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After AOC decries statue, Hawaiian Catholic says St Damien of Molokai 'gave his life' serving lepers A Hawaiian Catholic catechist said that St. Damien of Molokai is a “hero” to the Hawaiian people, after a prominent congresswoman claimed the statue honoring him in the U.S. Capitol is part of colonialism and “patriarchy and white supremacist culture.”  St. Damien “gave his life” serving the isolated leper colony at Kalaupapa peninsula on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, said Dallas Carter, a native Hawaiian and a catechist for the diocese of Honolulu, in an interview with CNA.   “Any Hawaiian here who is...

Hawaii Celebrates Saint Who Cared For Lepers Huge crowd takes part in service for canonization of Saint Damien [Pic in URL] A relic of Father Damien — now Saint Damien — is carried in a procession to the Iolani Palace in Honolulu on Sunday as part of the interfaith celebration of his canonization. HONOLULU - Hawaii feted the canonization of Saint Damien with a Mass and an interfaith celebration that underscored the 19th century priest's enduring popularity in the islands. More than 1,200 people attended Sunday's Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, where Damien was...

Priest Who Lived With Leprosy Now A Saint Pope Benedict praises Father Damien, who died from leprosy in 1889 Audrey Toguchi, 80, from Hawaii, at right, with her doctor Walter Chang, looks on during a canonization ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Sunday. VATICAN CITY - A 19th-century priest whose courageous work with leprosy patients in Hawaii has been likened to the efforts of those battling the stigma of AIDS was elevated to sainthood Sunday by Pope Benedict XVI, along with four other Catholics he hailed as heroes of holiness. Among the 10,000 pilgrims packing St. Peter's...