President Obama Sends Delegation to Honor Newly Canonized Saint Damien
EmailOne week ago, on Rosary Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI canonized Father Damien, known as "the Apostle of the Lepers" and the "leper priest."
Father Damien de Veuster is Hawaii's first Saint.
Born in Belgium, Saint Damien ministered to those with leprosy quarantined on Hawaii's island of Molokai.
President Obama today announced the members of the delegation to Belgium to attend the Thanksgiving Mass for him today. In addition to US Ambassador to Belgium Howard W. Gutman, the delegation includes Democratic Reps. Neil Abercrombie and Mazie K. Hirono from Hawaii; Joshua DuBois, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships; and Reverend Larry J. Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA.
On October 9, President Obama issued a statement saying expressing his "deep admiration for the life of Blessed Damien de Veuster…I also want to convey my best wishes to the Kingdom of Belgium and its people, who are proud to count Fr. Damien among their great citizens. Fr. Damien has also earned a special place in the hearts of Hawaiians. I recall many stories from my youth about his tireless work there to care for those suffering from leprosy who had been cast out.'
Continued the president, "Following in the steps of Jesus’ ministry to the lepers, Fr. Damien challenged the stigmatizing effects of disease, giving voice to the voiceless and ultimately sacrificing his own life to bring dignity to so many. In our own time as millions around the world suffer from disease, especially the pandemic of HIV/AIDS, we should draw on the example of Fr. Damien’s resolve in answering the urgent call to heal and care for the sick. I offer my prayers as people of all faiths join the Holy Father and millions of Catholics around the world in celebrating Fr. Damien’s extraordinary life and witness."
- jpt
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You know Obama wanted to.
He’s used Teddy’s memory, invoked God, used his mother/grandmother, his daughter’s illness….
You know he wanted to somehow tie Saint Damien’s work with the lepers to universal Obamacare.
Give him time–he will.
Posted by: tyler | October 18, 2009, 3:14 pm 3:14 pm
Reminder to the POTUS.. hey dude.. this is in fortress europa (the continent).. are you sure you won’t be there.. in person.. duh.
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | October 18, 2009, 3:42 pm 3:42 pm
at the risk of sounding rude, didn’t we cover this already on your blog, jake, when you were on daddy leave? it’s a fantastic story, but…
Posted by: kelli | October 18, 2009, 4:41 pm 4:41 pm
“You know he wanted to somehow tie Saint Damien’s work with the lepers to universal Obamacare.
Give him time–he will.”
tyler | Oct 18, 2009 3:14:06 PM
Uh, I think you’ve already made the BLINDINGLY OBVIOUS tie in yourself.
Posted by: jhw539 | October 18, 2009, 5:37 pm 5:37 pm
This is very interesting
Posted by: Jenny | October 18, 2009, 7:34 pm 7:34 pm
Wasn’t one of St. Paul’s pieces of advice “to let God increase and I decrease”?
Does Obama really have to steal the limelight on every occasion that draws some international media attention? I mean to appear as the first president in the US to pitch his thugtown of Chicago for the Olympics . . . tacky. Now he’s going to exploit St. Damien and deliver another stump speech for Government Health Care? . . . tacky.
Just watch, he will say something like: “St. Damien gave us a clear example that God wants us to care for the forgotten, the rejected, the neglected from the most fundamental right of good health” (all true, except during St. Damien’s time there wasn’t Medicaid or Medicare on Hawaii. There was a lawless sense of neglect for lepers. Obama is swinging full pendulum and uses St. Damien’s example to peddle his own idea, not St. Damien’s or God’s idea of Government takeover of health care).
Sorry Obama you cannot professionalize or institutionalize charity. The difference between S. Damien and you is that he does it from the heart out of love for God, you do it to control a populace.
Posted by: EPU | October 18, 2009, 7:58 pm 7:58 pm
Father Damien didn’t force anyone else to participate in his good works.
Posted by: Fascist Hyena | October 18, 2009, 9:14 pm 9:14 pm
The Times (UK):
“Latest polls show a majority of Americans now disapprove of Obama’s handling of a war which may come to define his presidency. Many senior members of his own party are in open revolt.
“Senator Robert Byrd, at 91 a Democratic institution, was so incensed that he dragged himself from his hospital bed last week to make a 13-minute speech. ‘Does it really take 100,000 troops to find Osama Bin Laden?’ he wondered. ‘And how much will this cost? How much in terms of more dollars? How much in terms of American blood?’”
Posted by: Fascist Hyena | October 18, 2009, 9:16 pm 9:16 pm
What happens to Mr. Obama’s war of necessity? The wishy-washy way of him making the decision tells me that the war is not necessary.
Posted by: young_voter | October 18, 2009, 9:46 pm 9:46 pm
“Barack Obama’s job approval rating, which had slipped to as low as 50% last week, now stands at 56%” Gallup Oct 12
At this point in their first term, both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton had lower job approval ratings.
Posted by: jhw539 | October 18, 2009, 9:48 pm 9:48 pm
“What happens to Mr. Obama’s war of necessity? The wishy-washy way of him making the decision tells me that the war is not necessary.”
young_voter | Oct 18, 2009 9:46:05 PM
Wishy-washy? In under 10 months he’s already increased the number of US troop in Afghanistan by 50% (more like 75% depending on if you define support personnel as troops). That’s wishy-washy in the Right wing fantasy land?
There is a reason Obama is taking flak from his party. He very quickly heavily ramped up our troops there – he owns Afghanistan for better or worse now.
Posted by: jhw539 | October 18, 2009, 9:52 pm 9:52 pm
“Sorry Obama you cannot professionalize or institutionalize charity. The difference between S. Damien and you is that he does it from the heart out of love for God, you do it to control a populace.”
_______________________________________
You’ve got this quite wrong.
Governments commonly assist people in need with welfare or unemployment insurance. And it is done in part from the examples set in our moral teachings.
Posted by: julieterra | October 18, 2009, 11:17 pm 11:17 pm
What happens to Mr. Obama’s war of necessity? The wishy-washy way of him making the decision tells me that the war is not necessary.
Posted by: young_voter
right, he should do what the great ‘decider’, ‘W’ did, launch, invade, appoint your political buds to screw things up even more, tell the world that God told you to do it, ignore intelligence, and then try and figure out what went wrong 5 years later after thousands are dead and wounded..
now that, was some kinda plan, wasn’t it…
Posted by: Sasquatch | October 19, 2009, 12:08 am 12:08 am
“Sorry Obama you cannot professionalize or institutionalize charity. The difference between S. Damien and you is that he does it from the heart out of love for God, you do it to control a populace.”
‘ professionalize or institutionalize charity’..
really? as if old ‘W’ wasn’t out to spread the ‘word’ through ‘financial incentives’..
but hey, who knew that ‘W’ was really a community organizer.
‘ federally-funded social services’
wow,.. G.W. Bush was a communist !
White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, formerly the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI) is an office within the White House Office that is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States.
OFBCI was established by President George W. Bush through executive order ] on January 29, 2001, The initiative sought to strengthen faith-based and community organizations and expand their capacity to provide federally-funded social services,
Posted by: Oh Yeah | October 19, 2009, 12:15 am 12:15 am
“Colorado insurance executives, cautious supporters of health care reform throughout the past year, are now warning that current propos’ls could cause a ‘system collapse.” At issue are what insurance companies consider absurdly low penalties for people who choose not to buy health insurance. Their concern: People will buy insurance only when they desperately need it, such as after they’re diagnosed with cancer or heart disease.”
No kidding…
Posted by: Fascist Hyena | October 19, 2009, 12:28 pm 12:28 pm
Latest polls show a majority of Americans now disapprove of Obama’s handling of a war which may come to define his presidency. Many senior members of his own party are in open revolt.”
ROFLMAO!
Running out anti Obama material from Ruert Murdoch here in the States, fascist hyena outsources.
Posted by: Ryan C | October 19, 2009, 2:00 pm 2:00 pm
“[...] giving a voice to the voiceless”
Thanks for quoting prolife Obama in a homage to such a beautiful saint!
Posted by: Tere | October 19, 2009, 9:33 pm 9:33 pm
It surprises me that the very people that supposedly backed the president’s agenda with healthcare, are now beginning to see just what he has in mind for them. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that this president does not like it when anyone disagrees with him. Too bad. Get over it. Nobody is perfect except GOD. The Insurance companies are not trying to keep what they think is theirs, they are trying to stay afloat and in business. In case you haven’t forgotten, Mr. Obama, when he was campaigning for president stated that he favors a “one payer” system of health insurance – and that does not include the multitude different insurance companies we have. I’m just thankful that the insurance companies have finally woken up. Maybe now everyone will hear the ‘true’ facts instead of the propaganda that we’ve heard so far. President Obama, contrary to what ABC has said, your HealthCare is not worth the paper it is written on. I don’t know how you can justify charging people for not having insurance. You will be charging the very people who have no means. When you think about it, thats pretty stupid.
Posted by: snappy | October 20, 2009, 2:21 am 2:21 am