GUAM
Guam Sunday Post
Cover story
Tony Azios
Announcements following Sunday Mass typically focus on matters important to a healthy, functioning community, but mundane to the outside world – reminders of an upcoming fundraiser, a change of schedule for the weekly men’s meeting, details of a rosary in honor of a parishioner’s mother. But last Sunday night, as the 6 p.m. Mass wrapped up at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Yigo, Rev. Patrick Garcia took the opportunity to lead the congregation in a drill.
“Members of the media may come up to you and ask who the archbishop is,” he reportedly said. “Don’t embarrass yourself. Say Savio Tai Fai Hon, not Anthony Apuron.”
Garcia instructed the congregation to repeat Hon’s full name after him several times aloud. As dusk fell, Our Lady of Lourdes echoed with the chorus of the name of a man sent by the Vatican to remedy a church in crisis.
One way or another
Before the recent allegations of sexual abuse against Archbishop Apuron (who currently retains the title but none of the administrative authority of the office), a series of diverse scandals has steadily rocked the foundations of the Archdiocese of Agaña. Much of the conflict is rooted in a perceived power struggle between mainstream Catholics and the Neocatechumenal Way – an organization within the Catholic Church with practices outside traditional Catholic custom. Far beyond a theological disagreement, the situation has devolved into allegations of fiscal mismanagement and the appropriation of community assets; open accusations of corrupt, self-serving relationships among some archdiocesan leadership; the transfer of control of a valuable piece of real estate functioning as a seminary from archdiocesan control to a board controlled by Neocatechumenal officials; the removal of two popular priests; and, the perceived neglect of some parishes in favor of others.
Many devout Catholics on Guam now refuse to attend services held by priests adherent to the Neocatechumenal Way, also known as the NCW. Many “Neos” return the sense of distrust toward the island’s traditional Catholics, claiming persecution by slander.
“The [local] Church is divided. That is a fact,” said David Sablan, vice president of Concerned Catholics of Guam (CCOG), a nonprofit organization formed to give voice and direction to concerns regarding the NCW on Guam and Apuron’s alleged misconduct.
“Apuron has basically abdicated his office to support one particular organization within the archdiocese when he really should be at the head of all of the organization,” said Sablan. “He’s not doing that, and as a result we’re basically without a shepherd and are in a confused state.”
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