BishopAccountability.org

CCOG: Deadline to take back RMS approaching

By Neil Pang
Guam Daily Post
November 14, 2016

http://www.postguam.com/news/local/ccog-deadline-to-take-back-rms-approaching/article_b3ef4cd8-a978-11e6-9c75-03fad41376d8.html

APURON OUT: Protests continued yesterday outside the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica by Catholic faithful calling for Archbishop Anthony Apuron to be defrocked and for the return of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary property to church patrimony. Around 58 protestors formed a picket line outside the cathedral's front doors yesterday morning.
Photo by Jose Martinez

Despite the strides taken by the Catholic Church to address a concerned laity, the weekly protests outside the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica continued yesterday with the clockwork-like precision that all have come to expect from them.

According to Laity Forward Movement spokeswoman Lou Klitzkie, the protests will continue until their demands are met – namely, the removal of Archbishop Anthony Apuron as the Ordinary of the Archdiocese and the return of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary to church patrimony.

While Apuron's exact status remains tenuous, pending a canonical trial in Rome that is supposed to be ongoing, the appointment of coadjutor archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes at least suggests that a clear line of succession is now in place in the eventuality that Apuron is removed.

According to Concerned Catholics of Guam president Dave Sablan, Apuron's removal is a foregone conclusion – especially with the filing of the suits against him by child sex abuse survivors Roland Sondia, Walter Denton, Roy Quintanilla and Leo Tudela.

"We already know Apuron will not resign his office, so the next option for the Vatican is to remove him from his seat," Sablan said in an email. "Since the lawsuits alleging sex abuse by Apuron has been filed recently, the case for Apuron's removal as Archbishop of Agana is strengthened. It is only a matter of time now - a few weeks or a few months, but he will be removed."

Sablan, in his capacity as president of CCOG, has been a long-time advocate for church transparency and a major critic of Apuron since the declaration of the controversial deed restriction of the RMS property in Yona filed on Nov. 22, 2011.

RMS deadline

While Sablan says that CCOG supports Byrnes' appointment and that they hope he will not take too much time in familiarizing himself with the issues, Byrnes' may not have much to say concerning the RMS property in Yona.

According to Sablan, the deadline that any affected party has to file a complaint in the Superior Court of Guam is five years after the initial deed restriction filing.

"If no complaint is filed by 21 November 2016, then anyone affected by that transfer has no recourse to petition the court for the reversal or return of that property to the previous owner," Sablan explained. "In other words, the Archdiocese of Agana loses that property, and title is clearly vested in the Redemptoris Mater Seminary Corporation henceforth."

Sablan said that they have been encouraging the Archdiocese of Agana to file the complaint because they are the affected party and, as such, stand to lose a very valuable asset to a corporate body outside the authority of the Archdiocese of Agana.

Sablan added that they have been in communication with both Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, apostolic administrator for the Archdiocese of Agana, and Rev. Jeff San Nicolas and noted that they had been cooperative thus far. Sablan said that he presented copies of the legal opinion concerning the deed restriction and title transfer compiled by Attorney Jacques Bronze and explained to them how such a complaint could be filed.

While Sablan said that CCOG is waiting for the Archdiocese of Agana to file the complaint, he confirmed that CCOG is prepared to move forward before the Nov. 21 deadline if the church makes no headway.

Root problem

According to Sablan, one of the root problems concerning the RMS property dispute is the influence of the Neocatechumenal Way.

"A major root problem is the influence of the (NCW's) hierarchy in the affairs of the Archdiocese of Agana, and the control they had over Archbishop Apuron to do their bidding, these past 20 years since their 'invasion' of our archdiocese advising and urging Apuron to do things to benefit their organization at the expense of the Church on Guam," he said.

It was decisions made at the behest of these urgings that, Sablan explained, led to the concerns of CCOG and others within the Catholic laity.

"We are being cautious with Archbishop Byrnes' because of his public statements thus far saying he wants to look at 'both sides' of issues affecting our archdiocese," Sablan said. "In Church affairs, there is only one side - the side of good against evil; right against the wrong. We hope he is on the side of right and good."

Contact: neil@postguam.com




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