VATICAN INSIDER: SERVANT OF GOD JOSEPH DUTTON: HAWAII’S THIRD SAINT?

As you may already know, the Vatican websites have been up and down for several days, and are down, in fact, as I write this column. vaticannews.va is down but vatican.va is up, although the English language site has not been updated since November 30.

A Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said Wednesday that the Holy See had taken down its main vatican.va website amid an apparent attempt to hack the site.  Without expanding on what caused the problem, he said, “Technical investigations are ongoing due to abnormal attempts to access the site.”  Numerous users online, in fact, noted that the site was unavailable as of Tuesday morning. The sites have been up and down since Wednesday afternoon, with many attempts producing “404” error messages.

The link you see below has nothing to do with what I normally bring you daily in this column but the World Cup is on, and it’s hard to ignore stories related to this global event that, every four years, mesmerizes most of the world’s population for a month!

I saw a story today that I found to be very interesting – all about the traditional Arab headgear that is taking the games by storm. It quotes one Swiss fan as saying he has “been surprised by how indulgent Qataris — and others from across North Africa and the Middle East — have been when it comes to foreigners adopting and appropriating local customs and clothing, something that is generally seen as disrespectful in Europe and North America.”

Being an American who lives in Europe, it was that soccer fan’s statement that drew my attention. I think you’ll enjoy this piece and perhaps even learn something new. It’s the World Cup’s Hot Accessory. But Should Fans Wear It? – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

VATICAN INSIDER: SERVANT OF GOD JOSEPH DUTTON: HAWAII’S THIRD SAINT?

This week, in what is normally the interview segment, I’ve prepared a Special Report on Joseph Dutton. The past two weeks, you heard Fr. John Paul Kimes of Notre Dame University, which has a large archive on Dutton, speak about this Servant of God, and I take another look at Dutton’s life this weekend.

This layman, born in Stowe, Vermont, came to the island of Molokai at the age of 44 and then for 44 years worked alongside Sts. Damien and Marianne Cope caring for the victims of leprosy who had been exiled to live here by the King of Hawaii.

As you know I am an official member of the Historical Commission for Dutton’s cause for canonization and have been doing research here in Rome in the archives of the SSCC Fathers, priests of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the Order to which St. Damien and all his successor on Kalaupapa have belonged.

The Dutton Guild ordered holy cards with a third class relic to be made in Rome.

As you can see, if you ask for and receive a favor or miracle through the intercession of   Servant of God Joseph Dutton, please write to The Joseph Dutton Guild, P.O. Box 3344, Honolulu, Hawaii 96801 (USA)

Formerly known as the Sandwich Islands, the name was changed to Hawaiian Islands in 1840. It was a kingdom under Hawaiian rulers for just over 80 years, starting in 1810. Hawaii became a U.S. State in 1959. Hawaii now has two saints. Will she soon have a third in Joseph Dutton?

IN THE UNITED STATES, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (stations listed at www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio, or on http://www.ewtn.com. OUTSIDE THE U.S., you can listen to EWTN radio on our website home page by clicking on the right side where you see “LISTEN TO EWTN.” VI airs at 5am and 9pm ET on Saturdays and 6am ET on Sundays. On the GB-IE feed (which is on SKY in the UK and Ireland), VI airs at 5:30am, 12 noon and 10pm CET on Sundays. Both of these feeds are also available on the EWTN app and on www.ewtnradio.net ALWAYS CHECK YOUR OWN TIME ZONE! For VI archives: go to https://www.ewtn.com/radio/audio-archive and write the name of the guest for whom you are searching in the SEARCH box. Below that, will appear “Vatican Insider” – click on that and the link to that particular episode will appear.

 

VATICAN INSIDER: FR. JOHN PAUL KIMES, NOTRE DAME AND JOSEPH DUTTON (PART II) – MY THANKSGIVING PRAYER…

I will be enjoying several days off – Thanksgiving Thursday and “Black Friday” – EWTN’s gift to staff members at this time of year. Just another reason to be both happy and grateful!

I will remember all of you – my blog readers, TV viewers and radio listeners – at Mass tomorrow, praying for your health, happiness, spiritual well-being and special prayer intentions.

Below you will find my personal prayer of thanksgiving – I hope you might see yourself in my words!

VATICAN INSIDER: FR. JOHN PAUL KIMES, NOTRE DAME AND JOSEPH DUTTON (PART II)

Join me this weekend on Vatican Insider for Part II of my off-the-cuff interview with Fr. John Paul Kimes, Canon law professor at the university of Notre Dame and member of the Historical Commission for the cause of canonization of Servant of God Joseph Dutton. Dutton, a layman was companion, caregiver and friend for 44 years, alongside Sts. Damien and Marianne Cope, to the victims of leprosy on Kalaupapa, a peninsula of the Hawaiian island of Molokai.

Father John Paul and I spoke after a recent event in Honolulu for this cause of canonization, a gala, fund-raising luncheon that brought together just under 500 people from several Hawaiian islands. He gave an over-the-top keynote address at that event! This took place during a week in Hawaii in which I was also sworn in as an official member of the Historical Commission, a huge honor!

Father Kimes, a riveting storyteller, tells us about the link between Notre Dame University and Joseph Dutton and explains what he has learned of Dutton by researching the university archives on this Servant of God. You’ll love every minute of our conversation!

Fr. John Paul had arrived in Honolulu the night before the luncheon and had to get to the airport almost immediately afterwards for his return flight so finding time – and a place! – to have this conversation was a real blessing, almost a miracle.

The only available space, in fact, was in a small hallway off the main hallway not far from the room where our luncheon was. A table and two unoccupied chairs seemed to be waiting just for us. Not an acoustically perfect setting, however, so you’ll hear some faint background conversation as people walk by in the main hall but Father John Paul is such a great storyteller that you may not even note it!

IN THE UNITED STATES, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (stations listed at www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio, or on http://www.ewtn.com. OUTSIDE THE U.S., you can listen to EWTN radio on our website home page by clicking on the right side where you see “LISTEN TO EWTN.” VI airs at 5am and 9pm ET on Saturdays and 6am ET on Sundays. On the GB-IE feed (which is on SKY in the UK and Ireland), VI airs at 5:30am, 12 noon and 10pm CET on Sundays. Both of these feeds are also available on the EWTN app and on www.ewtnradio.net ALWAYS CHECK YOUR OWN TIME ZONE! For VI archives: go to https://www.ewtn.com/radio/audio-archive and write the name of the guest for whom you are searching in the SEARCH box. Below that, will appear “Vatican Insider” – click on that and the link to that particular episode will appear.

MY THANKSGIVING PRAYER…

Dear Lord, how have you blessed me? Let me count the ways…..

My wonderful family, my beautiful faith, my ocean of friends, the friends throughout your great universe whom You have brought into my life.

Does a day pass that You do not bring some unique, new person into my life? The newest member of my wonderful, large family? A friend from another country? Another wonderful seminarian or priest added to the many who have made my life and my faith so fulfilling? The list is so very long!

Does a day pass that I am not enriched and blessed by some amazing event that You placed in my path as a learning moment, a time of prayer, a period of silent Thanksgiving? You blessed me at my baptism when You brought me into your beautiful Catholic Church and a faith to which I have always tried to be faithful.

You have blessed me by enriching that faith over the years, allowing me to work for You every day, to bring Your Word and Your teachings and Your Truth to so many. My words, by comparison, are very insignificant but truly heartfelt.

I am filled with both thanksgiving and joy as I write these words, as my mind’s eye overflows with images of each family member, of friends here in Rome and around the globe, of the magnificent events that daily fill my life.

I sign most emails and letters with “God bless,” and below that, my name “Joan” – but I read it silently as “God bless Joan.” And, Lord, You HAVE blessed me! Heartfelt Thanks!

VATICAN INSIDER: FR. JOHN PAUL KIMES, NOTRE DAME AND JOSEPH DUTTON

For the latest in papal interviews: Pope: peace between Russia and Ukraine is possible, don’t forget the poor – Vatican News

VATICAN INSIDER: FR. JOHN PAUL KIMES, NOTRE DAME AND JOSEPH DUTTON

What an exciting guest I have this weekend and next on Vatican Insider! I feature an off-the-cuff interview with Fr. John Paul Kimes, Canon law professor at the university of Notre Dame and member of the Historical Commission for the cause of canonization of Servant of God Joseph Dutton. Dutton, a layman was companion, caregiver and friend for 44 years, alongside Sts. Damien and Marianne Cope, to the victims of leprosy on Kalaupapa, a peninsula of the Hawaiian island of Molokai.

Father John Paul and I spoke after a recent event in Honolulu for this cause of canonization, a gala, fund-raising luncheon that brought together just under 500 people from several Hawaiian islands. He gave an over-the-top keynote address at that event! This took place during a week in Hawaii in which I was also sworn in as a member of the Historical Commission, a huge honor!

Father Kimes, a riveting storyteller, tells us about the link between Notre Dame University and Joseph Dutton and explains what he has learned of Dutton by researching the university archives on this Servant of God. You’ll love every minute of our conversation!

Fr. John Paul had arrived in Honolulu the night before the luncheon and had to get to the airport almost immediately afterwards for his return flight so finding time – and a place! – to have this conversation was a real blessing, almost a miracle.

The only available space, in fact, was in a small hallway off the main hallway not far from the room where our luncheon was. A table and two unoccupied chairs seemed to be waiting just for us. Not an acoustically perfect setting, however, so you’ll hear some faint background conversation as people walk by in the main hall but Father John Paul is such a great storyteller that you may not even note it!

Here we are with Msgr. Robert Sarno who worked for 38 years in Rome at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

IN THE UNITED STATES, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (stations listed at www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio, or on http://www.ewtn.com. OUTSIDE THE U.S., you can listen to EWTN radio on our website home page by clicking on the right side where you see “LISTEN TO EWTN.” VI airs at 5am and 9pm ET on Saturdays and 6am ET on Sundays. On the GB-IE feed (which is on SKY in the UK and Ireland), VI airs at 5:30am, 12 noon and 10pm CET on Sundays. Both of these feeds are also available on the EWTN app and on www.ewtnradio.net ALWAYS CHECK YOUR OWN TIME ZONE! For VI archives: go to https://www.ewtn.com/radio/audio-archive and write the name of the guest for whom you are searching in the SEARCH box. Below that, will appear “Vatican Insider” – click on that and the link to that particular episode will appear.

ALOHA FROM HONOLULU! – THE INCREDIBLE LIFE OF JOSEPH DUTTON, A SERVANT TO THE SAINTS AND SOULS OF HAWAII

ALOHA FROM HONOLULU!

It was a long weekend of travel but I am in Honolulu, half way around the world from Rome!

I am here for a big fund-raising event on November 9 for the cause of Servant of God Joseph Dutton. I will be meeting my colleagues of the Joseph Dutton Guild of which I am a member and, in fact, this afternoon I will have the honor of being sworn in a member of the Historical Commission for the cause of canonization of Joseph Dutton. I have been doing research for months in the archives of the order of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the order to which Fr. Damien belonged and the order that today still has priests on Kalaupapa where Damien, Marianne and Dutton heroically served victims of leprosy for decades.

To learn more, read the story below that I wrote a year ago for Our Sunday Visitor. In addition, for even more info about the Guild, the cause and Dutton, go to www.josephdutton.org

Stay tuned – I’ll be back in a day or two.

THE INCREDIBLE LIFE OF JOSEPH DUTTON, A SERVANT TO THE SAINTS AND SOULS OF HAWAII

Those who know me well know of my love for the magnificent land that is our 50th state, Hawaii. I have developed a true Hawaiian “ohana,” a family, on my 10 trips to this paradise, and we all have two things in common: our love for Hawaii’s two saints, St. Damien and St. Marianne Cope, and our hope for a possible third saint.

On my first two trips to Hawaii in 2008 and 2012, I researched both future saints before their canonizations — Damien in 2009 and Marianne in 2012. I visited all the sites linked to their lives and read whatever I could, especially personal writings and diaries. Theirs were such courageous stories — years dedicated to ministering to the victims of Hansen’s disease (leprosy) who lived in exile, mostly in unspeakable conditions, on a handkerchief-sized piece of land in the Pacific.

I also heard the stirring story of a layman, Joseph Dutton, who spent the last 44 years of his 88 years of life caring for the exiled and abandoned leprosy patients, assisting Father Damien in his last days on Kalaupapa, a peninsula on the island of Moloka’i, and then working with Mother Marianne and her Sisters of St. Francis for 30 years. Kalaupapa is where the victims of leprosy were exiled for life because of a law enacted in 1865 by King Kamehameha V and the Hawaiian legislature. More than 8,000 people are buried here, though many tombstones were washed away a long time ago in a tsunami.

During their fall assembly in Baltimore, the U.S. bishops will be presented with an update on Dutton’s canonization cause, which was initiated by the Diocese of Honolulu.

But who was Joseph Dutton, called “Brother Joseph” by St. Damien, “because you are like a brother to everyone here”?

Born Ira Dutton in 1843 to Protestant parents in Stowe, Vermont, some of his early years were spent in Janesville, Wisconsin, where he joined the Janesville Zouaves who later became the 13th Wisconsin Infantry in the Civil War. Dutton attained the rank of second lieutenant and received impressive assignments at a very young age, lauded for “his self-reliance, his initiative, and his ability to get willing service out of others.” One brigadier general said of Dutton, “He can be trusted in any position.” These qualities, along with “his confidence and thoroughness in everything he undertook” would serve him well in his later decades on Kalaupapa.

Dutton’s post-war years were traumatic times, “dark years” and “the degenerate decade” in his words. They were years when drinking became his nemesis. He even wrote at one point that “only God and I know what really happened in those years.”

However, Ira Dutton had an epiphany, a moment of awakening that he wrote about: “I lived for some years a wild life and felt that I should make some sort of reparation for it. … Throughout my life I was a firm believer in thoroughness in everything, and so I decided that my penance should be thorough; in other words, that the remainder of my life should be devoted to that, and to nothing else.”

Dutton realized he had to do penance for his past, and he saw that as happening in the Catholic Church.

Ira Dutton became a Catholic on his 40th birthday in April 1883 and took the name of a saint he loved: Joseph. He joined a Trappist monastery in Gethsemani, Kentucky, where he remained for 20 months. He left without taking vows, and on a visit to New Orleans, he read an article in a Catholic newspaper about Father Damien’s work with victims of leprosy in the Hawaiian islands.

According to Joseph: “It was a new subject and attracted me wonderfully. … After weighing it for a while I became convinced that it would suit my wants — for labor, for a penitential life and for seclusion as well as complete separation from scenes of all past experiences.”

Joseph now knew what he would do with the rest of his life. He took a train to San Francisco, a boat to Kalaupapa, and when he met Father Damien, who was always in port when a ship arrived, he told him: “I know what you do. I am here to help.”

And so he did, for more than 40 years. Wherever he saw a need, he rolled up his sleeves and helped out as cook, gardener, a sometimes doctor, carpenter, pharmacist, stonemason, accountant and secretary. He changed bandages on lepers and soothed fears. Joseph was a prolific writer — not only diaries but letters to anyone in the world (literally) who might be able to help the outcasts of Kalaupapa, from royalty to U.S. presidents to well-known authors. He became known worldwide for his humanitarian work.

“Brother Joseph” was loved by all for his constant smile, his ever-present serenity and his unfailing optimism.

He was Father Damien’s shadow until the saint’s death in 1889, as he was for 30 years afterwards with Mother Marianne. At one point, Mother Marianne helped him become a Third Order Franciscan.

As one Dutton prayer says, it was God’s grace that “raised him from the darkness of war, betrayal, addiction and despair to the liberating joy of charity in the service of the abandoned and isolated chronically ill.”

Today, with his cause for canonization underway, he is not just “Brother Joseph,” he is a Servant of God.

 

VATICAN INSIDER: WILL HAWAII HAVE A THIRD SAINT?

VATICAN INSIDER: WILL HAWAII HAVE A THIRD SAINT?

Welcome to Vatican Insider at this halfway point of May! This week, in the interview segment, I’ve prepared a Special on Joseph Dutton, called Brother Joseph by St. Damien of Molokai, and later by St. Marianne Cope. This layman came to the island of Molokai at the age of 44 and then for 44 years worked with Fr. Damien and later Mother Marianne caring for the victims of leprosy who had been exited there by the King of Hawaii.

At Mass in Honolulu’s cathedral on May 10, Bishop Larry Silva formally opened the Diocesan Inquiry Phase of the cause of canonization of Servant of God Joseph Dutton.

In a letter to the diocese before the Mass, Bishop Larry wrote: “On Tuesday, May 10, 2022, I will celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at 6:00 p.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace.   It is the Memorial of St. Damien DeVeuster. At the end of the Mass, there will be a short ceremony to formally open the Diocesan Inquiry Phase of the cause of Servant of God Joseph Dutton.The members of the Joseph Dutton Guild will be present, and the officials who will play various roles in the investigation of the cause will take their oaths of office.”

Several years ago I was asked to become a member of that guild for the cause of canonization of Joseph Dutton. It has been a joy to work with the incredible members and to have reached such a high point as the May 10 Mass. I usually attend one guild meeting a year in person but Covid, and some restrictions in Hawaii, kept me from visiting in 2020 and 2021. I am hoping to remedy that this year!

Bishop Larry also wrote: “It should be noted that beatification and canonization in the Catholic Church is a rigorous process, and there is no guarantee that the process will finally result in Joseph Dutton’s beatification or canonization. Nevertheless, many of the faithful in the Diocese of Honolulu and in other parts of the world have spoken favorably and are hopeful that Joseph Dutton’s holiness of life will be deemed by the Church to be worthy of public veneration and imitation. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will guide this process to its completion according to the will of God and for the good of his holy Church.”

So tune in to that wonderful story after the news segment of Vatican Insider!

(I did post most of this information on my May 10 blog if it seems familiar!)

IN THE UNITED STATES, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (stations listed at www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio, or on http://www.ewtn.com. OUTSIDE THE U.S., you can listen to EWTN radio on our website home page by clicking on the right side where you see “LISTEN TO EWTN.” VI airs at 5am and 9pm ET on Saturdays and 6am ET on Sundays. On the GB-IE feed (which is on SKY in the UK and Ireland), VI airs at 5:30am, 12 noon and 10pm CET on Sundays. Both of these feeds are also available on the EWTN app and on www.ewtnradio.net ALWAYS CHECK YOUR OWN TIME ZONE! For VI archives: go to https://www.ewtn.com/radio/audio-archive and write the name of the guest for whom you are searching in the SEARCH box. Below that, will appear “Vatican Insider” – click on that and the link to that particular episode will appear.

 

 

PATH TO PEACE FOUNDATION HONORS KING ABDULLAH, QUEEN RANIA OF JORDAN – ON FEAST OF ST. DAMIEN, HONOLULU DIOCESE OPENS CAUSE OF JOSEPH DUTTON

PATH TO PEACE FOUNDATION HONORS KING ABDULLAH, QUEEN RANIA OF JORDAN

The Path to Peace Foundation annual dinner last night in New York that honors peacemakers honored King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan. It was one of the more amazing events of my life for many reasons. I have been to Jordan and my experiences were very memorable, happy and instructive. Truly a wonderful country and great people, a people whose respect and love for their monarch, in my experience, is palpable.

When I was in Amman in 2014 to cover Pope Francis’ three-day visit to Amman, Bethlehem and Jerusalem, I actually spent 6 days in Jordan, getting acquainted with the nation’s history and culture, including a remarkable visit to the ever-breathtaking Petra!

While there I bought King Abdullah’s book, “Our Last Best Chance: Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril.” It is a riveting read by a leader consumed for peace, a well-educated, thoughtful and, in so many ways, a down-to-earth, common sense man.

I also wanted to honor a man I greatly respect and have known for over 25 years, Cardinal Renato Martino, who instituted the Path for Peace Foundation in 1991. As Archbishop Martino, he headed the Holy See Mission to the U.N. for 16 years. Some of those years were in the mid-1990s, a time when I was a member of the Holy See delegations to four international conferences: Cairo, September 1994; Copenhagen, March 1995, Beijing, September 1995 and Istanbul, June 1996.

Last night we were all asked to turn off our phones, so I have no personal photos of Abp. Gabriele Caccia, head of the Holy See Mission to the United Nations and president of the Path to Peace Foundation, or King Abdullah or Queen Rania on the dais for the awards and speeches. I hope to have more photos from the official photographer and also will try to get the full text of King Abdullah’s memorable talk, interrupted numerous times by applause.

In the meantime, here is a great story and photo from the king’s official website: King at New York award ceremony: Our journey on path to peace must travel through Jerusalem | King Abdullah II Official Website

So often, when people say to me “God bless you,” my reply is “He really has!” And now you know one more reason why I feel that way!

ON FEAST OF ST. DAMIEN, HONOLULU DIOCESE OPENS CAUSE OF JOSEPH DUTTON

Exactly one year ago, I posted the following blog that features one of my favorite saints, St. Damien of Moloka’i, whose feast is today. At the time, I was about to leave for Chicago for the ordination of a young man who now, this coming Sunday, will celebrate his first anniversary as Fr. Ryan Brady! Congratulations, dear Ryan! May God continue to bless you and to bless us through you! SAINT OF THE DAY: SAINT DAMIEN OF MOLOKA’I’ | Joan’s Rome (wordpress.com)

The Collect for today’s Mass:

“Father of mercy, who gave us in Saint Damien a shining witness of love for the poorest and most abandoned, grant that, by his intercession, as faithful witnesses of the heart of your Son Jesus, we too may be servants of the most needy and rejected.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.”

Today is another very big day in the diocese of Honolulu!

Following is a letter from Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva regarding the opening of the diocesan phase of the cause for canonization of Servant of God Joseph Dutton. As you know from reading his story, Joseph Dutton worked for 44 years, half of his life, alongside Fr. Damien and Mother Marianne Cope, both now saints, with the victims of leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, who had been exiled to the peninsula of Kalaupapa on the island of Moloka’i.

Several years ago I was asked to become a member of the diocesan guild for the cause of canonization of Joseph Dutton. It has been a joy to work with the incredible members of this guild and to have reached such a high point as today’s Mass. I usually attend one guild meeting a year in person but Covid, and some restrictions in Hawaii, kept me from visiting in 2020 and 2021. I am hoping to remedy that this year!

From Bishop Silva:

“On Tuesday, May 10, 2022, I will celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at 6:00 p.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, 1184 Bishop Street, Honolulu, Hawaii. It is the Memorial of St. Damien DeVeuster. At the end of the Mass, there will be a short ceremony to formally open the Diocesan Inquiry Phase of the cause of Servant of God Joseph Dutton. The members of the Joseph Dutton Guild will be present, and the officials who will play various roles in the investigation of the cause will take their oaths of office.

“It should be noted that beatification and canonization in the Catholic Church is a rigorous process, and there is no guarantee that the process will finally result in Joseph Dutton’s beatification or canonization. Nevertheless, many of the faithful in the Diocese of Honolulu and in other parts of the world have spoken favorably and are hopeful that Joseph Dutton’s holiness of life will be deemed by the Church to be worthy of public veneration and imitation. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will guide this process to its completion according to the will of God and for the good of his holy Church.”

I will be in Honolulu in spirit and prayer as my Hawaii brothers and sisters celebrate this important milestone!

And, as things move along, I will bring you updates!

CAUSE OF CANONIZATION FOR JOSEPH DUTTON APPROVED BY BISHOPS

CAUSE OF CANONIZATION FOR JOSEPH DUTTON APPROVED BY BISHOPS

Three causes for canonization have been presented to the U.S. bishops in their fall 2021 meeting, including the cause for Servant of God Joseph Dutton, a cause initiated by the Diocese of Honolulu and Bishop Larry Silva. When a written request to initiate a (local) cause is received by the bishop, for it to advance he must consult the opinion of the regional conference of bishops, then the national conference and lastly, the Holy See. A voice vote today at the USCCB meeting in Baltimore gave the go-ahead for this cause to proceed. Bishop Silva has now completed the first two of those duties.

Because of the research I have done on Servant of God Joseph Dutton, Michael Heinlein of Our Sunday Visitor asked me to write a story. That appeared today when Michael tweeted: Great piece from my friend @joansrome on the third canonization cause #USCCB21 is consulted on today. Get to know Joseph Dutton!

Take a few minutes to read the story so that you understand the photos I post.

@HeinleinMichael

The incredible life of Joseph Dutton, a servant to the saints and souls of Hawaii – Our Sunday Visitor (osvnews.com)

I took the following photos on several of my trips to Kalaupapa to visit the sites where Sts. Damien and Marianne Cope and Servant of God Joseph Dutton lived and worked among the victims of leprosy.

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In some photos, you will see the area of Kalawao where ships in the 19^th century dropped off those ill with leprosy, leaving them at the shore near the big rock you see. I’ve read a few reports where some exiles had to swim a bit or walk in shallow water to shore when they disembarked.

The terrain you see in other photos is that of Kalaupapa in general and Kalawao specifically as that is where Fr. Damian built the church of St. Philomena, where separate homes were built for men and women and teenaged girls and boys. I also took photos of some of the historic descriptions of and facts about the area and Brother Dutton.

I have other photos of some of the burial grounds around Kalaupapa, including the area adjacent to St. Philomena church where Fr. Damien is buried (only a small relic is here with his remains having been transported (against his final wishes!) in 1936 to his native Belgium in St. Anthony’s Chapel in Leuven.

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When I returned to Hawaii in 2012 and subsequent years, I began to seriously study Joseph Dutton’s intriguing story and amazing life and, in 2015, when Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu approved the statutes of the Joseph Dutton Guild, whose mission is to spread knowledge of and devotion to Joseph Dutton, as well as address the financial and logistical needs for his cause for sainthood. I was invited to be a member. I try to attend at least one meeting in person every year and have attended others via Zoom.

On the personal side: I believe that what Dutton experienced in his post-war years was equivalent to what today is called PTSD – post traumatic stress disorder. I would love to see him become a patron saint of people in the military, especially veterans!

Those of us who know the Kalaupapa stories of Sts. Damien and Marianne and Servant of God Joseph Dutton, who have spent time on this historic peninsula, who have studied the history of leprosy, who know some of the current residents of Kalaupapa, who have walked among the many tombs of the exiles who were forced to live there, have a big concern: What will happen when the last patient living there dies?

For decades, employees of the Hawaii Department of Health and the Department of Forests and Parks have lived and worked on Kalaupapa. What will happen to them? Would they still be needed?

What will happen to Kalaupapa? Many of us entertain the thought, the hope that one day this historic piece of land could become a shrine, a sanctuary, especially for members of the military, in particular for veterans. A place of God-given pristine natural beauty, of quiet and peace that would be conducive to introspection, to reflection, to healing of mind, body and soul.

FYI: Since posting this, I learned from a member of the Dutton Guild that the the National Park Service has a sort of master plan for Kalaupapa National Historical Park that is called the General Management Plan. It’s apparently quite long so when I read it and have a better idea of things, I’ll pass that on to you.

ST. JOSEPH TEACHES US TO TRUST IN GOD’S PROVIDENCE

This was the day of two Josephs – St. Joseph as the focus of Pope Francis’ new series of catecheses and Servant of God Joseph Dutton whose cause for canonization today got a red light from the US bishops meeting in Baltimore.  I love the image of Sleeping St. Joseph and have this on my desk. Indeed, how much of what Joseph learned about his betrothed Mary and about their eventual flight into Egypt with little Jesus came in dreams while asleep!

Joseph Dutton will be the subject of my second post today.

ST. JOSEPH TEACHES US TO TRUST IN GOD’S PROVIDENCE

Pope Francis began his weekly general audience by stating, “in this year of Saint Joseph, today we begin a new series of catecheses on the humble carpenter of Nazareth, the foster-father of the child Jesus and the patron of the Universal Church. In Hebrew, the name Joseph evokes God’s power to bring about growth and new life. Joseph teaches us to trust in God’s providence quietly at work in our world.”

“The name Joseph,” the Pope explained, “is Hebrew for “may God increase, may God give growth”. It is a wish, a blessing based on trust in providence and referring especially to fertility and to raising children. Indeed, this very name reveals to us an essential aspect of Joseph of Nazareth’s personality. He is a man full of faith, in providence: he believes in God’s providence, he has faith in God’s providence. His every action, as recounted in the Gospel, is dictated by the certainty that God ‘gives growth’, that God ‘increases’, that God ‘adds’: that is, that God provides for the continuation of his plan of salvation.”

Francis noted that Joseph’s “life is principally associated with two small towns, Bethlehem and Nazareth, reminding us that God’s preferential love is for the poor and those on the margins of life. God chose Bethlehem, the city of David, as the place where his Son was to be born under the watchful care of Joseph, who was himself of the house of David.”

“By his life and example,” said the Holy Father, “Saint Joseph reminds us that, in our own day, the Church is called to proclaim the good news of Christ’s coming, beginning with the existential peripheries of our world. The poor and forgotten in our midst can look to him as a sure guide and protector in their lives. Let us ask Saint Joseph to intercede for the Church, that we may always set forth anew from Bethlehem, in order to see and appreciate what is essential in God’s eyes.”

He went on to say, “Today I would like to send a message to all the men and women who live in the most forgotten geographical peripheries of the world, or who experience situations of existential marginalization. May you find in Saint Joseph the witness and protector to look to. We can turn to him with this prayer, a “home-made” prayer, but one that comes from the heart:

Saint Joseph,
you who have always trusted God,
and have made your choices
guided by his providence
teach us not to count so much on our own plans
but on his plan of love.
You who come from the peripheries
help us to convert our gaze
and to prefer what the world discards and marginalizes.
Comfort those who feel alone
and support those who work silently
to defend life and human dignity. Amen.

 

VATICAN INSIDER: WILL HAWAII HAVE A THIRD SAINT? – POPE FRANCIS TO VISIT THAILAND AND JAPAN IN NOVEMBER

VATICAN INSIDER: WILL HAWAII HAVE A THIRD SAINT?

This week I have prepared what I hope is a fascinating and informative special for what is normally the interview segment of Vatican Insider. I think you all know my love, my passion actually, for the magnificent land that is our 50th state, Hawaii. I have developed a true Hawaiian “ohana,” a family, on my ten trips to this paradise and we all have one thing in common – our love for Hawaii’s two saints, Fr. Damien and Mother Marianne Cope, and our hopes for a possible third saint.

I note that, since 2008 and my first visit to Hawaii, I have spent years researching the lives and works of Saints Damien and Marianne, including covering their canonizations in Rome, respectively 2009 and 2012. And Hawaii may well have a third saint – Brother Joseph Dutton. He was not a religious brother but rather received that name from Fr. Damien himself who told Joseph one day as they worked together on Kalaupapa, “You are like a brother to everyone here.” (images: Hawaii Catholic Herald)

On June 23, 2015, Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu approved the statutes of the Joseph Dutton Guild, identified in church terms as a “Private Association of the Faithful with Juridic Personality,” with the mission of spreading knowledge of and devotion to Ira “Brother Joseph” Dutton, as well as addressing the financial and logistical needs for his cause for sainthood.

With my interest in and enthusiasm for the story of Joseph Dutton, I was asked to be a member of that guild. I attend one of the four annual meetings in person, and the other three gatherings via conference call. I was in Honolulu for the Guild’s August 28 meeting.

Here is the Dutton Prayer (Inspired by the Teaching of Pope Francis): God our Father, by the grace of conversion you raised your servant, Joseph Dutton, from the darkness of war, betrayal, addiction, and despair to the liberating joy of charity in the service of the abandoned and isolated chronically ill. Therefore we humbly ask you to allow him to intercede today for all who suffer on the periphery of human existence. May he pray especially for us in our urgent need for __________________________. In doing so may he be listed among your saints in heaven, if it is for your glory and the building up of your kingdom on earth. Amen
With ecclesiastical approval by Bishop Larry Silva, Bishop of Honolulu

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POPE FRANCIS TO VISIT THAILAND AND JAPAN IN NOVEMBER

The Holy See Press Office today announced Pope Francis’ Apostolic Journey to Thailand and Japan from 19 to 26 November. He will be the second Pope to visit these two Asian countries, after Pope John Paul II.

By Isabella Piro (vaticannews)

The Pope’s next Apostolic Journey will see him visiting two Asian countries: the Kingdom of Thailand, from 20 to 23 November, and then Japan from 23 to 26 November, where he will visit Tokyo, Nagasaki and Hiroshima. A detailed program of the visit will be announced later.

Thailand
The motto of the first stage of the Apostolic Journey is “Disciples of Christ, Missionary Disciples”, and is a reference to an important anniversary. 2019 marks the 350th anniversary of the establishment of the Apostolic Vicariate of Siam, erected in 1669. (Logos from Vatican media)

This event is represented in the logo prepared for the visit. Beneath a smiling Pope Francis is a boat that symbolizes evangelization. Its three sails recall the Trinity. The stylized representation of Our Lady’s hand supports the vessel. Finally, a golden cross invites the whole Thai Catholic Church to be a witness to the Good News.

The Asian Continent
In January this year, Pope Francis sent a message to the meeting of Presidents of the Doctrinal Commissions of the Bishops’ Conferences of Asia, and a delegation of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in Bangkok. He wrote: “You are gathered in Asia, a vast and multiform continent, marked by religious, linguistic and cultural diversity, in order to reaffirm our common responsibility for the unity and integrity of the Catholic faith, as well as to explore new means and methods of witnessing to the Gospel in the midst of the challenges of our contemporary world.”

Japan
The theme of the Apostolic Journey to Japan focuses on the protection of life and Creation, and is quoted from a phase in “A prayer for our earth” at the end of the Pope’s Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ on caring for our common home.

In that document, the Pope encourages us to respect both the dignity of each person, but also the environment. This is particularly poignant in a country like Japan where the nuclear threat, as we read in the description of the motto, “remains a persistent problem.”

Three flames of three different colors characterize the logo: a red flame recalling the martyrs, the foundation of the Church in Japan, a blue flame representing the Blessed Virgin Mary who embraces all humanity as her children, and a green flame symbolizing both the nature of Japan, and the mission to proclaim the Gospel of hope. A red circle, like a sun, embraces all life, and symbolizes love.