Events set for Guam’s next archbishop

By Haidee V Eugenio
Pacific Daily News
November 14, 2016

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2016/11/14/events-set-guams-next-archbishop/93785322/

Archbishop Michael Byrnes

Preparations are underway for a series of events to welcome Guam’s next archbishop on Nov. 28, including a Nov. 30 gathering in which all the island’s faithful will have the opportunity to see and hear him.

Upon his arrival, Coadjutor Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes will be welcomed by Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai and other clergy members, the Archdiocese of Agana said.

As coadjutor archbishop, Byrnes, 58, has the right to succeed Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron if Apuron, 71, resigns, retires or is removed. Under church law, bishops are required to resign at 75.

Apuron, Guam’s highest Catholic leader for 30 years, is facing a canonical trial in Rome over multiple allegations of sex abuse of altar boys in the 1970s. Prior to Pope Francis’ decision to appoint him on Oct. 31, Byrnes was auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Detroit.

On his first day on island, Byrnes will join Hon and the clergy in a day of recollection and private Mass at the Saint Therese Chapel at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagåtña.

Later in the afternoon, Byrnes will meet with various local religious men's and women's groups, including the Capuchin friars, the Sisters of Mercy and Sisters of Notre Dame, the archdiocese said.

On Nov. 29, Byrnes will meet with the archdiocese’s Presbyteral Council, the College of Consultors, and the Archdiocesan Finance Council.

The archdiocese said a prayer liturgy is scheduled for the beginning of the “Episcopal Ministry of Archbishop Byrnes as Coadjutor Archbishop of Agana” on Nov. 30 at the cathedral-basilica at 10:30 a.m.

Byrnes will also meet with the various representatives of all parishes, different Catholic schools, Catholic institutions, and other lay ministries. The archdiocese said members of the bigger Guam community, including the government, military and religious will also be invited.

Later in the evening of Nov. 30, Byrnes will preside during Mass at the cathedral-basilica. The archdiocese said it soon will release additional details about the Mass and the church’s official closing of the 50th Jubilee of the diocese and the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

While there was initial apprehension among some community members about Byrnes’ selection, there is also expressed relief from some lay groups such as the Concerned Catholics of Guam, which said the appointment of a coadjutor archbishop means Apuron is on his way out. CCOG has long been pushing for Apuron to be removed and defrocked.

Another group of Catholics, the Laity Forward Movement, said it will continue to lead the picket in front of the cathedral-basilica even after Byrnes has arrived on island and so long as Apuron holds the title of archbishop.

“We welcome the pope's decision to designate a replacement for Apuron,” Laity Forward Movement President Lou Klitzkie said on Monday. “Apuron must be removed from the Archdiocese of Agana.”

Byrnes’ appointment comes on the heels of challenges facing the Catholic church on Guam, including sex abuse allegations against current and former priests, a multimillion-dollar property dispute, and disagreements between different factions of the church including the Neocatechumenal Way over how to worship.

Guam will be Byrnes’ first long-term assignment out of Detroit, Michigan. Hon, who was sent to Guam to temporarily replace Apuron administratively on June 6, said Byrnes should never be considered an “outsider” as some people consider him to be.

Byrnes will be on Guam for about two weeks and then return in January after attending to matters in Michigan and the Archdiocese of Detroit, the archdiocese said.