Archbishop Files Lawsuit over Seminary Land

By Jasmine Stole
Pacific Daily News
January 25, 2017

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/01/25/archbishop-files-lawsuit-over-seminary-land/97029258/

Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes is seeking a court order, affirming the church’s control over the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Yona, according to a lawsuit filed in Superior Court of Guam.

A hearing in the case Wednesday morning was pushed back until May 3 because none of the defendants have received the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed on Nov. 18, 2016. Nine days before that, Byrnes signed a decree canceling, repealing and rescinding the 2011 declaration of deed restriction that allowed the Yona seminary to be controlled by the Neocatechumenal Way indefinitely, Pacific Daily News files state.

The Redemptoris Mater Seminary, the Redemptoris Mater House of Formation, the Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores Catholic Theological Institute for Oceania and 50 unnamed others are identified as defendants.

The lawsuit is a protective measure, according to church attorney Ignacio C. Aguigui.

Byrnes last year amended the paperwork and bylaws of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary and the Redempotris Mater House of Formation, which gave him full control of both organizations, the lawsuit states.

The amended paperwork also made Byrnes the only person authorized to take any action on the property and the seminary, according to the lawsuit.

Through the lawsuit, Byrnes is asking the court to award a quiet title to affirm his ownership, a court order confirming that the defendants have no enforceable interest in the property, and a court order prohibiting the defendants from taking any action that could adversely affect the archbishop’s rights to the property.

Byrnes is also seeking a court order prohibiting any of the defendants, or others acting on their behalf, from filing anything with the government asserting ownership over the Yona land, the lawsuit states.

jstole@guampdn.com