Dallas Carter, a native Hawaiian says far from being a white supremicist, St. Damien learned the native language and culture and became as one with Hawaiian people.

Carter leapt to Damien's defence after a congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezn, spoke scornfully of a statue of him.

The statue at the U.S. Capitol is a part of colonialism and "patriarchy and white supremacist culture," Ocasio-Cortezn asserted on Instagram last week.

In fact St. Damien "gave his life" serving the isolated leper (Hansen's disease) colony at Kalaupapa peninsula on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, Carter says.

"Any Hawaiian here who is aware of their history ... would ... defend the legacy of St Damien as a man who was embraced by the people, and who is a hero to us because of his love for the Hawaiian people," Carter says.

"We did not judge him by the colour of his skin. We judged him by the love that he had for our people."

Ocasio-Cortez's Instagram post about the saint began when she asked why there there aren't more statues honoring women historical figures, at the Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection.

Statues honouring historical figures from all 50 states are included in the collection. They are chosen by the states and sent to Congress for display.

"Even when we select figures to tell the stories of colonised places, it is the colonisers and settlers whose stories are told - and virtually no one else," Ocasio-Cortez posted, with a picture of St. Damien's Capitol statue in the background.

In 1969, Hawaii chose to honour St. Damien alongside Kamehameha I in the Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection.

Including St. Damien and not "Queen Lili'uokalani of Hawaii, the only Queen Regnant of Hawaii," in the Collection is an example of "colonisers" being honored instead of native historical figures, Ocasio-Cortez's Instagram suggests.

"This isn't to litigate each and every individual statue," she says.

Bu, she argues, "patterns" among the "totality" of the statues in the Capitol reveal they honor "virtually all men, all white, and mostly both."

"This is what patriarchy and white supremacist culture looks like!"

Her office says while everyone in the Collection could be worthy, moral people, "the deliberate erasure of women and people of color from our history is a result of the influence of patriarchy and white supremacy."

"It is still worthy for us to examine from a US history perspective why a non-Hawaiian, non-American was chosen as the statue to represent Hawaii in the Capitol over other Hawaiian natives who conducted great acts of good, and why so few women and people of color are represented in Capitol statues at all."

However, Carter points out it was then-princess Lili'uokalani who made St Damien of Molokai a Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Kalakaua in 1881, for his "efforts in alleviating the distresses and mitigating the sorrows of the unfortunate."

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• RedState
• Image: UCA News

In the Leilani Estates, a rural subdivision, on the eastern tip of the island, at least 15 fissures have opened up since May 3 spewing molten rock and poisonous sulphur dioxide gas.

This subdivision is in the Sacred Heart parish. Parishioners who have been forced to evacuate are being taken in by fellow parish members, according to parish administrator Father Ernesto Juarez.

Juarez has also made the parish hall in Pahoa, about 5 kilometres away from the fissures, available as a crisis information centre.

At the centre, evacuees can connect with personnel from Hawai'i County and social service agencies for information or apply for assistance.

The church secretary and business manager, Bernice Walker, said it had been inundated with hundreds of people who were all doing their best to cope.

"There is relief their stuff got taken out. There is frustration because things don't happen quick enough.

"There is happiness as loved ones are safe. There is worry because animals are left behind.

"I mean there is every emotion under the sun that you can think of that happens in times of crisis like we are having."

Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu was at the parish May 5-6, the weekend the eruption started, for a previously arranged episcopal visitation and to administer the sacrament of confirmation.

With hundreds of small earthquakes predicting volcanic activity, the bishop had offered to reschedule his visit. After consulting with some of his parishioners, he decided to proceed as planned.

"I was happy to be there with them during that time," the bishop said.

"I was actually surprised how normal life seemed in Pahoa, despite the eruption that was taking place in the parish boundaries," the bishop said. "I did not detect any panic or great anxiety."

The island of Hawai'i, locally know as the Big Island, is the largest island in the Hawaiian Archipelago.

Source

• catholicherald.co.uk
• radionz.co.nz
• thetablet.co.uk
• Image: nbcnews.com

This is despite Hawaiian Catholic Conference warnings it could put vulnerable people at risk. The Conference says it could also change the nature of medicine.

"Physicians are seen as trusted health advisors, and this bill undermines this relationship, creating suspicion and uncertainty for Hawaii's patients," said Deacon Walter Yoshimitsu, the Conference executive director. Read more

Cardinal William Levada, 79, was stopped at about midnight on August 20 on the state's Big Island.

A police spokeswoman said the cardinal was pulled over after a Kona patrol officer saw him driving erratically.

Cardinal Levada was driving a 2015 Nissan Altima and was alone in the car at the time.

He was reportedly on vacation with priest friends when the arrest occurred.

After he was charged, he was released from police custody after posting US$500 bail.

The cardinal is required to appear in Kona District Court on September 24.

"I regret my error in judgment. I intend to continue fully cooperating with the authorities," Cardinal Levada said in an email statement issued on August 24 by San Francisco archdiocese.

When asked how the archdiocese handles situations like this, spokesman Michael Brown said that in this specific case, "'punishment' is not a factor".

Cardinal Levada is a former archbishop of San Francisco and before that of Portland, Oregon. He was elevated to cardinal in 2006.

In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, a post he held for seven years.

In 2012, he stepped down from presidencies of the International Theological Commission, the Pontifical Biblical Commission and the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei".

He participated in the conclave that elected Pope Francis in 2013.

In June next year, he will turn 80, after which he will not be able to vote in future conclaves to elect popes.

Sources

• Hawaii Tribune Herald
• Huffington Post
• Daily Mail
• Catholic Hierarchy
• BBC
• Image: San Francisco Archdiocese

The vote came after nearly 12 hours of testimony from the public, as more than 400 people addressed lawmakers during Monday's public hearing before the Senate committee.

In addition, Senate clerks say more than 4,000 pages of written testimony were also filed.

The Hawai'i Marriage Equality Act of 2013 recognises marriages between individuals of the same gender. Continue reading