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 Redemptoris Mater Seminary until it was closed down at the end of December in 2017.

Some of the proceeds from the sale of items in the former hotel will go toward a special fund that may be needed to compensate clergy sex abuse victims.

The land and buildings are also listed as one of the 41 non-essential properties that could be sold to help settle sex abuse lawsuits.

The ownership of the hotel has been the subject of controversy.

The money used to buy the property was donated by Carmelite nuns in the United States.

In 2011 Archbishop Anthony Apuron signed a deed restriction that allowed a seminary and theological institute controlled by the Neocatechumenal Way to use the Yona property indefinitely.

At a press conference in November 2016, Mother Superior Dawn Marie of the Carmelite Monastery on Guam said the donors were disappointed that the property was not used for its intended purpose because of the influence of the Neocatechumenal Way.

The Archdiocese of Agãna subsequently regained full control of the property after Archbishop Michael Byrnes used his authority to cancel the deed restriction.

Source

• guampdn.com
• guampdn.com
• guampdn.com
• Image: guampdn.com /Rick Cruz

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 after finding out the property was not being used by the archdiocese, but for a seminary operated by the Neocatechumenal Way,

Sr Dawn Marie says they were asked to state that they had purposely earmarked their gift for the use of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary and for the Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores Catholic Theological Institute for Oceania.

She said it was a "pretty toxic environment for the nuns to live in."

"Because the gift was an anonymous gift from the very beginning, that anonymity was not respected by the archbishop."

"So many people knew and misunderstood that the Carmelites in Malojloj had donated the $2 million. The Carmelite community in Guam hadn't even have a savings account," she said.

The latest edition of The Archdiocese of Agãna's newspaper, Umatuna Si Yu'os corrected its earlier story about the ownership od trhe former hotel.

A story published on the front page of the newspaper on 29 November last year it carried the headline indicating that the Archbishop was the legal and sole owner of the property.

The story did not include any information about a declaration of deed restriction that clearly stated that the Owner hereby covenants and declares that the Property is and shall be held, used, transferred, sold and conveyed subject to the covenants and restrictions set forth herein:

The restriction stated:

The property shall be dedicated, to and for the use, of the Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary of Guam, a non-profit coporation with identification number #66-0626532, in perpetual use as a see of the Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary of Guam, and by the Blessed Diego Luis de san Vitores Catholic Theological Institute for Oceania."

This week, the Archdiocese announced that it has "acted to transfer complete and unrestricted control and possession of the Yona property back to the Archdiocese of Agaña."

Source

• umutuna.org
• guampdn.com
• Image: guampdn.com

A statement released by the The Archdiocese on September 1 re-iterated its request that the Neocatechumenal Way "renounce the benefits granted through a deed restriction."

A deed restriction signed by Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron allows the Redemptoris Mater Seminary and the Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores Catholic Theological Institute for Oceania to use the Yona property in perpetuity.

The statement says such a step would help significantly in the Archdiocese's efforts to restore unity and build harmony between all members of the Church on Guam.

The Yona property, valued between $40 million and $75 million, is the former 100-room, oceanside Accion Hotel.

The statement also expresses Archbishop Hon's sincerest apologies for the hurt and wounds which the former members of the archdiocesan finance council had suffered as a result of their improper dissolution of the same council.

The former finance council members want to clear their names four years after they were abruptly terminated, in January 2012.

On Wednesday last, the dismissed members of the finance council accused Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron of going behind their back in 2011 when the archbishop, with help from other people involved with the Neocatechumenal Way, "secretly" recorded a deed transferring a church property in Yona to the Redemptoris Mater Seminary.

They said council, during a September 2011 meeting, had denied the Redemptoris Mater Seminary's request to transfer the title of the Yona property to the seminary.

The statement issued by the Archdiocese also made it clear that "while moving forward, the Archdiocese welcomes criticism."

"With discernment, acceptance and humility, we understand that criticism is a bridge that leads to improvement."

Source

• umatuna.org
• guampdn.com
• Image: arm3.staticflickr.com

According to John Taitano, a council member of the Toto parish, the church only collected $150 of its more than $5,000 goal.

Taitano previously stated parishioners "overwhelmingly" opposed to giving donations to the appeal this year because of transparency concerns.

He said many Catholics on island don't agree with the Neocatechumenal Way, a global movement within the Catholic Church, and believe the teachings of the Redemptoris Mater are in line with the Neocatechumenal Way.

Father Adrian Cristobal, spokesman of the Chancery office, explained in the Archdiocese newspaper how funds from the Archdiocesan Annual Appeal (AAA) were divvied up between July 2014 and May of this year.

"The Redemptoris Mater Seminary relies mostly on donations and fundraising," Cristobal wrote. "It is false to say that all the monies collected by the AAA goes to the Redemptoris Mater Seminary."

"Only 26 percent" went to the Redemptoris Mater Seminary, according to Cristobal. The St. John Paul the Great Archdiocesan Seminary received 36 percent while 20 percent went to chaplain's expenses.

Taitano said he doesn't agree with the Chancery's breakdown of the funds from the appeal.

He said there's still a lack of transparency and the archdiocese should publicize the documents that show how the finances were spent.

"If in fact these are the figures you're providing, then show it to us," Taitano said. "Show us how much is being spent. … Show us those documents."

There are currently 37 diocesan seminarians studying at the Redemptoris Mater, with 26 of them studying for the Archdiocese of Agana, Cristobal said.

The remaining 11 seminarians came from other dioceses such as the Diocese of American Samoa and Archdiocese of Apia, which pay for their respective seminarians.

Source

• guampdn.com
• umatuna.org
• Image: umatuna.org