New Book about Damien

Anwei and Henry Law's recent book, Father Damien ... 'A Bit of Taro, A Piece of Fish, and A Glass of Water,' is more than a book about St. Damien de Veuster of Molokai. It's a book about leprosy and the disease's effect on the people of Hawaii, and especially those who lived in Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai. "Father Damien has always been regarded as the center of their history. If you read other books on Kalaupapa and their history, it's all about Father Damien," explained Anwei Law, who with her husband, Henry, resides in Seneca Falls.

Father Damien de Veuster, a Belgian missionary, was ordained in Honolulu in 1864 and in 1873 arrived in Kalaupapa, which at the time was a settlement for Hawaiians with leprosy. Men, women and children who were diagnosed with leprosy were taken from their families and sent by boat to the island and were not allowed to return to their own homes and communities. The Belgian priest ministered to people there for 16 years before dying of leprosy himself in 1889 at the age of 49.

Pope Benedict XVI canonized the priest Oct. 11, 2009, and called St. Damien a "shining example" of Christian love, according to Catholic News Service. "He invites us to open our eyes towards the 'leprosies' that disfigure the humanity of our brothers and sisters and that today still call, more than for our generosity, for the charity of our serving presence," the pope said during the canonization Mass, which more than 40,000 people attended, according to CNS. "You really see the impact that this man has had on people," Anwei Law said. "He stood up for what was right. He knew what he needed to do. He just loved the Hawaiian people."

The Laws' book is not the first to be written about St. Damien, and it's not likely to be the last. It is, however, the only book the Laws know of that focuses on the viewpoints of the people with leprosy St. Damien lived amongst, Anwei Law said. The Laws' book presents the story of St. Damien as told through the letters and testimonies -- passed down through oral histories -- of the people who knew him. "We were trying to bring the voices of the people who had leprosy back into the story of Father Damien," Anwei Law said.

Although much has been written about St. Damien and about leprosy, which is now called Hansen's disease, the voices of the people affected by this disease have been conspicuously missing in written history, Bishop Clarence Silva, bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu, noted in the forward to the Laws' book. "Even though they wrote hundreds of letters and petitions and provided eye-witness testimony to the historical events of the 19th and 20th centuries, their perspective simply hasn't been included in the traditional histories," Bishop Silva wrote in the foreword.

Throughout history, the voices of those with leprosy have been discounted as unimportant, Anwei Law said. This discrimination continued even after the 1940s, when the first cure for leprosy was developed, she said. Even well-respected doctors and lawyers have faced discrimination after contracting the disease, she noted. "People thought when you got this disease you no longer had any credibility ... as a human being ... and you're worth nothing anymore. People are people, no matter if you have leprosy or not," Henry Law said. "In every religion and culture, men, women and children have been discriminated against," Anwei Law added.

This discrimination still exists today, but she and her husband hope their new book will be a weapon against such discrimination. Their inclusion of the voices of people who've actually lived with the disease leaves less room for misinterpretation, she said. "When people's voices are included, they are able to define themselves rather than be limited by the imagination and perceptions of others who did not know them," she said. The Laws have long advocated for people who've dealt with leprosy. Anwei Law's father was a leprosy researcher, and she became interested in the disease at a young age. In 1977 she moved to Kalaupapa to continue her own research, and there she met Henry Law, who was working as an architect for the National Park Service. The couple lived in Kalaupapa for several decades before moving to Seneca Falls several years ago.

The couple still visits Hawaii several times a year and is active within the International Association for Integration, Dignity and Economic Advancement, which is the largest international advocacy organization by and for individuals who've faced the challenges of leprosy. Proceeds from the sale of Father Damien will be donated to IDEA, Henry Law said. "We're just saying that the discrimination and the labeling of people really has to stop," Henry Law said.

The Laws' book may be ordered online for $25 at www.fatherdamienmolokai.org, or by sending a check payable to IDEA to PO Box 651, Seneca Falls, NY 13148.
By Jennifer Burke
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The Management of Kalaupapa

Jan. 28th: - The Associated Press reported yesterday that State Senator J. Kalani English, who represents Molokai, has proposed legislation that would transfer management of the Kalaupapa settlement form the state Department of Health to the Department of Hawaiian Homelands.

The transfer would not happen until there are no more patients receiving care in Kalaupapa. At this time there are 19 patients living in Kalaupapa, all are over the age of 65. Senator English said the state should prepare for more visitors interested in the historical, cultural and religious significance of Kalaupapa.

Because there are some Hawaiian homesteads on the north shore of Molokai in Kalawao County, English believes it makes more sense for the DHHL to manage this area once the patients are gone.
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Blessed Statue - Mother Marianne Cope

The statue of Mother Marianne Cope, who served Hansen's disease patients in Hawaii for 35 years, is to be dedicated today at Kewalo Basin Park commemorating her role in Hawaii history. CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM

Hawaii Star Bulletin: Jan. 23rd: - The 6-foot bronze statue of Mother Marianne Cope at Kewalo Basin was crafted by Sister Rosaire Kopczenski of Pittsburgh and depicts Cope striding forward, veil swept by the wind. The Sisters of St. Francis installed the bronze image of Cope, who brought the first Franciscan nuns to Hawaii in 1883 in response to King Kalakaua's call for help in caring for leprosy victims. The image of a religious woman swathed in full-length habit and veil seems an anomaly in the location frequented by pleasure seekers, lightly clad swimmers, surfers, joggers and fishermen.

Sister William Marie Eleniki said the site is a perfect fit not only because the nuns landed nearby when they arrived on the ship Mariposa, but because Kakaako was the location of the first government hospital opened for leprosy patients when the disease reached epidemic proportions in the late 19th century. "When people see this statue, we hope they will understand the unconditional love that Mother Marianne had for those who were shunned from society simply for the misfortune of having Hansen's disease," said Eleniki, chief administrator of the St. Francis Healthcare Foundation. Near the shoreline, the figure faces toward Molokai. Cope and other sisters went to Molokai in 1888 to continue the work of Father Damien De Veuster at the Kalaupapa peninsula settlement, where more than 8,000 patients were isolated during a century of quarantine. She died there in 1918.

The installation needed approval from the Hawaii Community Development Authority. The state board, which regulates all Kakaako development, has approved other memorials in public parks, requiring that they have a link with the area and that the sponsors commit to maintaining them. "We thought there was a clear nexus since she served at the Kakaako branch receiving hospital," said Executive Director Anthony Ching. "She was also known to be an avid fisherman and likely fished in the harbor area." Ching added, "We all recognize that Mother Marianne is a heroic figure with little notoriety who did a great service to the people of Hawaii." There was a delay in the approval process last year after the Citizens Planning Advisory Council for Kakaako objected to the initial site, an area overlooking the Point Panic surfing area. "The objection was not to the memorial," Ching said. "They objected to the placement," which would reduce space in a shady area where surfers gather.

Sister Rosaire Kopczenski of Pittsburgh depicted Cope striding forward, veil swept by the wind, and a foot taller than her 5-foot height. "She never stood still. Her energy and determination reached out beyond her size," said the sculptor, who taught art at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and in Pennsylvania. Kopczenski said she crafted the statue's hands in "hula movements, one reaching out and the other touching her heart in empathy," based on consultation with a kumu hula during a five-week stay in Hawaii in 2008. "Working on the statue was a labor of prayer, a spiritual experience," she said. "I took a lot of contemplative time," seeking to capture the depth of the subject and make it "a spiritual expression of serving God through what a human being can do." She visited the site Wednesday as workmen completed the installation while homeless men, outcasts of modern society, watched from nearby shade. A plaque on the base says, "This statue serves as an inspiration to never give up caring for those whom society has abandoned." It quotes Cope's letter to island officials: "I am hungry for the work. I am not afraid of any disease, hence it would be my greatest delight even to minister to the abandoned."

The Catholic Church is considering a cause for sainthood for the nun because of her 35 years of service to outcasts. Cope was declared "blessed" in May 2005, the second step in the canonization process. Pope John Paul II set Jan. 23, her birthday, as her feast day in the Catholic liturgical calendar.
By Mary Adamski
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Award for Damien Film

La Verne, Ca, January 17, 2010: Jennifer Hoge, of Premier Image Productions, has won a prestigious Award of Merit from The Accolade Competition. The award was given for Jennifer Hoge's feature documentary, Damien Making a Difference, God Making a Saint, which tells the story of Damien of Molokai through his own words, commentary, and narration. Fr. Damien de Veuster was named a saint by the Catholic Church on October 11, 2009. Damien Making a Difference, God Making a Saint features exceptional use of Damien's letters and journal writings, as if Damien is telling his own story. Damien's voice is portrayed by Tom Wilson, well-known comedian and best known as Biff from Back to the Future. Mike Laponis, University of La Verne Professor, lends his voice as the narrator. Commentary is provided by Fr. Micahel Barry, ss.cc., Fr. Martin O'Laughin, ss.cc., and Fr. John Roche, ss.cc.

"This film was a collaboration of efforts by many people and it was a pleasure to be a part of it," Jennifer Hoge said. "I am proud of the film and am honored that it has been recognized by the Accolade Competition. Damien Making a Difference, God Making a Saint, touches everyone who watches this film in so many different ways. When I started this production, I had no idea what we were setting out to achieve. It was going to be about Damien, but it became so much more than that. Damien's life was an example of how the touch of God influences each and every one of us. This film became an extension of that."

The Accolade recognizes film, television, and videography professionals who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity, and those who produce standout entertainment or contribute to profound social change. Entries are judged by highly qualified professionals in the film and television industry. Information about the Accolade and a list of recent winners can be found at www.theaccolade.net.

In winning an Accolade, Premier Image Productions joins the ranks of other high-profile winners of this internationally respected award. Thomas Baker, Ph.D, who chairs The Accolade, had this to say about the latest winners, "The Accolade is not an easy award to win. Entries are received from around the world. The Accolade helps set the standard for craft and creativity. The judges were pleased with the exceptionally high quality of entries. The goal of The Accolade is to help winners achieve the recognition they deserve."

Premier Image Productions produced Damien Making a Difference, God Making a Saint in association with the Secular Branch of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary USA West.

Copies of Damien Making a Difference, God Making a Saint can be obtained for a suggested donation of $30 by writing SSCC USA West PO BOX 668 San Dimas, Ca 91773 or e-mailing ssccwest@cpl.net

For more information or to request a pdf file of the film's press kit with production stills, screen shots, cast bios and photos, director's statements, and film notes, please contact Jennifer Hoge at jenniferhoge@premierimageprod.com
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This story rings true: St. Damien's Big Island church bell discovered

(Left) The former Waiapuka bell in St. Stephen Church, Nuuanu. Its plaque reads, “The original St. Stephens Catholic Church Bell.” (Right) This undated Sacred Hearts Congregation photo had the caption “Church of Waiapuka Kohala built by F.D. dismantled by F. Servitius its bell in St. Stephen’s Church Nuuanu Honolulu”

When researching the Catholic Church’s history in Hawaii, I have always taken an interest in old church bells. This a story of one such bell.

On Nov. 6, 1932, Bishop Stephen Alencastre blessed the church of St. Stephen in Nuuanu, Honolulu. During the construction of the church, an old abandoned bell from a dismantled church in Waiapuka on the Big Island was installed in the tower. One can only imagine how faithfully it had served the Hawaiian Catholics of Kohala in those early mission days. Now, once more, it was called upon to do the same for the faithful of Nuuanu.

In 1968, the parishioners with their pastor, Father Joseph Turk, built the present-day St. Stephen’s and, in its modernistic tower, new bells were inserted. The old bell, no longer needed, was put to rest in some inconspicuous area on the church grounds. Abandoned again, it would remain quietly there through the passing years. In the 1990s, a thoughtful parishioner, the late Robert Dong (everyone called him “Uncle Bob”) provided a stock — the harness-mount — for the bell. Some time later, someone decided to bring the venerable object out of the cold into the warmth of the church building. And here, in the back corner of St. Stephen Church, the old bell sits today.

On the morning of Oct. 11, the day Pope Benedict XVI canonized Father Damien in Rome, St. Stephen’s pastor, Father Khanh Pham-Nguyen, asked me to celebrate the parish Mass and talk about Hawaii’s new saint. A few days earlier, I was suddenly struck by this thought: Could there be a connection between our honored saint and the old Kohala bell?

Before going to Molokai, the young Belgian priest had devoted many years of his early ministry in the Kohala-Hamakua region. Could this be the bell that once served Father Damien’s Waiapuka mission in Kohala? A letter written home by Father Damien makes this notion plausible. Writing to his parents on Oct. 12, 1869, while he was serving in Kohala, he mentioned a bell. “At present I have three churches to serve at fifteen miles distance one from another,” he wrote. “The last church I built is a fine-looking building with a nice little tower. I am still waiting for the bell that Auguste (his older brother, Father Pamphile) has so often promised me, but it never comes … As there is no bell yet, we call our people together with a horn.”

This indeed is a “letter of interest,” but it was not a convincing proof for the notion I had in mind. I had to look at the old bell itself for an answer. Old church bells can reveal a lot of things. Years ago I had climbed the rickety wooden stairs in the tower of Our Lady of Peace Cathedral in Honolulu to see what one of Hawaii’s oldest church bells would tell me. On its bronze surface were inscribed in French the words: “My name is Marie Louis Maigret, Bishop of Arathia … 1853.” Since then, I have always referred to this century-and-a-half-year-old metal hulk as the “MAIGRET BELL.” (Louis Maigret was the missionary bishop in Honolulu when the cathedral was built. Since Honolulu was not a diocese at the time, he was named to the titular diocese of “Arathia.”) Now, I made a hurried visit to the Nuuanu parish to examine closely the Kohala bell. The inscription I found was brief. It gave the name of the Paris foundry where the bell was made. But what followed was a most happy revelation! It was the date: “1872” The date 1872 definitely indicated that the bell had served one of Father Damien’s mission churches in Kohala. But more than that, I am convinced that this is the bell mentioned in Damien’s 1869 letter to his parents; the bell he anxiously had expected from his brother Auguste; the bell he planned to install in the “nice little tower” of a church he had built.

The bell must have arrived in Hawaii that year of 1872, much to the joy and satisfaction of the priest and people of Kohala. The following year, God had other plans for Father Damien. On May 10, 1873, he began his new ministry on the island of Molokai. After my discovery, Father Christopher Keahi, superior of the Sacred Hearts Fathers in Hawaii located an old undated picture in an archives photo album of a church with a small bell tower and this caption: “Church of Waiapuka Kohala built by F.D. dismantled by F. Servitius its bell in St. Stephen’s Church Nuuanu, Honolulu.” Father Keahi’s explanatory note said that “F.D.” is Father Damien and “F. Servatius” is Father Servatius Thys, who took down the Waiapuka church in 1932 (the year St. Stephen was built) after it congregation “apparently moved to other sites.”

On the Sunday I offered the Mass at St. Stephen’s, the day Benedict XVI declared Damien a saint, I spoke to the parishioners about their prized possession — St. Damien’s old mission bell. Perhaps no one was happier and more proud than the pastor himself, Father Pham-Nguyen. He assured me that the bell would not remain silent. This “DAMIEN BELL” will continue to ring out in God’s service as it did in the mission days of old.

By Father Louis H. Yim
Island-born Father Yim is a retired pastor, diocesan archivist and historian.

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Feeding the Poor is Priest's Mission

JOHN SLADEWSKI/The Standard-Times The Rev. Gabriel Healy, SS.CC. of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, founder of Damien's Place food pantry, is the Wareham Man of the Year.
Wareham, Mass: - His dream was to become a missionary serving in foreign lands, but instead he made SouthCoast his mission field and feeding its poor his life's work. For his compassion and devotion to the poor, the Rev. Gabriel Healy, SS.CC. of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, is the 2009 Wareham Man of the Year. Nominations for the award came from the community and members of the newspaper staff. Recipients were selected by a newsroom committee.
Healy said he was born with a "missionary heart." The Dorchester native became aware of his special calling in elementary school when a missionary spoke to his class about foreign missions.
"I was so excited and that feeling has never left me," he said. "Even now as I reflect on 52 years, my heart still beats with the desire to serve God."
In high school, Healy read about the life of Father Damien de Veuster, the Roman Catholic missionary who ministered to lepers on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. "It gave content and depth to that sense of mission and nurtured in me the desire to belong to the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts," he said. "To this congregation I was called, and from this congregation I was almost separated."
In seminary, Healy's studies were interrupted by illness and he went home for surgery. The superior wrote to him urging him to stay home and recover; however, the letter he actually received told him to return. When he arrived, the superior conceded; and he continued his studies. "There was never any doubt in my mind that God's will was reflected in the letter I received, and here I am," Healy said. "This was a deciding point in my vocation, and it made me feel deeply then, as I do now, that there are never any accidents with God."
Following ordination, he was filled with anticipation as he waited for his first missionary assignment, which could take him anywhere in the world. A fellow priest was sent to Japan, and Healy longed to go there. But he learned he was going to teach in California because of his frail health.
Over the years, Healy would serve locally as the congregation's vocation director, assistant novice master, novice master, treasurer, director of development and mission animator, as well as pastor of St. Anthony's Church in Mattapoisett and of Holy Trinity Church in Harwich.
At Holy Trinity, Healy, with the help of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, established The Family Pantry to serve the poor on Cape Cod. It has since been renamed Gabriel's Place in his honor.
In 1992, he opened a second food pantry, Damien's Place, in Wareham, as an outreach of the Sacred Hearts Retreat Center. "The pantries now serve thousands of hungry families," said Father Thomas McElroy, SS.CC., who serves as co-director. "Father Gabe is the person behind the scenes, buying food, begging food, improving the pantry's outreach. ... No one would suspect that this quiet, joy-filled man was the reason for so many hungry people having their needs fulfilled."
An octogenarian, Healy can still be found on Saturday mornings at Damien's Place.
"I love the poor. They need to be loved," he said. "If you believe that what you are doing is God's will, life becomes a series of opportunities — of trying to be or become what God has found in you. Only God looks deep enough, long enough and hard enough to see who we are, then with patience, love and forgiveness guides those who keep his covenant to the promise of a life fulfilled."
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