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.

A POWERFUL COMMENT

AnonymousNovember 25, 2021 at 11:53 PM

Yes I'm commenting years later,but what the heck. One simple observation from someone that knows a lot of people in the way, and has even been part of it in the past.
I have never met more judgemental people in my life. My mother & my aunts have been in the community for about 30 years. They don't speak to each other anymore & they are full of misery. I also have many close friends in the way. They are close minded & very judgemental towards anyone that doesn't follow their beliefs, and behind close doors they even recognize this. I always watch what I say around them for fear of being ridiculed. I always wonder how someone can be part of something "good" for decades and not change in a positive manner at all. Anyway this is just my experience & maybe not the case for everyone.

TIM'S POSTS

 While Tim is not active on JungleWatch - which was primarily oriented towards engaging corruption in the local Church, Tim still posts occasionally at his original blog: The Mass Never Ends. 

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Abortions too morally difficult for (GUAM) doctors

 Read at THE ESPERANSA PROJECT BLOG. 

OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF A POWER VACUUM.

 (Posted by Frenchie)

As Archbishop Byrnes is once again away for a long period of time, one of the consequence of that absence was made obvious in today's Guam Daily Post.

See Here

How on God's sweet earth have we fallen down so low, that a contemptuous, power hungry woman posing as Governor of our beautiful island, was able to feel empowered enough, to infringe on our rights?

"Congress (and by extension governors) shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof".....

What could be more clear, than that?

The answer is simple enough, and can be found right at the door steps of the Chancery.

This man, posing as a priest, and pretending to be a "lawyer", is (along with the prolonged absence of the Archbishop) the person responsible for the deliquescence, of our God given and Constitution recognized right to practice our religion, as we see fit.

Drunk on his own power, of being able to reach Adelup on the phone, he continuously agreed to the erosion of our religious rights, by admission but most of all by omission.

His back room deals have diluted, undermined, eroded, the rights of Catholics to take moral decisions, based on the teachings of our Church, as they saw fit.

The consequence of these successive capitulations is, that the administration of this power drunk governor, feels it is acceptable to demand a litmus test from people opting out of vaccination based on their religious belief.

The fact that some of these same members of the administration pose as Catholic in good standing, is even more egregious. Had these people have any self respect they should resign out of shame. Apparently shame is not a concept this administration has any notion about.

It seems that it is the exact opposite. This administration is replete with arrogance and condescension. 

The adage tells us that : "Bad things happen, because good people say nothing, when confronted by evil" 

Let this sink in for a moment.

The issue is not about the right of not being vaccinated, the issue is about the overreach by government into religious affairs. This type of infringement , is exactly what we have seen happen in totalitarian countries, where you have to justify to hostile mobs:  where, how and why you worship. This should send shills through our collective spines. Yet there is a general lethargy from the population at large. Probably due to the constant drumbeat of Adelup's propaganda, relayed by the complicit media, denounced very justly by Mr Lee Webber in his weekly column posted yesterday.

At the same time we should not be surprised. Even as the Archbishop had published a good letter to the faithful regarding that particular issue, an interview published on September 25th with Tony Diaz (communication director for the Archdiocese) made it clear that the Archdiocese would not write exemption letters. Using his usual round about way, Mr Diaz (who mitigated Apuron for many years) made it be known that the Chancery under the leadership of Fr. Richards could not be bothered by such petty issues. Even going as far as using the excuse that some dioceses in the US did so, to justify their caving in, to the false morality mob.

It is clear from this disaster, that this diocese under the leadership of Fr Richards, shall not lead by example, but rather bend a knee to the ridiculously self inflated Governor of our island. Perhaps Fr Richards should ponder the Gospel of this past Sunday.

Mark 9-42:

"But anyone who is the downfall of one of these little ones who have faith, would be better thrown in the sea, with a great millstone hung around his neck"

Of course it would be delusional to expect Lou Leon Guerrero-Cook to comprehend this, in view of  her unabashed backing of the murder of so many little ones.

Yes my friends, real bad things happen when good people remain silent. 

 

RED ALERT! THE MORE IT CHANGES, THE MORE IT STAYS THE SAME!

(posted by Frenchie)

The Guam Daily Post Newspaper today brought forth their concerns regarding the use of the money raised by the Archdiocese, thanks to the sale of some significant properties, pointing out that the victims had not received any money, but that the lawyers had been paid substantial amounts.

For those of us who have been monitoring the Archdiocese bankruptcy proceedings, and kept track of the issues happening at the Chancery, this is not surprising, but for the general public it might be quite upsetting. Why are we not surprised? Because most of the actors at the Chancery are still the same people who worked, aided and abetted the corrupt Apuron administration.

While the disgraced child abuser and corrupt administrator Apuron might be sheltered by his patrons in New Jersey. While the disgraced and defrocked de facto leader of the Chancery for years Adrian Cristobal might continue to be on the run. The people that work with them and for them have remained at the Chancery. One might question why Archbishop Hon chose to do so during his short tenure, and why Archbishop Byrnes has continued to rely on these same people?

It should be noted that the problem at the chore of the challenges facing this Archdiocese can be traced back to these decisions. Basically, both Hon and Byrnes have chosen to use the same people to handle the issues they were responsible for in the first place. Einstein famously declared, that applying the same remedies to the same problems was the definition of insanity. This is exactly where we are. 

While last week, we complimented Archbishop Byrnes, to finally if not belatedly show some leadership in regards to the issues of abortion and lack of moral leadership from our political leaders, he was already on a plane, on his way back to Detroit, and not planning to return to Guam until around Thanksgiving. This is leaving us with Fr Richards and Mrs Shimizu in charge (at least on paper), while Mrs Villanueva continues to run rough shot on the parishes' pastors and school principals, and  while the Vicar for the Clergy continues to play silly and petty political games.

In the article, that your can read here ,    

 you can see that Dave Sablan from the CCOG is questioning the wisdom of letting the lawyers, run the clock, rather than trying to really find a solution for the victims. It is an essential and critical topic, which the Archbishop should address himself.

Unfortunately the person leading the negotiations is Fr Ron Richards, who considers (wrongly) that he is a brilliant lawyer. In the meantime, Mrs Villanueva, the CFO makes side deals with some firms, against the court wishes and rules, and keeps bombarding the parishes with Uhkaz of her own.

The big plan apparently is the implementation of Fr Richards, copy and paste scheme called the 

Community of Parishes.

What is a Community of Parishes? This is an idea that germinated back in Europe almost two decades ago, and has found favors in the mainland USA, specially in the Archdiocese of Detroit (where Fr Ron took the idea) and the Archdiocese of Chicago.

 

In Europe, but also in the US many bishops have been faced with a diminution of Church attendance, as well as a lack of priests. At the same time, some smart bishops realized that they were seating on quite a substantial real estate portofolio. The idea was then, to consolidate several parishes together, and close parish buildings first. Then once the parishes were close and reshuffled, the Chanceries would target the endowments that some of these parishes were gifted with. The money was then transferred to the Archdiocese. Detroit and Chicago over the last 15 years have accumulated quite a substantial war chest, thanks to this bait and switch. 

This is the main reason the Chancery here, decided to divide the island in several geographic areas, and call them vicariates. This was supposed to be the first step towards imposing the community of parishes. Already some parishes in the south are sharing one priest. The perfect example, being  Merizo and Umatac. It would appear that Talafofo, might be included in this scheme, with two priest ending up having to handle 3 parishes. If this experience bears fruit, the model could be reproduced all over the island.

The problem is that the Chancery has not notified the priests, and that the advisory councils to the Bishop, notably the Presbyterial council and the college of Consultors have not met in a very long time.

This begs to ask: where is your vaunted Curia?

Basically the clergy has been sidelined, and their needed advises are totally overlooked and not considered in the least.

On the 16th of this month, Archbishop Byrnes released the Archdiocese financial report, which can be found on the Chancery website in a PDF format, despite the upbeat approach of Byrnes, there are many reasons to be concerned. The fashionable communication pattern of releasing bulletins, instead of truly addressing issues at hand, has permeated from Adelup to Agatna.  

 

It is welcome that the CCOG, gives us a sobering evaluation of these issues. We must assure the parishes and its priests that all their work and effort, will not be hijacked by the same devious characters that worked for Apuron, the lawyers and a few carpet baggers.

In the meantime, while the Archbishop is away once more, we are at the mercy of a career oriented priest, and two female civilians. All of whom have their own agenda, which have nothing to do with the well being of the Archdiocese.  

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

 (Posted by Frenchie)

For Months now, this site has pleaded for the Archbishop to lead.

Lead the Archdiocese, lead on morality, lead about the challenges facing this Island, lead the Clergy.

Lead the Chancery.

After several years in the Shadows, it is good to see Archbishop Byrnes finally taking some cautious steps in the public arena of our Island. It is about time that he uses the Bully Pulpit of his office to give some clear directions for the Catholics of Guam, but also to challenge our civilian leaders, who are obviously so lacking at so many levels.

Yesterday, on September 16, 2021 Archbishop Byrnes in a letter to the editor posted in the Guam Daily Post , affirmed his strong opposition to the wanton killing of unborn babies, following last week poorly argumented and poorly researched decision of Federal Judge Tydginco-Gatewood, after several devious moves by Adelup's leading advocate for Abortion on Guam, who allied herself with local attorneys representing the Eugenic camp, and a couple of University professors from Hawaii with medical licenses on Guam, obtained at the last moment, in order to be able to file a couple of lawsuits. It is ironic to watch these activists circumvent the will of the people, (through their elected officials) by using the courts as a wedge.

While several of the Catholic groups tried to alert the public at large, the lackluster defense by the office of the Attorney General, the devious and deceitful manipulations of the administration of Governor Lou Leon Guerrero/Cook, and an unusually highly political maneuver by a Federal Judge, who is normally a lot more circumspect, all contributed to the ruling in favor of online "Morning After "prescription of pills for chemical abortion, by out of State doctors, who actually are medical professors/activists. Again ironic, to see people arguing for the "health of women" use a highly toxic chemical to force an abortion, while the data shows the long term dangers to the women taking that poison.

While all this was happening, the Chancery was asleep at the wheel. So it is a pleasant surprise to read the Archbishop's letter. Even if it is tantamount to closing the barn door, after the horses ran away..

You can read the letter Here

Another pleasant surprise was the letter to the faithful, which was also relayed in Friday's paper by the Post, in which the Archbishop gives good advises regarding several issues of contention facing the whole population of Guam during these challenging times.

These public statements by Archbishop Byrnes are very welcome, and definitely a step in the right direction for the Chancery. It has been too long since we had heard clear and concise guidelines by the leader of our local Church. Let us pray that this the beginning of a positive trend.

A PREMIERE FOR GUAM? OR IS IT ANOTHER GAME OF MUSICAL CHAIRS?

 (Posted by Frenchie)

This past Tuesday, the Chancery informed us of a very unusual, but not unheard of move.

According to a release by the communication director, we have a new Chancellor.

In a terse, poorly written memorandum addressed to the Clergy, Religious, School administrators, and Archdiocesan groups , it was announced that the Archbishop had appointed a new Chancellor.

As a premiere for Guam, we have now the first female Chancellor, in the person of Jennise T. Shimizu.

This should delight the woke crowd who were elated at having a first female governor, and a first openly gay Lt. Governor. (a first for any US State or Territory).

We were also notified that this was effective as of September 15, less that 24hours after the announcement.

We also learned through that memo that Fr. Ron S. Richards JCL, remains the Special assistant to the Archbishop/Episcopal Vicar.

 

 

What does that mean for us the peons in the parishes?

Apparently not much.

This is in fact a play of musical chairs which addresses one of the contradictions we pointed in July, with the rules of Canon Law, regarding the positions of Chancellor and Vicar General.

Since Fr Richards has become the de facto Vicar General, (after the "resignation" of Fr Jeff, and subsequent limbo) under the guise of Episcopal Vicar, it had become a little too obvious except to the blindest of the blinds, that one man was gathering all the powers at the Chancery, and pulling the strings behind the scene, by pretending to facilitate the work of Archbishop Byrnes.

Fr Ron S Richards
 

This slight of hands should not change anything to the bunker mentality and caustic atmosphere at the Chancery.

Jennise Shimizu, should remain a figure head, and continue pushing the paperwork for Fr Richards, Mrs Villanueva will continue to overreach her authority, and making the lives of Pastors and School directors a living hell, while the Vicar for Clergy will continue to be petty and backstabbing his brother priests. Meanwhile the Curia will remain a fiction, real only on paper, but never actually meeting.

It would have been nice and refreshing to see a real change. 

Unfortunately, all we got is more window dressing

CONSEQUENCES OF THE FAILED COUP AT FATHER DUENAS MEMORIAL SCHOOL.

 (Posted by Frenchie)

 

 

Back in June we revealed the attempt by some actors at the Chancery, to rid themselves of the much appreciated and respected principal of Fr. Duenas Memorial School, Mr. Perez aka Temo.

After the story ran, and was subsequently picked up by Kandit News, and several radio talk shows, the shadow people at the Chancery did a 360 degrees, as they were left out to dry when the proposed replacement, who had not even been made aware of the messy situation, declined the position.

The parents of schoolchildren and the powerful allumni association, were quick and efficient in letting their strong displeasure known to the Chancery, which led the shadowy operators like Fr Mike,  Fr Richards and Josie Villanueva, to demonstrate their great talent at CYA.

This left Mr Flores the Super Intendant of Catholic Schools being thrown under the Bus for a second time in less than a year. Think what you want about Mr Flores, but having carried the water one too many times for the back stabbers he reported too, the writing was already on the wall.

Mr Flores has now taken his talents somewhere else. 

The consequence being that the Catholic School system on Guam does not have a Superintendent dedicated to oversee the schools. Rather the job is open, and its duties are temporary filled by Sr. Angela Perez RSM who was already quite burdened as the Pres. of  the Academy Our Lady of Guam School.

 

While we are still facing reorganization under Chapter 11, under the diktats (do what I say, not what I do) of Fr Richards (back on the mainland again)  and Josie Villanueva. There is a definite vacuum of power. Luckily  Father Duenas Memorial School, was able to keep the able leadership of Mr Perez. 

Lets pray Temo does not end up the way of Mr Flores, after people have forgotten the two puppets  masters behind the curtains at the Chancery