GUAM
Pacific Daily News
Written by
Tim Rohr
Each Lent the Catholics of Guam are asked to contribute to a special “appeal.” Traditionally, most of the funds collected during the appeal were used to help finance the formation of priests for this diocese who were normally sent to seminaries in the states.
In 2002, with the establishment of Redemptoris Mater Seminary, or RMS, in Yona, Guam Catholics were led to believe that this was a seminary for Guam and that our men would no longer have to be sent to seminaries in the states. Appeal funds began to flow directly to RMS.
Over the years, it occurred to some that there was something suspicious about RMS. Not only were there hardly any local men there, the place was teeming with seminarians who had been brought to Guam by the archbishop from several other countries.
Guam Catholics are used to having clergy from other countries assist our archdiocese, but these men at RMS were not clergy. They were untrained aspirants to the priesthood who required years of education and financial support — our financial support.
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