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

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.

HOW I KNEW SERVANT OF GOD CARDINAL EDOARDO PIRONIO

HOW I KNEW SERVANT OF GOD CARDINAL EDOARDO PIRONIO 

I was truly delighted today when I learned that Pope Francis today authorized the Congregation for Causes of Saints to promulgate 5 decrees, including “the heroic virtues” of Servant of God Argentinean Cardinal Edoardo Francesco Pironio, who died on February 5, 1998 in Rome.

Cardinal Pironio was one of the first cardinals I got to meet when I started working at the Vatican Information Service in August 1990.

Bear with me for a minute as I tell the story….

VIS, the Vatican Information Service, was born shortly before my arrival in the Eternal City. VIS was to be part of the Holy See Press Office, a daily news service in English and Spanish (French and Italian were later added) that would be sent to bishops and nuncios throughout the world. The first VIS news transmission was December 28, 1990 over the Christmas holidays in the Vatican.

Transmitted by fax, the bishops and nuncios had to subscribe to this service. We learned that they were more than anxious to pay for receiving daily, updated news from the Vatican from a source considered “official,” that is, the press office. It’s important to remember that there was no such thing as email at the time – the entire Internet world we as know it – the “www” world (world wide web) – was on the cusp of birth, so daily news bulletins by fax were the next best thing.

Because many in the Roman Curia thought that Vatican Information Service was an outside news source, it was decided that the then director, Pietro Brunori and I, speaking the two languages of VIS, would visit the heads of all Roman Curia offices and explain this new Vatican body. We also wanted the heads of the congregations and pontifical councisl to know that we’d love to hear from them, we’d love to publish their news and updates, planned travels and conferences, etc.

One of the cardinals we visited was, as you have guessed, Cardinal Pironio. If one thing stands out from that long ago meeting it was my impression that I was in the presence of a very holy man. That impression only became stronger with every meeting I had with the cardinal, especially when I was asked to be part of the papal party for the 1993 World Youth Day in Denver.

In 1984, Pope John Paul II had named Cardinal Pironio president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and, until he retired in 1996, the cardinal worked with John Paul to promote the new and very popular World Youth Days.

I could write a long and separate chapter on those heady, wonderful, demanding and very happy days in Denver and that shall be for another day. The one thing that grew in my nine days in Denver was the feeling that I was always in the presence of a very saintly man – not just a good, caring, kind, thoughtful, loving man, but a holy man.

And it was in Denver that I first heard the most amazing story – a story Cardinal Pironio told months before his death and a story that Pope John Paul told in his homily at the cardinal’s funeral in February 1998:

“His was a faith learned at his mother’s knee. A woman of solid yet simple Christian background, she was able to impress the genuine Gospel meaning of life on her children’s hearts. “In the history of my family”, the late Cardinal said one day, “there is something miraculous. When she gave birth to her first son, my mother was barely 18 years old and fell seriously ill. After her recovery the doctors told her that she would not be able to have any more children without risking her own life. So she went to consult the Auxiliary Bishop of La Plata, who told her: ‘Doctors can be mistaken: put yourself in God’s hands and do your duty as a wife’. My mother then gave birth to 21 more. I am the last, and she lived until she was 82. But the story does not end here, for in later years I was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of La Plata, replacing the very Bishop who had blessed my mother. On the day of my episcopal ordination”, Cardinal Pironio continued, “the Archbishop gave me that Bishop’s pectoral cross without knowing the story behind it. When I told him that I owed my life to the cross’s owner, he wept”.

“I wanted to mention this episode recounted by the Cardinal himself because it highlights the reasons which sustained his journey of faith. His life was a hymn of faith to the God of life. He says so again in his Spiritual Testament: “How beautiful it is to live! You have made us, O Lord, for life. I love it, I offer it, I await it. You are my Life, as you have always been my Truth and my Way.”

Truly the words of a holy man!

The cause for canonization of Cardinal Pironio began on June 23, 2006, in Rome.