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.
Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron of Los Angeles responds to this ridiculous accusation
Each state gets two statues. Hawaii’s other statue is Kamehameha. Hawaiians obviously don’t get white supremacy right. Natives makeup 6% of the population (21% if you count mixed-race) and get 50% of the statues.
Of course, the real sin of white supremacy was the “colonialist” mindset embodied in Fr. Damien’s missionary zeal. He had the effrontery to proselytize a faith which valued the intrinsic worth of every human being and the gall to live a life which proclaimed that faith through his actions. He colonized souls by convincing native people that he wanted to share an eternity in heaven with them. It is hard to understand the mindset that regards such saintly actions with horror.
This statue is a monument to a selfless, amazing human being who dedicated his life to others regardless of race or creed. It is being condemned by a selfish, ignorant human being for a Marxist political agenda.