Hundreds of bargain hunters packed the car park and the halls of the former Accion Hotel in Agãna, Guam, hoping to find bargains at its cash-and-carry sale last Saturday. Deacon Leonard Stohr said there were an estimated 350 people camping outside the hotel’s entrance at 5:00 am. The hotel had been used to house the Read more
A survey being circulated in the Archdiocese of Agaña claims that Archbishop Michael Byrnes has said that baptisms, weddings, school enrollment and church attendance in Guam are decreasing even though the population has increased. The survey also claims that less than 50 percent of Guam’s population now identify as Catholic. According to the 2010 Census about 75 percent of Read more
The Coadjutor Archbishop of Agaña Michael Byrnes says, since his appointment, making the Archdiocese transparent and accountable has been one of his goals. In that desire for accountability, he is now addressing concerns regarding the Kamalen Karidat (KK) ministries which have been raised by Concerned Catholics of Guam (CCOG). Established in 1993, KK helps provide food Read more
Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-fai, the top Chinese official at the Holy See, has been appointed the apostolic nuncio to Greece. In 2016, he was for some time the apostolic administrator of Agãna, in Guam. Hon’s appointment in Guam followed a request from Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron of Agãna, who was under investigation as a result of Read more
As sexual assault cases against the Archdiocese of Agãna continue to increase, it appears that the Vatican has found itself in trouble with the United Nations. In 2014, the Vatican was summoned to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child committee. It was asked to take concrete steps to remedy decades of institutional Read more
The Neocatechumenal Way should start paying rent for using the Archdiocese of Hagåtña’s Yona property says David Sablan. Archdiocesan Finance Council President Richard Untalan and other council members said the Yona property is one of 41 non-essential archdiocese assets that could be sold to help settle clergy sex abuse cases against the archdiocese. But Sablan Read more
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 Read more
The Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica, in Hagåtña, Guam, incurred $1.9 million in new debt during the past two and a half years, and it is having difficulty paying it back. The cathedral has been placed in an internal receivership, which has taken over its financial management and operations to help pay off its Read more
“My first job is to listen,” said Archbishop Byrnes, the newly appoint coadjutor bishop of Archdiocese of Agãna (Guam). He added he also is aware that he will have to bring about “healing to those who said they have been abused.” “I have heard there are protests outside the cathedral with signs saying, ‘Defrock Apuron,’” Read more
Archbishop Anthony Apuron, the Rev. Pius Sammut and others, in 2014, tried to get the Carmelites Sisters to lie said Mother Dawn Marie, the superior of the Carmelite Monastery on Guam. The Carmelites had anonymously donated the $2 million used by the Archdiocese of Agãna, to buy a former hotel in Yona. They considered suing the church Read more