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The statue of a Catholic saint who served people with leprosy in Hawaii is an example of colonialism and white supremacy, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggested an Instagram story Thursday. In the video, one of several posted several Instagram stories criticizing the number of white, male figures represented in the U.S. Capitol on Instagram, Ocasio-Cortez refers to the “patriarchy and white supremacist culture” and pans to Hawaii’s statue of Father Damien, a Belgium-born 19th century priest who dedicated his life to a leper colony on the island of Molokai and eventually died with the disease, according to the Architect...

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...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) denounced the presence of a statue honoring canonized saint Father Damien, who ministered to lepers and died of the dreaded disease, as a remnant of “white supremacist culture.” In an Instagram story Thursday, in which the congresswoman took her followers on a tour of the U.S. Capitol building, she spoke about the lack of statues memorializing minority figures and referred to the images of America’s honored historical figures from all 50 states as a nod to colonialism. “Even when we select figures to tell the stories of colonized places, it is the colonizers and settlers whose...

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) singled out a statue of Father Damien, a Catholic priest who ministered to a Hawaiian leper colony, as an example of “white supremacist culture.” Father Damien, born Jozef de Veuster in Belgium, arrived in Hawaii in 1864 when the islands were an independent kingdom. The priest conducted missionary work on the islands and for the last 16 years of his life ministered to a leper colony, until he died after contracting leprosy himself. A statue of Father Damien stands in the U.S. Capitol. “It’s not Queen Lili’uokalani…the only Queen Regnant of Hawaii, who is immortalized...

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...

WAILUKU -- Just after midnight in Rome on Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI made the final announcement many Hawaii residents have wanted to hear for more than a century. The pope will canonize Blessed Damien of Molokai as a saint Oct. 11 at the Vatican, according to an e-mail from the Very Rev. Marc R. Alexander of the Honolulu Roman Catholic Church Diocese. Damien ministered to leprosy patients on Kalaupapa in the 19th century, ultimately contracting the then-fatal disease. The pope had previously declared in July that Damien would become a saint, after the church officially attributed to Damien the two...