The Rebel Priest

According to 2006 census statistics, 95% of people on Guam describe themselves as Roman Catholics. Without a doubt, this is an affirmative declaration of Guam’s Catholic heritage, proudly preserved for hundreds of years on our island despite the world’s ever-changing religious climate. Such a definitive number also, however, begs a further inspection of the reasons behind such faithful abidance. On an island where going to Mass is as much an indicator of personal will as it is of cultural expectation, faith risks descending from a spiritual necessity into the arbitrariness of unquestioned tradition.

However, there are those who feel that the Church possesses the ability to reinvigorate the hearts of the congregation and prevent cultural convention from displacing genuine faith. Among the defenders of this belief is Pale Mike Crisostomo who is the Pastor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Toto. After his ordination in 1996, he spent 10 years as the pastor of San Dimas Church in Merizo and San Dionisio Church in Umatac before moving up north to his current position. Although 13 years in the priesthood seems like a relatively short amount of time, Pale Mike has covered plenty of ground already and promises to go much further in his quest to serve the people of Guam.

When I first meet Pale Mike, he is hard at work in the back of one of IHOM’s community rooms with other parishioners doing a renovation of sorts, painting and fixing up the place to create a welcoming environment for the church’s various events and outreaches. “Right—the interview!” he recalls, not with the impression of having forgotten, but rather that of his mental clock clicking forward to yet another mission he has planned for the day. 

When asked by he decided to join the priesthood, Pale Mike jokes, “I couldn’t find a girlfriend at the time.” He laughs. “I’m just kidding! No, I was inspired to become a priest when I looked at the model of the priest we had back then—these were all priests who were assigned to the parish in Barrigada where I grew up. I used to think a priest’s job was just to serve the people and do Mass, because that’s how things were back then.

Today the Church is challenged with issues like homosexuality, gambling, sexual crimes in the Church. These are things we never even thought of or addressed when I was in the seminary. So I thought, ‘Now I have to survive in the priesthood’ at a time when many people were challenging us. People have this perception of priests thinking they’re up there close to God, when really we’re human like everyone else. We are no longer on the pedestal as in the past. I think today you become a holistic person and learn to deal with everything.”

As the Director of Youth and Young Adults in the archdiocese, Pale Mike is more familiar with the culture of the younger generations that most other priests. This culture, he says, has changed significantly in the past ten years into one that doesn’t see God as a priority. He notes that younger people have different needs that are not always satisfied by faith, religion, and organized church—at least in their eyes.

“The Church is competing with reality shows on MTV. Church is not as important (for the youth). Yet we are finding out in the US that there’s a strong need to go back to tradition. A lot of people are wanting to go back to Latin Masses, yearning for the time when churches were more stringent in their teachings.” This seems almost counterintuitive in a time of constant progress — but Pale Mike notes the cyclical nature of this phenomenon. “Because teachings are much less black-and-white now, young people are becoming completely overwhelmed and confused as to where the “truth” really is.”  He continues to explain how church teachings that have been adapted to be less defined and more flexible have actually created a desire in the people for more structure and convention in their church. 

It is clear that youth ministry is Pale Mike’s area of expertise, as well as his passion. “Young people want a church that is accessible, that understands how they are. The church is trying to move forward. Young people have a great role in the church. How do we know what the future will be like if we don’t fashion the minds and hearts of our young people? If we don’t do it, someone else is going to do that and is that what we want?”

Since coming to Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pale Mike has worked hard at turning things around for the better. The parish is under three federal grants: a Stop Violence Towards Women grant which provides referrals to GPD and shelters for individuals who are victims of domestic violence, one from the Department of Youth Affairs called Drug-Free Safe Neighborhoods, and a recent Americorps grant with a parish offshoot aimed at job training for high school dropouts and improving computer literacy.

Next year, the church intends on applying for a grant providing cancer outreach, particularly for breast and cervical cancer victims. Pale Mike also handles campus ministry at UOG where student organizations try to be “the Catholic voice on campus.” He also heads a small staff at the Newman Center nearby. Whether the plan is to make Toto’s church easier to locate (“When I first came here there were no signs! People would know where the mayor’s office across the street was, but they wouldn’t know where Toto Church is!”)  or start a Chuukese Mass, Pale Mike has no intentions of slowing down.

When told that he has been called the “rebel priest,” Pale Mike cries, “Oh NO! That’s a misnomer! But I guess I’m a “rebel” in the good sense, where I am progressive in my thoughts and actions. When it comes to goals, my attitude is, “Let’s think of what we can do to make it happen. If you don’t want to join me, then move out of the way so we can move forward.” So there you have it, Guam. Jump on, or move out — the choice is yours.

Q&A

Do you see many new congregants and how does this contribute to your parish’s diversity? 

We’ve seen a significant increase since last September. One of the council’s goals was to increase attendance. It’s been amazing. A haole couple who live in Tamuning came up to me after Mass one day and said, “We’ve been going to different churches and we find this one the most welcoming.” They loved the teachings, the atmosphere, and the choir. So I said “Of course, this is “IHOM!” The youth actually came up with that—“My home is IHOM”!  We have your regular Chamorros and Filipinos here but we also have a Chuukese and Asian community and, of course, your transit parishioners who shop around for churches. We are very diverse.

How important has your faith in God been throughout your life, through both the good times and the bad?

My faith is, for me, the source and the summit. Without God in my life, I don’t think I’d be able to do half the things I’m doing with young people. I can go on in life knowing that I’m still human and that God still gives me the free will to make my own decisions. My faith in God was challenged when my sister passed away. I was only ordained as a priest for a year at the time. It was one of those personal struggles where I was thinking, “God, I gave my whole life to you and yet you took away my sister’s life?” I almost lost it, I think. It was more my Mom and Dad’s raising me on values of forgiveness and love. So when the funeral of the man who killed my sister came up, my father decided he was going to go. I couldn’t believe it. When I asked him why he just responded, “Someone has to go.” This made me think and so I told him, “You know Dad, if anyone should go, it should be me. I’m a priest, right? I’m supposed to preach and model love and forgiveness.” That’s when I realized that without God I could never really achieve forgiveness. I’m a sinner like anyone else. I wasn’t born a priest and I wasn’t born a saint. People need to know priests are just as human as they are.