Concerned Catholics of Guam VP says RMS should be shut down

By Krystal Paco
KUAM
August 29, 2016

http://www.kuam.com/story/32859279/2016/08/28/concerned-catholics-of-guam-vp-says-rms-should-be-shut-down

During a press conference this afternoon, Concerned Catholics of Guam Vice President Andrew Camacho said that in his opinion the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Yona is a sham, “the beauty of its exterior masks an empty shell. This seminary should be shut down,” he said.

Camacho cited a comparison between the functions of the RMS to that of the St. Patrick’s Seminary in California.

He noted the following deficiencies at RMS:
- Lack of strict requirements for admittance to the program
- Lack of true vetting process for students
- Poor quality of the faculty to teach courses
- Poor quality of the permanent and visiting faculty
- The sole focus on the Neocatechumenal Way
- Priests who do not serve the faithful in Guam
- The high cost of running the RMS (approximately $200,000 comes from the archdiocese of Agana according to the CCOG)

The CCOG reiterated its mission: Return, Restore, Resign:
- The RMS seminary property must be RETURNED to the Archdiocese of Agana
- Fr. Paul Gofigan and Monsignor James Benavente must be RESTORED to their former positions
- Anthony Apuron must RESIGN

“There is no middle ground. Unity in this Catholic community will only be achieved when “Return, Restore, Resign occurs,” Camacho stated.