GUAM
Guam Daily Post
Louella Losinio | Post News Staff
Archbishop Anthony Apuron issued a decree Sunday branding the Concerned Catholics of Guam (CCOG) as a “prohibited society” and forbidding all members of the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Agana from associating with the organization.
Apuron said in the decree that the organization has assumed the name and use of the term “Catholic” without the consent of a competent ecclesiastical authority, as required by law.
But, according to David Sablan, CCOG vice president, the word “Catholic” in the organization’s title refers to the faithful who call themselves Catholic – the laity of the church.
“We are not an organization of the Archdiocese of Agana. Otherwise, we would have to have the blessing and sanction of the archbishop. We know that,” Sablan told the Post.
Sablan said if they were to call themselves the “Catholic Society of Guam” or the “Catholic Organization of Guam,” then the use of the term “Catholic” would need the approval of the archbishop.
“But that is not how we are using that term. We are identifying ourselves as Catholics – persons who are baptized Catholics, bound together for a common purpose which is not related to associations needing the approval of the appropriate ecclesiastical authority (the Archbishop of Agana) as defined in Canon Law,” he said.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.