Commemorating the canonization of Father Damien de Veuster, SS.CC. to sainthood.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 786) commemorating the canonization of Father Damien de Veuster, SS.CC. to sainthood, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this resolution commemorates the canonization of Father Damien de Veuster for his selfless works ministering to those suffering from Hansen's disease, also known as leprosy, on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. I would also like to thank my good friend Ms. Hirono from the State of Hawaii for sponsoring and authoring this resolution and for working to ensure that Father Damien's legacy is never forgotten.

Many of us here and our colleagues who walk the Halls of the Congress have oftentimes passed by the distinctive statue of Father Damien in the Capitol, yet few of us understood that this was a man who essentially gave his life in order to help others.

In 1863, at the age of 23, Father Damien left his home in Belgium, sailing to Hawaii to perform missionary work. At that time, the Hawaiian Government deported those who had contracted Hansen's disease to a place called Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai to prevent the spread of the disease. Though he was aware of the risks of contracting leprosy, Father Damien decided to move to Molokai permanently in order to be with those who suffered there.

Isolated from society on the Kalaupapa peninsula on the island of Molokai, Father Damien and those to whom he ministered had many remarkable achievements: building schools and hospitals, constructing churches and homes, and attending to the spiritual and physical needs of those suffering from Hansen's disease, or leprosy.

For 16 years, Father Damien served as a voice of hope and a source of consolation and encouragement for individuals afflicted with Hansen's disease, until he died on April 15, 1889, after contracting the disease himself.

In 1977, recognizing his life of good works and the sacrifice he made in helping others, Pope Paul VI began the process that would ultimately lead to sainthood for Father Damien.

Mr. Speaker, just last Sunday, Father Damien was finally canonized as a saint by Pope Benedict XVI.

I urge all my colleagues to honor the life and accomplishments of Father Damien and his legacy of self-sacrifice by supporting this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, years ago it was my privilege to have been invited by the famous native Hawaiian navigator Nainoa Thompson to be a member of the crew of the famous Hawaiian voyaging canoe Hokule`a. We sailed from Tahiti, and it took us about 27 days until finally we sighted the famous mountains of Mauna Kea.

Part of our traveling along the Hawaiian chain of islands was that we also visited the famous peninsula called Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai where we visited and stayed there, resting before we went on to the island of Oahu. It was there, Mr. Speaker, that I saw the legacy of Father Damien's work in dealing with the native Hawaiian people, or anybody who contracted leprosy who was sent to that island to remain there for the rest of their lives.

The unfortunate stories that I have heard in the treatment of these people is that they were just dropped off, not even on the wharf. They were just simply taken there, and they had to swim to the islands in order to get there. What a terrible way of treating those people that were screened or realized that they had Hansen's disease.

But I just wanted to describe the memory of seeing the school and the grave sites and the little community that was built, for which Father Damien was very responsible in helping those who were in need and the people who contracted Hansen's disease on the island of Molokai on this particular peninsula, the beautiful, beautiful peninsula of Kalaupapa, very, very historical; and I know this is true also to our native Hawaiian community.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my good friend, the distinguished author of this legislation, the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Hirono).

I yield the gentlewoman an additional 1 minute.

I would like to ask just a couple more minutes to say I want to share with my colleagues another beautiful story, a legacy of Father Damien. This is a story about a native Hawaiian leader by the name of Jonathan Napela. And when this Hawaiian leader found out that his wife had contracted Hansen's disease, he went with her to Kalaupapa, lived with her throughout the rest of his life, and he also contracted Hansen's disease because of the love that he had for his wife, and they lived there, working with Father Damien and other leaders there in this little community of Kalaupapa.

And I just wanted to note that for the Record. This famous native Hawaiian leader by the name of Jonathan Napela also was a beautiful story of how much he was able to help the community there in Kalaupapa and the island of Molokai.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friends, the gentleman from American Samoa and the gentlelady from Florida, for their kind remarks in support of this resolution.

I rise today in support of my resolution commemorating the canonization of Father Damien, a member of the congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, to sainthood this past Sunday, October 11, 2009.

We can all celebrate the life of St. Damien, a man who put his faith and principles into action in the service of a group of people who suffered not only the physical effects of leprosy, now known as Hansen's disease, but also from the terrible stigma associated with the disease.

Father Damien is recognized for his 16 years of selfless service to the people who were forcibly isolated on the peninsula of Kalaupapa, on the island of Molokai, Hawaii, because they were diagnosed with Hansen's disease. Living among the people of Kalaupapa from 1873 to 1889, he eventually contracted the disease, ultimately died from its effects, and was buried on Molokai.

The policy of exiling persons with the disease that was then known as leprosy began under the Kingdom of Hawaii and continued under the governments of the Republic of Hawaii, the Territory of Hawaii and the State of Hawaii. Children, mothers and fathers were forcibly separated and sent to Kalaupapa, which for most of its history could only be accessed by water or via a steep mule trail. Children born to parents at Kalaupapa were taken away from their mothers and sent to orphanages or to other family members outside Kalaupapa. Hawaii's isolation laws for people with Hansen's disease were not repealed until 1969, even though medications to control the disease have been available since the late 1940s.

I believe that all people, regardless of their religious beliefs, can recognize truly extraordinary persons who give of themselves without reserve for the betterment of their fellow human beings. Father Damien was surely such a person. No sickness was as feared as leprosy in the late 1800s, but he volunteered to serve at Kalaupapa and requested to stay there in order to serve those who were most shunned. He recognized the human rights and inherent dignity of all people, especially those he lived alongside at Kalaupapa.

Father Damien worked with the people of Kalaupapa to improve their living conditions. A skilled carpenter, he led in the building of houses and hospitals, six chapels, a home for boys and a home for girls. At the same time, he ministered to the spiritual and physical needs of his parishioners and helped to bury the hundreds who died during his years there.

It is noteworthy that shortly after Hawaii became a State, Father Damien was the first selection of the State legislature to be memorialized in a statue as part of the National Statuary Hall in Washington, DC. Despite the fact that he was not born in Hawaii and lived so long ago, Hawaii's people recognize that his life embodied the true spirit of aloha, which means, love, compassion, mercy, grace, and malama, which means to care for.

Last week in Louvain, Belgium, prior to the canonization, some 400 Hawaii residents, including 11 former Hansen's disease patients from Kalaupapa, attended a mass with the King and Queen of Belgium near St. Damien's birthplace. Addressing those who came all the way from Hawaii, Cardinal Danneels, a native of Belgium said, ``We gave life to Father Damien. You gave him back as a saint. We thank you.''

I have visited Father Damien's grave at Kalawao on the Kalaupapa peninsula, and as you can see by this photo that was taken when I visited Kalaupapa, it seems almost unreal. It is a beautiful place where tremendous suffering took place, but also a place imbued with great spiritual feeling. Father Damien's grave site is marked on this photo in the far left.

I hope that you will have the opportunity to visit Kalaupapa at some point in your lives. I know that you will be deeply moved, as I was, by the example of this man, this saint, as well as by the courage and perseverance of the people he dedicated his life to serving.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution commemorating the canonization of Father Damien on Sunday, October 11, by Pope Benedict XVI. I thank Ms. Hirono and the Hawaiian delegation for introducing this resolution honoring a true American hero.

When Father Damien first arrived in Hawaii as a missionary in 1864, he was only 24 years old. After the Hawaiian Government ordered the quarantine of those affected with leprosy to a settlement on the island of Molokai, Father Damien volunteered to go minister to their care.

The Catholic bishop introduced Father Damien to his new 816 parishioners in the year 1873 as ``one who will be a father to you, and one who loves you so much that he does not hesitate to become one of you, to live and die with you.''

While Father Damien's first action was to build a church, he did not limit his role to that of a priest. He dressed ulcers, built homes and beds, built coffins and dug graves. Father Damien's arrival was a turning point for the disease-afflicted community, which, given new hope, built homes instead of shacks, constructed new schools and organized working farms.

Father Damien contracted the disease as a result of this ministry and died at the age of 49 on April 15, 1889, a date still commemorated in Hawaii.

No less an authority than Mahatma Gandhi wrote the following concerning Father Damien: ``The political and journalistic world can boast of very few heroes who compare with Father Damien of Molokai. It is worthwhile to look for those sources of such heroism.''

Given his work with those who suffered from a disease which carried a social stigma, Father Damien has also become the unofficial patron of those afflicted with HIV/AIDS. The world's only Roman Catholic memorial chapel dedicated to those who have died of HIV/AIDS, located in Montreal, Canada, is consecrated to him.

We in the Congress have long been aware of the deep affection felt by the people of the Aloha State for their adopted son. A statue of Father Damien was one of the two sent from the then-new State of Hawaii to be placed in the Nation's Capitol in 1965.

We all fervently wish that this past Sunday's canonization of yet another American saint will bring blessings to our country at a time of economic uncertainty at home and perils abroad.

I urge my colleagues to strongly support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H. Res. 786 in commemorating the canonization of Father Damien de Veuster to sainthood.

The canonization of Father Damien completes his ascension to sainthood and gives universal veneration to a life of extraordinary commitment, charity, and faith. It has been more than 120 years since his death on the Kalaupapa Peninsula on the island of Molokai, but Father Damien's life continues to illuminate for all humankind the pathway of service to the needy.

Father Damien's mission in life and the journey he took to fulfill it were inspired by a simple yet profound compassion, to recognize the human rights and dignity of every individual, particularly those who were cast aside to Kalaupapa. He challenged the orthodoxies of his own church and the government to provide the needed resources to care for Hansen's disease patients who had been banished to Kalaupapa-- attracting worldwide attention to his demonstration of humanity.

He lived, worked, and died in geographic isolation with the people he cared for, but his timeless teachings and inspiration have reached a vast congregation that reaches around the world without regard to time and place. Father Damien's hope and devotion continue to strengthen all of us today, and his sainthood affirms this for eternity.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution and Father Damien's work and legacy, a timeless example of compassion and dedication.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on October 14, 2009, I missed the following Rollcall Votes due to a longstanding commitment away from Washington:

1. Rollcall vote No. 775, H. Res. 768, Expressing support for the designation of the Month of October as ``National Work and Family Month''.

2. Rollcall vote No. 776, H.R. 1327, the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act.

3. Rollcall Vote 777, H. Res. 816, Mourning the loss of life caused by the earthquakes and tsunamis that occurred on September 29, 2009.

4. Rollcall Vote 778, H.R. 3371, Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act of 2009.

5. Rollcall Vote 779, H. Res. 786, Commemorating the canonization of Father Damien de Veuster, SS.CC. to sainthood.

If present, I would have voted ``yea'' on all matters.