Protesters: 'We want our church back'

By Jojo Santo Tomas
Pacific Daily News
November 02, 2015

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2015/11/01/protesters-we-want-our-church-back/74991398/

Photo by Frank San Nicolas

Photo by Frank San Nicolas

Photo by Frank San Nicolas

Members of Katoliku Asta i Finatai-hu protest the Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron's $200 plate, 70th birthday party at Hyatt Regency Guam in Tumon on Nov. 1. Photo by Frank San Nicolas

Holding signs that read “Reform, Restore, Resign” and “I Love my Catholic Church,” at least 50 Catholics gathered for a protest in Tumon on Sunday.

The protest brought together many concerned Catholics who feel their church being torn apart. Protesters gathered at four corners of the entrance to the Hyatt Regency Guam hotel, where Archbishop Anthony F. Apuron was inside, celebrating his birthday with hundreds of guests who paid $200 each for the gala fundraiser.

Many protesters said the money could better be used elsewhere.

“We have been waiting for more than a year for him to talk to us about the problems of our church, and he has said nothing, done nothing, to address our issues,” said Vangie Lujan, of Chalan Pago. She is a 30-year Catholic and sings for the choir at the Agana Cathedral.

“We want transparency. Why we’re here? He wants to raise $300,000 tonight … but he never uses this amount of resources, or effort, to raise funds for other parts of the church like Kamalen Karidat. He doesn’t use his resources to help Catholic Social Services.

“And yet, he will do everything for the RMS? Or the St. John Paul II? And they’re saying the bills of the Cathedral … but we know it’s going to support the Neocatechumenal way. When is he going to start supporting the rest of us Catholics? We want our church back.”

Lujan was referring to the Redemptoris Mater and St. John Paul II seminaries, schools that prepare young men for a life in the clergy.

High profile birthday

Apuron said that he allowed Gala Chairman Peter P. “Sonny” Ada to use his 70th birthday as a selling point for the gala.

More than $110,000 was expected through ticket sales alone, but it did not include other donations made through other means, such as silent auctions. Apuron said every penny is needed.

“It’s like going to college. Parents always shell out money for college education. So these boys, these seminarians are undergoing formation, academic formation, and so there’s always need of money to help them through. The money goes to the operational needs of the institutes,” said Apuron. “As for the Cathedral, we have a $3 million debt that we have to pay. And so I said to use my name, use my popularity — if you can call it that — and people are happy, it seems. I’m told there are already 600 people here. So whatever the net proceeds are, it will be divided into three. I get nothing.”

Apuron said he was aware of the group outside but did not understand why they were protesting at that event.

“The things that we’re doing tonight are good for all of Guam,” he said.

Ada said that it was an honor to connect the fundraiser with the Archbishop’s 70th birthday, and was overwhelmed by the response. He too, did not understand the protest.

“I don’t know why they’re there. I guess they are free to do what they want off the premises. So I really can’t comment to it because I don’t know what they’re protesting, and I don’t know who ‘they’ are,” said Ada. “We’re here for a celebration, to thank the Archbishop for his years of service and to support the Archdiocese overall and its needs. This supports God’s work on the island … God’s work is to spread his Word, which brings faith, hope and love to people. I think that’s what the island needs, so I want to thank the many supporters that have come out.”

Jaden Comon, a seventh-grade Catholic school student from Mongmong, supported the protest outside. He enjoys his theology classes; he serves at his parish and is a devout churchgoer. He said he’s seen a recent division of the church, and said that those who follow the Neocatechumenal Way, including the Archbishop, are doing things differently than how he was raised.

He also said it was disrespectful to hold a gala event on a day set aside to honor saints.

“I’m concerned, and many of my fellow students are concerned about the news coming out of the church. The Archbishop fired two priests … that was shocking,” he said. “You shouldn’t fire them because you’re their father. You don’t tell them to leave, you work with them, you nurture them and you guide them. You are their father. You’re supposed to be everyone’s father, which is why people look up to you.”