“Alas, as your servant in Christ, I, too, share in your daily challenges and pains,” Camacho said in his message to the faithful. “I refer now to recent developments in one of our parishes wherein its members experienced waves of hurt on many dimensions — personal, pastoral, congregational, and perhaps more.”
He didn’t identify the parish in his message but apparently he was referring to Kristo Rai Church and a dispute among its parishioners.
Camacho calling for unity among the faithful.
“We are a very small community in the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa. But no matter how small we are, we are the church, we are God’s people. Each one of us makes the whole. We all are different parts of the same body,” he said.
“I am thus calling on each of you to continue to contribute to the wholeness of the church — our church,” the bishop added.
Some church members claim that the Parish Pastoral Council of Kristo Rai is attempting to remove the parish priest, Glen Ragsag, who is off-island.
Fr. Ryan Jiminez of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa said the priest left Saipan for a vacation in the Philippines.
“He has a round-trip ticket,” he told Variety.
Camacho said although “misunderstanding, conflicts or jealousy” existed even among the disciples of Jesus but they “were able to overcome these things, because of their faith in and love of the Lord Jesus. Their faith in Christ made them one.”
Quoting John 1:3, he added. “Their fellowship was with the Father and with his son, Jesus Christ.”
According to the bishop, “I could imagine that these apostles were different and unique in almost all aspects of their lives — personalities, capabilities, moods, gifts, weaknesses, and yet, they were all bound by one common identity — that of being a disciple of Christ, and so together, they formed a community of disciples sharing the same faith in Christ Jesus.”
