Renunciation of Rms Property Will Not Be So Simple

By Neil Pang
Guam Daily Post
August 19, 2016

http://www.postguam.com/news/local/renunciation-of-rms-property-will-not-be-so-simple/article_81a7326e-65ed-11e6-8aa2-372d485acce9.html

On Thursday, Archbishop Hon, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Agana, released a statement in which he addressed issues concerning the Redemptoris Mater Seminary (RMS) property in Yona.

Questions surrounding the current status of ownership of the Yona property have circulated within concerned parties and Catholic laity since documentation filed in November of 2011 when a declaration of deed restriction was filed in the government of Guam.

During his first official address to the media, Hon responded to a question regarding the RMS by stating that the property was still entirely within the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Agana. However, in Thursday’s statement, Hon clarified his stance in saying, "The 'property' was no doubt acquired by the Archdiocese, and yet its use has been conceded in perpetuity to RMS and Blessed Diego Theological Institute."

He concluded his statement with the following: "Thus, I hereby sincerely ask the collaboration of all the faithful to act with obedience to the directive of the Holy See. And, in particular, I request that community which now enjoys in perpetuity the use of the "property" to spontaneously and effectively renounce, without any litigation, such a benefit obtained from the Archdiocese of Agana."

"The community" in question is understood to be officials of the Neocatechumenal Way (NCW) who currently operate out of RMS, said Bob Klitzkie, member of the Catholic faith and former senator.

Klitzkie told the Post that such a renunciation on the part of "the community" would be ineffectual because the action that resulted in the now-contentious declaration of deed was done through legal channels. Therefore, he explained, only similar proper legal action could transfer the deed title back to the Archdiocese of Agana.

However, under the incorporating documents of the RMS corporation, only the board of directors of RMS, with approval of the board of guarantors, has the authority to execute such legal action.

The current board of guarantors includes: Giuseppe and Claudia Gennarini, Archbishop Anthony Apuron and Rev. Angelo Poschetti. A majority of three is needed to make bindings legal decisions concerning RMS.