GUAM
Guam Daily Post
By Chris Wong | Post News Staff
A chorale ensemble sang religious hymnals deep from within the Dulce Nombre De Maria Cathedral-Basilica, the music echoing through the hall, making its way through a corner vestibule of the cathedral where Coadjutor Archbishop Michael J. Byrnes shared his thoughts on pain during a preconference event Wednesday, before the official start of his episcopal ministry of the Catholic Church on Guam.
“Pain is something we all fear, but it’s something we can’t avoid,” Byrnes said. “We as a church here in Guam, there’s a lot of pain, a lot of different kinds of pain. Betrayal of trust causes pain, we experience from the news of honestly the sexual abuse of minors the accusations, the allegations, the victims themselves are suffering tremendous pain, shame, guilt, but that pain radiates. It radiates throughout our dioceses, and in this pain, one of the pains we feel is our inability to trust one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. That pain of alienations is one of the deepest, we question each other, we even start to question God. ‘Where are you in all of this?’
A lot to learn
“I know I’ve got a lot to learn over these weeks, days, months and years. I know that there is a lot of hope, and I know just having a new face, a new person lifts a little bit of some of the pain and some of the sadness. One of the things I wanted to say today might be a little shock to you,” Byrnes said.
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