Archbishop Michael Byrnes issued pastoral letter last month asking the Neocatechumenal Way to put a one-year pause on the formation of its new communities on Guam.
He also asked them to celebrate Mass in accordance with the Catholic Church’s general instructions and norms.
Byrnes said he intends to appoint a priest delegate to review the Neocatechumenal Way’s basic pastoral theology principles or teachings, ensure the group’s catechists are sufficiently formed and certified and help the archbishop discern the effects of these efforts.
An now David Sablan, president of Concerned Catholics of Guam, has written letters and made phone calls to leaders of the Catholic church on Saipan, Chuuk, Palau and other islands warning them off the Neocatechumenal Way.
He says the Neocatechumenal Way is at the root of all the problems the Church in Guam is experiencing.
He alleges the Neocatechumenal Way:
- Lacks a valid mandate from the pope
- Celebrates Masses in a way that does not conform to the general instruction of the Roman missal.
- Uses of Catholic church and parish resources while it does not conform to canon law.
“We strongly suggest that you do not allow this heretical sect to enter your diocese,” he said.
“They have caused so much division within our Archdiocese of Agãna, pitting family members against each other, when some members of a family join the NCW while other members continue to practice their Catholic faith in the way their parents and grandparents have raised them,”
Last Father Jeffrey San Nicolas, the delegate for Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, said , “I am hopeful that the strings disproportionately empowering the national and international leadership of the to interfere with our local affairs will be cut.”
“If the Neocatechumenal Way is to minister to the faithful, let it happen organically, not through force or manipulation.”
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