Since he's obviously no longer wanted at the Order of Malta, and there are no vacancies in Siberia or at the South Pole... https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2017/02/15/cardinal-burke-sent-guam-preside-sex-abuse-trial/ Cardinal Burke sent to Guam to preside over sex abuse trial ROME - Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, a church law expert and former head of the Vatican’s highest court, arrived in Guam Feb. 15 as the presiding judge in a church trial investigating allegations of sexual abuse leveled against Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron of Agana. The Vatican press office confirmed a “tribunal of the first instance” was constituted by the Vatican Oct. 5 and its presiding judge is Cardinal Burke. Four other judges, all of whom are bishops, also were appointed, the press office said. “When an action is in a ‘first instance’ court, that indicates that it is in the initial trial phase,” according to the website of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles accusations of clerical sexual abuse. Three men have publicly accused Apuron of sexually abusing them when they were altar boys in the 1970s. The mother of a fourth man, now deceased, also accused the archbishop of abusing her son. Apuron has refused to resign, but in late October, Pope Francis named former Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Michael J. Byrnes as coadjutor archbishop of Agana and gave him full authority to lead the archdiocese. Roland Sondia, who works for Pacific Daily News and is one of Apuron’s accusers, told the newspaper that he had received a letter from Burke requesting his presence at the Agana archdiocesan chancery Feb. 16 “for the purpose of giving said testimony.” At a news briefing Feb. 10, according to Pacific Daily News, Byrnes announced the archdiocese would adopt the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. Accusations of clerical sexual abuse involving minors automatically would be reported to civil authorities, he said. Also at the briefing, the archbishop confirmed that Vatican investigators would visit Guam, but he provided no further information.
https://www.ewtn.co.uk/news/holy-see/card-burke-sent-to-island-of-guam-12-155-km-from-rome Card. Burke sent to island of Guam, 12,155 km from Rome Cardinal Burke, the former prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Holy See's highest court, has been sent to the island of Guam to act as the presiding judge of a trial of Archbishop Apuron. Archbishop Anthony Apuron was removed from office in June 2016 following allegations of child sexual abuse. Guam is a U.S. island territory in Micronesia, in the Western Pacific, with a population of 165,124. The Holy See announced Cardinal Burke's appointment as judge overseeing a "tribunal of the first instance" on the day His Eminence arrived on Guam, Wednesday February. 15. A report in the Guam Daily Post indicates that Cardinal Burke has been working in his role as judge since at least February 3rd 2017. The Guam Daily Post reports: A tribunal from the Vatican, which will be led by a cardinal, is scheduled to hold a secret hearing on Guam this week to speak to at least one of the victims accusing Archbishop Anthony Apuron of sexual abuse. Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, a canon lawyer and former head of the Vatican’s supreme court, signed a decree on Feb. 3, 2017, requesting that one of Apuron’s accusers, Roland Sondia, appear personally before Burke later this week on Guam. The cardinal wrote the decree “in fulfilling the office of judge.” Sondia was being summoned “for the purpose of giving testimony” in the Apuron case, according to the decree. A Vatican equivalent of prosecutor and an advocate for the accused will also hear the accuser’s testimony, according to the decree. The Vatican case concerning Apuron had a protocol number that may indicate the case involving Apuron was opened in 2008, although it was unclear if the sex-abuse allegations were filed with the Vatican that early. The case is before a Vatican office that deals with “faith and morals.” Burke further wrote that he will be talking to some of Apuron’s accusers after he was delegated by Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, who leads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The head of the congregation is the Pope’s designee, and the congregation’s role is “to promote and safeguard doctrine regarding faith and morals throughout the Catholic world,” according to Vatican.va. A second document dated Feb. 6, 2017, called Sondia to a hearing before a “tribunal” that will hear his testimony in a “confidential” process and “under pontifical secret.” The call for Sondia to appear at this hearing was sent after “as this tribunal has been informed of your readiness in the above-titled case regarding accusations against His Excellency, the Most Reverend Anthony Sablan Apuron.” The “citation” for Sondia to appear before the tribunal on Guam referred to the same case protocol number from 2008. Comment Is it usual for the Holy See to appoint a retired Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura to act as a judge in a trial of the first instance on a remote island in the pacific ocean? Granted the case is very serious, involving as it does allegations of child sexual abuse against an archbishop. Guam is 12,155 km from Rome.
http://www.onepeterfive.com/rumors-news-cardinal-burke-sent-guam/ From Rumors to News: Cardinal Burke Sent to Guam Steve Skojec February 15, 2017 0 Comments Every time it seems that things can’t get weirder in the Catholic Church, they do. As Oakes Spalding reported yesterday, rumors have been flying about major things happening behind the scenes in Rome. Among these rumors are several related to Cardinal Burke, some indicating that he had been “silenced”; others saying that he had begin cancelling scheduled engagements. Several days ago, I received word that a well-placed source had revealed that Cardinal Burke was being recalled to Rome to be sent immediately to Guam to deal with the deposition of a bishop there. I want to stop for a moment to say something important on this topic: it is difficult to explain, to those accustomed to the fact-based reporting standards of Western Journalism, that intrigue and rumor are the primary vehicles of information transfer in the world’s oldest bureaucracy. Press conferences in Rome, when they happen (or when their principals bother to show up) are just the tiny tips of rather substantial icebergs. Everyone is always playing the long game at the Vatican. Politics, positioning, power-plays. I recently joked that if we didn’t report on Vatican rumors, there wouldn’t be anything about the Vatican to report on at all. (After all, we can’t even get a direct answer from the pope to the dubia. Trying to nail down solid information is like grasping at shadows.) We are not, at this phase of our existence as a publication, a full-fledged news shop. We don’t have journalists we can send around the world to investigate stories, even if we could afford to. We rely on a number of international relationships, inside sources, existing reporting, and the like. We are given a great deal of information all the time by our contacts, and we have to sift through it for what we can ethically share. We try very hard to leave as much hearsay as possible on the cutting room floor, seeking out only the most credible information to pass on. Just this morning, in fact, I found myself turning down an extremely important piece of news given to me by someone trustworthy because I don’t want to report these things without a first-hand source. I have no interest in 1P5 becoming, essentially, a Vatican TMZ. So when I heard about Cardinal Burke being shipped off to Guam, I had to sit on it, even though I was reasonably certain it was true. And as it turns out, it is: A tribunal from the Vatican, which will be led by a cardinal, is scheduled to hold a secret hearing on Guam this week to speak to at least one of the victims accusing Archbishop Anthony Apuron of sexual abuse. Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, a canon lawyer and former head of the Vatican’s supreme court, signed a decree on Feb. 3, 2017, requesting that one of Apuron’s accusers, Roland Sondia, appear personally before Burke later this week on Guam. The cardinal wrote the decree “in fulfilling the office of judge.” Sondia was being summoned “for the purpose of giving testimony” in the Apuron case, according to the decree. A Vatican equivalent of prosecutor and an advocate for the accused will also hear the accuser’s testimony, according to the decree. The Vatican case concerning Apuron had a protocol number that may indicate the case involving Apuron was opened in 2008, although it was unclear if the sex-abuse allegations were filed with the Vatican that early. The case is before a Vatican office that deals with “faith and morals.” Burke further wrote that he will be talking to some of Apuron’s accusers after he was delegated by Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, who leads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Am I the only one who finds this incredibly suspicious? Cardinal Burke’s official functions within the Church have been effectively reduced to zero. He is no longer at the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s high court. He has, to my knowledge, been removed from all the curial positions he previously held, including the Congregation for Bishops. He is still listed as the Cardinalis Patronus of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, but after Pope Francis effectively annexed the sovereign body, replaced its Grand Master with a figurehead, restored its most controversial member of the Sovereign Council, appointed a papal delegate who would take over relations between the Vatican and the Ordeer (previously the Cardinal Patron’s job), and saw to it that the forcibly-retired Grand Master placed blame on Cardinal Burke for the whole fiasco, it’s hard to imagine that his role there is anything but nominal from here on out. So why Burke? And why Guam? I was unable to find a history for Cardinal Burke in dealing with such matters that would make him the logical designee. Does he have experience in this area? And if so, certainly, there are other places where such services are needed — places far less remote. Guam is 7,552 miles from Rome. The only countries further from Rome are Australia and New Zealand, and not by much. Guam is a Micronesian island in the South Pacific, an unincorporated U.S. territory with fewer than 200,000 people and a total land mass of 210 square miles. It is the home of several US military bases, the closest landmass to the Mariana Trench — the deepest known spot in the Ocean — and in an odd tidbit of Church history, the Jesuits were expelled from Guam in 1769 under Spanish law. Was Burke sent by Müller on his own initiative, or by Müller at the pope’s request? If the former, was this to remove him from Rome for his own good? If the latter, is this a form of exile, like the shipping off of Archbishop Bugnini to be the pro-nuncio to Iran in 1976 after he became inconvenient, and suspected of being a Freemason? Is Burke’s work on the dubia gumming up the machine? Or will Burke only be there for a short time? Rumors in Rome that something big is coming persist. Is the timing of this dispatch related? Is it an attempt to get him out of the way? Is this a move to break up the Four Cardinals by removing their de facto figurehead from Rome, where he has the greatest visibility and influence? Unfortunately, at this point in time we have more questions than answers. But this is a story worth keeping an eye on, and we plan to do just that.
But how long will Cardinal Burke be resident in Guam? Isn't he there to oversee the investigation into a bishop? Surely these procedures don't take that long.
A true Saint can be anywhere and his/her holiness will radiate. They do not need to be anywhere because they are with God.
We don't know yet how long he will be there, but the powers that be obviously wanted hm out of Rome and away from the spotlight for the immediate future. The question is, "why'? What is coming from the Vatican in the near future?
Guam is not such a bad place. I spent some time there back in my BUF Days ... was that really 40+ years ago!!?? Nice beaches and one of the most beautiful Sunsets in my life at the Top o' the Mar Navy "O" Club. ......... Cdl Burke is obviously being exiled where he is outta sight & outta mind ... any doubt that 2017 is the YEAR for momentous events!!?? GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
There's this great old gospel song--and this makes me think of it. "I have decided to follow Jesus/i have decided to follow Jesus/I have decided to follow Jesus/no turning back, no turning back" "Though none go with me, yet I will follow/though none go with me yet I will follow/no turning back, no turning back..." Even if none go with you, if you're walking behind Jesus that's the best company to have. "The cross before me, the world behind me/....no turning b ack, no turning back." Bravo Cd. Burke.
Time to check out Google Earth because I haven't a clue where Guam is but that's where I'll head for if there's no proper Mass being celebrated here after they dumb down the liturgy. Beaches are great but in the middle of the Pacific probably means tropical weather of sweaty summers and mosquitoes. I hope they have air conditioners.
Since he's obviously no longer wanted at the Order of Malta, and there are no vacancies in Siberia or at the South Pole... The whole shenanigans reminds me of the cartoon....." the roadrunner" (I remember watching when I was a child.) The coyote constanly tried to remove the roadrunner off the face of the earth by various extreme means. But the road runner always survived, and continued to do what roadrunners do! I hope the same goes for Cardinal Burke!
I wonder whether the Pope realises that the more vindictively he treats the Cardinal, the worse it reflects on himself? Probably not if the halo of humility slipped down over his eyes.
There may be a place for him as Chaplain on the next NASA moon mission. Oh poor man, I shouldn't laugh but there is a funny side to it. Praying for the poor Cardinal , they are certainly nailing him to the Cross and doing it in quite a public and malignant fashion. I can see why folks in the Vatican are in a state of sheer funk. Guam. For goodness sake. Guam
It seems to me that the poor Cardinal is being sent into a very complex situation. Guam is interesting because of the very strong influence of the 'Neo-Catechumenal Way' in the Church on the island (indeed some believe that the local Church has been 'taken over' almost totally by the group to the extent that non member priests will not be incardinated and those already there encouraged to move off the island). Archbishop Apuron is a member of the NCW whose founder and leader takes a very strong line on homosexuality to a degree that even traditional Catholics find disturbing (the Archbishop has apparently written approvingly of Muslims beheading them!). As might be expected, he took a very strong line against a proposal for same-sex marriage on the island. The NCW's founder is a layman and artist called Kiko Arguello who started his first community in the 60's and who is regarded as a Prophet by (at least) some NCW members. His organisation has been spoken of approvingly by several Popes beginning with Pope Paul VI and most recently Pope Francis who met Kiko Arguello and addressed NCW members on 6 March 2015. (Sr. Arguello has some very interesting theological opinions which do not appear to have resulted in any queries from Rome - e.g. we go into a dreamless sleep at death and wake up at the general resurrection). All sorts of questions arise in this situation. I would guess that Pope Francis' expressed approval of the NCW is genuine since some of their attitudes seem to mirror his own (others admittedly do not). So, the NCW (a recently Papally approved organisation) has a prominent member (the Archbishop himself) in an archdiocese and who has done much to further the organisation and its aims there and who has been accused of sexual as well as financial offences (though whether or not the latter are still being investigated is not clear. The NCW have a clear incentive to defend the Archbishop but those who despise him for attacking homosexuality in such strong terms have an incentive to make accusations of illegal and homosexual acts against him. The Archbishop strongly denies the allegations and resisted the appointment of a replacement pending the outcome of investigations. Strangely the accusations are now years old without any progress in the investigation which appears to have been stalled for years. Suddenly very urgent action is in hand, I wonder why. It may be that it is Cardinal Muller and not Pope Francis who has decided to send in a reliable Canonist to remove the alleged stranglehold of an alleged sect from the Church in Guam as well as dealing with the accusations. It might also be that he has been sent to a geographically isolated island and into a situation in which he cannot win. It will be interesting to see how long he is there and the outcome of his work. “In April 2008, the Japanese Bishops’ Conference sent a delegation “to discuss with Pope Benedict XVI “the serious problem” they are having with the Neo-catechumenal Way and its seminary in Takamatsu diocese”. Peter Takeo Okada, Archbishop of Tokyo, said that “in the small Catholic Church of Japan, the powerful sect-like activity of Way members is divisive and confrontational. It has caused sharp painful division and strife within the Church. We are struggling with all our strength to overcome the problem but feel that if a solution is to be found, the consideration of Your Holiness for the Church in Japan will be of the utmost importance and direly needed” (UCANews – April 29, 2008). "On April 2008, Cardinal Jorge Medina Estévez (Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments) also criticized Neo-catechumenal liturgies, reporting that they effectively disobeyed to the letter of 1 December 2005: “In their liturgies I found weird things and strange issues. The Holy See has asked them to correct and obey; I also ask them to do, because the liturgy is not a property of someone, and not even Kiko Argüello’s” “The Holy Communion, seating instead of kneeling (an absolute disrespect to Christ)” “Then the homilies: lay people – I repeat: lay people – do sermons that even if not called “homilies”, they indeed are. Only a priest or deacon can. These are dangerous abuses.
About C. Burke's "assignment" to Guam: The Vatican has sent conservative Cardinal Raymond Burke to the Pacific island of Guam to investigate an important case alleging sexual abuse, dispatching a seasoned jurist who has clashed repeatedly with Pope Francis for a sensitive mission halfway around the world. The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith back in October named Burke the presiding judge in its trial of Guam Archbishop Anthony Apuron, who is facing multiple allegations of sex abuse of altar boys in the 1970s, the Vatican press office said Wednesday. more.....http://www.wsoctv.com/news/national...ve-cardinal-to-guam-as-investigator/494462791
And now this...... Ex-altar boy refuses to testify at Vatican Guam abuse trial Posted: Feb 16, 2017 2:57 AM ESTUpdated: Feb 16, 2017 9:07 AM EST HAGATNA, Guam (AP) - A former altar boy who accused Guam's longtime archbishop of sexually abusing him refused Thursday to testify before a Vatican court headed by American Cardinal Raymond Burke on the grounds that he couldn't have his lawyer present. Roland Sondia met with Burke and other Vatican officials who traveled to the Pacific island U.S. territory to take testimony for the trial of Guam Archbishop Anthony Apuron, attorney David Lujan said. Lujan said the proceedings were "worse" than he had expected because he wasn't allowed to be present to advise his client, who was to have been "questioned by the prosecutor, who is a priest, and Archbishop Apuron's lawyer, who is a priest, and a presider who is Cardinal Burke, and a notary who is also a priest." "We felt it wasn't in my client's best interest to be in that position," he said. He said Sondia may submit a written declaration instead. Apuron is facing multiple allegations of sex abuse of altar boys in the 1970s. Sondia, now an adult, has publicly accused Apuron of molesting him when he was 15. Apuron has denied the claims and has not been criminally charged. Lujan said another witness - the mother of a deceased altar boy who also accused Apuron - would also refuse to testify. It wasn't clear how the lack of testimony would affect the church trial. The alleged victims have sued Apuron, the archdiocese and other individual priests in U.S. courts, which could explain their reluctance to testify in a separate legal procedure. Those lawsuits were made possible after the Guam legislature last year passed a law that lifts the civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse. more...... http://www.wsiltv.com/story/34518001/ex-altar-boy-refuses-to-testify-at-vatican-guam-abuse-trial
http://www.eyeofthetiber.com/2017/0...vaticans-congregation-of-janitorial-services/ Burke Named Head Of Vatican’s Congregation Of Janitorial Services Admin The Vatican announced today that Pope Francis has named Cardinal Raymond Burke to be the first prefect of the Congregation of Janitorial Services. Francis’ decision to choose the staunch conservative to head the new department is a sign to many that Francis does see a role for Burke in his pontificate, despite disagreements the two have had in the past. Several sources in the Vatican say that Francis chose Cardinal Burke because he is known to work well “cleaning up messes.” “His Holiness is well aware of Burke’s obsession with cleaning things up,” said Vatican advisor Monsignor Leonardo Valdes. “[Pope Francis] is well aware that Burke has OCD when it comes to filth, and would like to see him channel some of that energy in a different direction. Perhaps if Burke can focus more of his energy on making sure all the garbage cans are cleaned out every night and so on, he might finally be able to overlook some of the liturgical and moral messes.” The new Vatican office will have the responsibility for the promotion of clean work spaces for the curia and those working inside the walls of the Vatican, so that their mission to promote peace and to help proclaim the love of Christ will be easier to accomplish.
