Civics Citizenship
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Father Damien's Story (Adapted from "Beatification of Father Damien by Pope John-Paul II, Brussels, June 4, 1995." Leprosy Relief Information Bulletin, July 1995, p. 2.)
Joseph deVeuster, the self-sacrificing individual who was to become Father Damien, was born January 3, 1840 in Belgium. DeVeuster, the son of a farmer, came from a large family. It was expected that Joseph would take charge of the family business, but Joseph, like his brother before him, decided to devote his life to the church. Early in 1859 he joined the same order as his brother and there he took the name of Damien.
In 1863, his brother Joseph fell ill just before he was to leave for a mission to Hawaii. As preparations for the voyage were already in place, Damien offered to go in his brother's place and obtained permission to undertake the assigned mission. Damien arrived on the island of Hawaii March 19, 1864 and was ordained to the priesthood. It was here that he devoted himself, body and soul, to what proved to be a challenging mission.
Many people on Hawaii had contracted leprosy-a contagious disease then thought to be incurable that results in the flesh rotting and falling off. At that time the Hawaiian government, in an effort to stop the spread of the disease established a policy of deporting all those infected with leprosy to a nearby island. Four Brothers volunteered to take turns visiting and assisting the distressed leprosy victims. Father Damien was the first to leave. At his own request and that of the leprosy sufferers, he remained indefinitely on the island.
For sixteen years he worked to build a community based on openness and sharing. He brought those inflicted with leprosy the word of God and gave these people new reasons for living. He himself contracted the disease in 1885 and then was able to identify completely with their struggle.
Father Damien died on April 15, 1889. Over one hundred years later, on June 4, 1995, at a ceremony in Belgium, Pope John-Paul II honored Father Damien as an example to all those who find life's meaning in sharing and caring for the most needy of our time
Based on the criteria you have established, was Father Damien a committed citizen or crazy?