :

Fr Ronald S Richards, JCL

Special assistant to the Archbishop/Episcopal Vicar/ Chancellor

Then we find the info regarding Monica Taimango

Administrative Assistant to the Vicar General

The big problem of course being that there is no Vicar General, but an Episcopal Vicar.

From the way things are presented on the Chancery's site, it is obvious that the Episcopal Vicar has taken over the duties of the Vicar General. Of course the guy in its recliner reading these lines, will say:"What does it matter, if we have an Episcopal vicar instead of a Vicar General"?

This is the reason I did request a clarification from the communication director, about an official communication (aka Aviso) from the chancery, about the change of responsibilities for either Fr Jeff  or Fr Ron. Yet 96 hours after that request, I did not even received, the lame excuse given to the  Guam Daily Post about the contract of Mr Perez at Fr Duenas Memorial School, which was that Mr Diaz did not comment on personnel matters. I have looked high and low about any communication regarding the Vicar General, without any luck.

It is now evident that despite all the promises made by Archbishop Byrnes upon his arrival on Guam, that he would be transparent and forthcoming. The communication director, Mr Tony Diaz obviously has not changed his bad habits acquired during the Apuron administration. Or perhaps, Fr Richards, the omnipotent, all knowing white savior of the Archdiocese, has given strict instruction about not communicating. What is it Tony?

  Tony might think that he is a dedicated servant of the Archdiocese, but keeping silent about the official position of the Chancery or Apostolic Curia, while being the director of one of the eight offices of this Curia, does not meet with the Archbishop promises of transparency.

According to Canon law, regarding the organization of Dioceses. The post of vicar general is mandatory, while the post apostolic vicar is optional. The post of Chancellor, as the official holder of records, is also mandatory, and both post should be separated.

 

Is this the reason Fr Richards opted for a post of Episcopal Vicar? Why is Archbishop Byrnes letting this fly, while he is well aware of the official structure a Diocese is supposed to have?

Most of all why give all that power to an individual who is so dismissive of local people and local habits, while  pretending to be open and above board. The Archbishop has talked the Talk. Now is the time to walk the walk. If this did not happen, the push back from the faithful could be even more decisive than against the corrupt Apuron.

 

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FR RONALD RICHARDS, AND WHY

 (Posted by Frenchie)

Fr. Ronald Richards, JCL

 

While most people knew who Adrian Cristobal was, very few mourned his departure and shameful end , and his subsequent escape from our beautiful island. On the other hand few are the residents of Guam who have any idea who Fr. Ronald Richards is, and what are his responsibilities in the Archdiocese of Agana.

This is the reason why many will be stunned to find out that Fr Richards is probably the second most powerful person at the Chancery of the Archdiocese, right after the Archbishop himself. While some might have thought that the Adrian Cristobal dictatorial days were gone for good, it seems like Fr Richards never got the memo, as he eagerly entered the gap left by a distracted Bishop.

In order to get a better grasp on this reality, we have to go back to the arrival of Archbishop Byrnes in late 2016 as the Coadjutor with full administrative and Pastoral power.  He took over from Archbishop Hon who had been dispatched to Guam to clean up the mess left by Apuron, following his flight from the Archdiocese.

Apuron and his minions struggled for almost five years, with this blog, a growing number of the local press, the CCOG, the Laity forward movement and countless Catholics. It was logical that the island's faithful greeted Archbishop Byrnes with a great sigh of relief,  a big thirst for renewal, and a true sense of vindication.

 

 The task of Archbishop Byrnes has been from the start a very difficult one. This was one of the main reason that he felt he needed the input of someone he thought he could trust. That someone apparently ended being Fr Richards. Fr Richards is not incardinated in Agana, but rather is "on Loan" from the Archdiocese of Detroit

Unfortunately, after five years, it seems more and more obvious that this trust (based on a long acquaintance dating back to a time before any of the two men, even became priests of the Archdiocese of Detroit) has been misplaced, or abused by the recipient of that trust. Back in Detroit Fr Richards had had a fairly mundane career after his incardination being posted in parishes like St Hugo of the Hills in Bloomfield Hills in Michigan and St John Newman parish in Canton MI.

Yet at the same time, thanks to his Canon law studies he was granted access to several prestigious posts.

As a Canon Lawyer for the Archdiocese of Detroit, he sat on the Tribunal, he also taught "intro to canon law" at the St Cyril Methodius Seminary, as well having a post of mentor  at the Sacred Heart Major Seminary (where Archbishop Byrnes had held several positions before becoming Vice Rector in 2004, and Dean of formation)

Fr Richards arrived on Guam a few months after Archbishop Byrnes, but while Archbishop Byrnes made strong efforts to understand the island culture and even read in Chamoru, Fr Byrnes never even tried, choosing instead to have a very condescending, almost colonialist approach. "Everything is much better in Detroit, we do this, we do that"......on and on. Quickly earning him the title of white chief priest. I must confess being dumbfounded a couple of times by his superiority complex, once while attending a catholic men's conference, and another time while listening to his lecturing on the Catholic radio station.

The first and unique duty of Fr Richards, was to be a special advisor to the Archbishop. This in itself made a lot of sense, at a time when the Archbishop was trying to find his bearings, and rationalize a very complex and controversial situation. While many people had some concerns, which were rooted in their past experience with Apuron and his eminence grise, the nefarious Fr Pius. The large majority of faithful never thought twice about it, and most of them never even heard of Fr Richards.

Fr Pius Samnut (NCW)

Unfortunately, after a series of unlikely events, it seems that we are going in that very same toxic situation, where one priest has gained undue influence on the Archbishop, and has become able to control all the levers of power in the Chancery.

More details to come on the powers of Fr Richards

A FEW WORDS OF CLARIFICATION REGARDING JUNGLEWATCH AND WHO IS POSTING ON THE BLOG

(Posted by Frenchie)

 

 

 As most people who have followed this blog since its beginning, the name most often associated with it, is it's initiator and founder Mr Tim Rohr.

 

After many years of bruising and brutal struggle with forces more evil that any of us could have had imagined, Tim had decided to let go of his involvement with Junglewatch, to dedicate himself to a struggle of a more personal nature, which needs his total dedication.

 

Having been involved with Junglewatch over the years, first as a reader and occasional participant, then as a guest columnist and an occasional administrator, I was sideline most of last year due to some health issues, which I have for the most part conquered.

When I heard that Tim could no longer continue to manage the site, I volunteered my services again, to keep the good fight going, and give a voice to the countless Catholics who feel ignored or jilted by the caretakers of our Church, here on Guam, but also around the world when the need arises.

It is with great dismay, but again not surprised in the least, that I was contacted by some parents of the Fr Duenas Memorial School who have been faced with an unexpected challenge coming from within the Chancery .

In this way I was pulled back in the fray, at a time when I was just expecting to do some care taking. Soon, I was overwhelmed by countless emails and calls from people wanting to share their stories and/or concerns. At the same time Tim, because of his previous involvement was also contacted by many people.

 

In order not to disturb Tim, please refrain to send messages to him, or try to contact him by phone, as he is very busy with other ventures, and no longer involved with this blog. Should you wish to comment or get in touch with Junglewatch , please address your mails and inquiries to frenchie by using the comment section on this site. If you do  wish to remain discreet, please notify us in your message, it shall not be published, and your privacy shall be respected.

I always start my articles by mentioning in the top left side of the post: (posted by Frenchie)

 

I hope this shall clarify who is posting and moderating this blog at this point and time.

I shall try my best to fill the very large shadow cast by Tim Rohr, but Tim at this point and time is not an active participant of this blog. I pray that this is a temporary situation, and that one day, when he has taken care of what he needs to do, he will grace us once more with his great insight and limitless knowledge of the Catholic Church on Guam. Meanwhile please pray for me, and for Tim, that we both may be able to face the challenges given to us.

 

Yours truly: Frenchie

FATHER DUENAS LATEST PETITION, LATEST UPDATES.

 ( Posted by Frenchie)

As we mentioned in yesterday's post, continue signing the petition. I would add that if you are willing and able, go and participate in the peaceful demonstration of support on Thursday the 3rd of June.

latest updates.

According to several well placed sources, the Chancery has reached out to Mr Perez to negotiate an agreement and a new understanding.

According to some other sources Mr Dennis Malilay, did the honorable thing and presented his resignation. He is unfortunately the latest person to be thrown under the proverbial bus, by what many now call the Detroit Mafia.

One wonders, when might the superintendent resign? If all these information happen to be confirmed. It would be the second time in so many months that he would also have been thrown under the bus by the people that hired and manipulated him.

As some of the contributors of the Junglewatch often underlined during the past 10 years, roaches seem not to like the light to be shined on them.

On the same front, the parents of Father Duenas might recall the strange letter sent by the chief financial officer of the Chancery, with the backing of Fr. Richards in regards to the finance of the school. This was a shot across the bow of Mr Perez, and an attempt to discredit his administration of the school. When this did not bear the fruits they were expecting, the bombastic and dictatorial CFO had one of her (now famous) temper tantrum.

It is most likely why several influential members of the Alumni organization are looking at alternatives, in their relationship with the Chancery. It would be logical for anyone loving this storied institution to want a better and safer administrative environment.

Is this how the Chancery wants to run its finances while being in chapter 11 reorganization?

More to come very soon.

JungleWatch: FR DUENAS LATEST PETITION, UNVEILS THE UGLY FACE O...

JungleWatch: FR DUENAS LATEST PETITION, UNVEILS THE UGLY FACE O...: ( Posted by Frenchie)     Parents and alumni of the Fr. Duenas Memorial School are up in arms at the rumor that the well respected Principal...

FR DUENAS LATEST PETITION, UNVEILS THE UGLY FACE OF WHAT IS GOING ON AT THE CHANCERY

( Posted by Frenchie)

 

 

Parents and alumni of the Fr. Duenas Memorial School are up in arms at the rumor that the well respected Principal of this school is being put aside by the Chancery.

 

A petition has been launched on Change.org, to try to convince the Chancery of their errors.

Unfortunately from the information we have gathered, this looks like a futile effort. (We still would

encourage everyone who believes in the good job done by Mr Perez, to continue signing the petition)

 

We shall endeavor to make things as clear as possible for our readers, and the parents of 

Fr, Duenas Memorial School.

 

In the process, we are going to show you that the bad habits and corrupt ways of the Apuron administration, have not gone as some of us would have liked to happen. Rather, they have been replaced by a system as bad and as corrupted as the previous one, and perhaps more dangerous, because it is more pernicious and more devious in many regards.

From what it looks like, we might have to pick our pilgrim's stick and our shields back up, to ensure that the bad old days are not returning again. 

Fr. Duenas well respected and appreciated principal, Mr Ismael Perez aka "Temo", who has been in charge of the school since the passing of his predecessor, Mr Tony Thompson, was looking to renew his contract which expires earlier this coming summer. Unbeknown to him, Mr Juan Flores, the superintendent of the Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Agana had other ideas in mind.

Apparently Mr Flores had been planning to give that job to his childhood friend and former classmate, Mr  Dennis Malilay.

The problem here is two fold.

1) the decision was taken without notifying Mr Perez, letting him totally in the dark

2) The Job opening was never posted for anyone to apply for, as is customary and legal

To add insult to injury, the taking over of his duties by Mr Malilay has been scheduled to take place before the end of Mr Perez's contract.

Some of you might remember that Mr Flores nomination as school superintendent had not been greeted with great enthusiasm, mostly because of the lack of openness by the Chancery during his hiring process. Yet, during this time, many faithful were more worried about other issues, and did not pay much attention to it.

The fact that the Superintendent of  the Catholic schools could be so arrogant and dismissive of the Archdiocese own rules and mission statements, without mentioning the total lack of Christian Charity and decency one could and should expect, from the leader of  one of the most important agency of the Archdiocese, is very shocking in itself. Yet, it will become even more shocking when you find out, how this was possible.

 

The least we can say about superintendent Flores, is that his batting average is pretty low.

Most recently he was spurned for his decision to fire a school principal. The director of the parochial school of St Anthony, St Victor is Mr Crisostomo. At the time of his appointment Junglewatch was critical of the decision, because his brother: Fr Michael Crisostomo (the priest that wants to be loved) was and still is the Pastor to the Parish of St Anthony, St Victor. The conflict of interest was obvious from the get go, except for Fr Crisostomo, the Superintendent and the Chancery.

Human relationships being what they are, a conflict soon arose, because the school director refused to take directions and suggestions from Mr Flores. In other words, they did not have a working relationship. This situation boiled to a point where, the superintendent had no other options, but to fire Mr Crisostomo.That was without counting on our Pari system. Of course the Pastor of St Anthony did not agree with that decision, and the school board spurred by its president (who happens to be a close friend of the pastor) re-instated Mr Crisostomo.

To say the least, the reputation of Mr Flores took a big dive, after that incident. The problem of course was that the superintendent in this case was setup to fail, by the people who gave him the job.

One name to remember is Fr Ronald Richards,JCL

The old adage accepted by most people with a minimum of work experience, is that "Governing is anticipating". As we shall see the Archdiocese of Guam is poorly governed, because it is so arrogant in its approach, that it refuses to anticipate any contrary view of what Fr Richards proposes and advances.

In the case of Fr Duenas Memorial School, the parents of the children entrusted to this institution are very distraught, because they expect their sons to be the primary concern of the School, the Superintendent and the Archdiocese. In the Archdiocese mission statement: " the Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Agana will":

*Educate the whole child through Gospel values and traditions of the Catholic Church.

*Foster a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

* Guide its members to encounter the living  God through service.

How can you look at these parents with a straight face, and push that narrative, when the actions of Mr Juan Flores and Fr Ronald Richards belied everything in this statement?

On a more technical and pragmatical manner, Mr Perez (aka Temo) has not been treated ethically on the professional and legal level. In fact, if you refer to the Human Resources of the Archdiocese of Agana:

"The Archdiocese of Agana advocates the mission of Jesus Christ who called followers to lead a just life. In fidelity to that mission, the office of Human Resources strives for justice in employment practices and promotes fair employment opportunity for all persons in recruitment, hiring, training, transfer, promotion, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, and separation from employment."

Judging by the actions of the representatives of the Archdiocese, there is a huge gap between the beautiful, brotherly, almost woke statement of mission, and the reality of how it deals with its own employees. The hypocrisy is so blatant, that one might wonder if the Archbishop is aware of the actions of the people he entrusted with the daily operations of the Archdiocese? That will be the subject of another article to come up shortly.

Here we have two cases in which the rules of the Archdiocese have not been followed, where personal connections override what is obvious and right, at the detriment of the children entrusted to the Catholic schools, by parents who often work very hard to pay for increasingly onerous tuition.

Perhaps it is time to make your dissatisfaction known to the Chancery.

Human resources: Jenisse T Shimizu 

Tel: +1(671) 562-0021

Email: jshimizu@archagana.org

Superintendent of Catholic Education: Mr Juan Flores

Tel: +1(671) 562-0051

Email: superintendent@archagana.org

In our next edition: What you should know about Fr Richards and why.

ABORTION ON GUAM BY THE NUMBERS: 2008-2018

See more at The Esperansa Project Blog

WHEN THE CHURCHES FALL SILENT THE ONLY RELIGION LEFT IS THE STATE

 Imagine pastors like this - in our own Church. There are some. 

THE ESPERANSA PROJECT BLOG

To read up on what is going on with the ACLU law suit and other matters relative to abortion on Guam, go to The Esperansa Project Blog

WHY THE PRO-ABORTS KEEP WINNING

 https://esperansaproject.blogspot.com/2021/04/why-pro-aborts-keep-winning.html

TIM ROHR'S LETTER TO THE EDITOR, PACIFIC DAILY NEWS, APRIL 6, 2021

Letter: It's not Guam teens that have been getting abortions

Tim Rohr

Read at The Esperansa Project Blog

ABORTION DEBATE IS WHETHER UNBORN BABY HAS RIGHT TO LIFE

Paul Zerzan's letter to the editor at The Esperansa Project Blog. 

Destigmatizing abortion and hypocrisy Governor LG style

 Posted by Bob 

"...life will always triumph over death..." from the Governor's Easter greeting.

"...She [the Governor]  said abortion is an essential part of a woman's choice for reproductive health,..." from the front page of today's [April 4, Easter] Daily News.

https://www.guampdn.com/story/news/local/2021/04/03/guam-governor-lou-guerrero-womens-reproductive-abortion-rights-law/4830592001/

Governor supports women's reproductive rights, advocates for access to abortion

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero expressed her continued support for women's reproductive rights during a talk with Famalo'an Rights this week.

The governor spoke to Kiana Yabut, Famaloa'an Rights' chief development officer, on Instagram Monday as the group's last Famala'on Talks speaker for Women's Month.

According to the group's website Famalao’an Rights is a reproductive justice initiative focused on:

• addressing the lack of reproductive health care within the island community;
• de-stigmatizing discussions surrounding abortion, contraception and sexual education; and
• ensuring accurate, fact-based and data-driven information is being shared regarding social, economic and other implications on the lack of accessible abortion services within the island community.

The governor expressed her thanks to the group for being courageous and moving forward in addressing the rights of women for their reproductive health including access to abortion.

"It's just encouraging for me that more people are involved," she said.

Long history

Leon Guerrero shared her long history of fighting for women's reproductive rights on Guam after coming back from the states from college. She said when she left for college in the 1970s and became a nurse, she was stricken at the women coming into the emergency room hemorrhaging because of a self-inflicted abortions or botched underground abortions.

Leon Guerrero said at the time access to safe abortions wasn't available. She said abortion is an essential part of a woman's choice for reproductive health, that women have choices including adoption and contraception, but abortion also should be another choice.

"We keep it legal, we keep it safe, and that we make sure it's done under a very good hygienic environment," she said.

The governor said being pro-choice doesn't mean being pro-abortion, but allowing women the right to choose what is best for their reproductive health.

When she came back to Guam, a law was passed that severely restricted access to abortions on Guam, which was later deemed unconstitutional. She and other local women created People for Choice, a group that fought for reproductive rights. Leon Guerrero said there was a lot of support for the organization and she was grateful to be part of a group of courageous women who fought to make sure women had their right to choose.

Silent advocacy

She encourages other women to be courageous but understands the fear and anxiety of being public about being pro-choice. She said silent advocacy — talking to their children, friends and husbands about the importance of reproductive health — also helps.

"It's a big risk to be publicly known, but it's something I truly believe we women have to fight for. No one else will, but ourselves," Leon Guerrero said.

Since the last doctor who provided abortions on the island retired in mid-2018 there haven't been any doctors who provide the service. There have been no abortions reported to the government of Guam since then.

More Guam news:UOG gets clean audit for sixth straight year

Lawsuit filed

A lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Vanessa L. Williams on behalf of two Guam-licensed physicians who are based in Hawaii. They sued government of Guam officials, challenging the part of Guam’s abortion law that requires information about abortions be provided in person. The ACLU said doctors can give that information to patients through live video conference.

The doctors, Shandhini Raidoo and Bliss Kaneshiro, said in their complaint they are authorized to provide other patients telemedicine medication abortion and could provide that service to patients in Guam if it weren’t for the “in person” requirement in the law.

A medication abortion generally involves a person taking two pills, prescribed by a doctor, to end a pregnancy up to 10 weeks into the pregnancy, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Raidoo and Kaneshiro said they are authorized by the FDA to prescribe the medications through the TelAbortion project.

Leon Guerrero said a short-term hope for her is that the community allow medicated abortion and allow it through telemedicine, or train doctors on the island to be certified to prescribe the medication.

Long-term hope

A long-term hope is to have a reproductive health center to support women and provide them needed services that include abortion, she said. The center can be a place where women could get pregnancy tests, counseling, pap smears and other beneficial services for the island community, she said.

Leon Guerrero said the island needs to do better at talking about sex and contraception. She said many parents tell their kids not to have sex and avoid talking about contraception, but they shouldn't.

Parents should recognize their teenage children could be having sex and they need to be educated about what could happen. Parents should give their kids the means to prevent pregnancy with contraception, she said.

Open communication helps prevent the need to terminate a pregnancy, she added.

Leon Guerrero thanked Famalao'an Rights for helping educate the communicate and help correct misconceptions.

"I'm very much encouraged with the work that you do," she said.

Famalao’an Rights is focused on de-stigmatizing discussions surrounding abortion and embraces terms like women's reproductive rights, reproductive health, reproductive justice and  pro-choice. 

When the question is posed as, "When is it alright to take the life of an innocent, helpless human being?" no amount of sophistry a la Famalao’an Rights provides any answer except NEVER.