[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 159 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 159

 Honoring the contributions of Father Joseph Damien de Veuster for his 
              service to humanity, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 25, 1995

 Mrs. Mink of Hawaii (for herself and Mr. Abercrombie), introduced the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Honoring the contributions of Father Joseph Damien de Veuster for his 
              service to humanity, and for other purposes.
Whereas Father Joseph Damien de Veuster was born in Tremeloo, Belgium, on 
        January 3, 1840;
Whereas Father Damien entered the Sacred Hearts Order at Louvain, Belgium, as a 
        postulant in January 1859 and took his final vows in Paris on October 7, 
        1860;
Whereas, after arriving in Honolulu on March 19, 1864, to join the Sacred Hearts 
        Mission in Hawaii, Father Damien was ordained to the priesthood in the 
        Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace on May 21, 1864;
Whereas Father Damien was sent to the Puna, Kohala, and Hamakua districts on the 
        island of Hawaii, where Father Damien served people in isolated 
        communities for 9 years;
Whereas the alarming spread of Hansen's disease, also known as leprosy, for 
        which there was no known cure, prompted the Hawaiian Legislature to pass 
        an Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy in 1865;
Whereas the Act required segregating those afflicted with Hansen's disease to 
        the isolated peninsula of Kalaupapa, Molokai, where those afflicted by 
        Hansen's disease were virtually imprisoned by steep cliffs and open 
        seas;
Whereas those afflicted by Hansen's disease were forced to separate from their 
        families, had meager medical care and supplies, and had poor living and 
        social conditions;
Whereas in July 1872, Father Damien wrote to the Father General that many of his 
        parishioners had been sent to the settlement on Molokai and lamented 
        that he should join them;
Whereas on May 12, 1873, Father Damien petitioned Bishop Maigret, having 
        received a request earlier for a resident priest at Kalaupapa, to allow 
        Father Damien to stay on Molokai and devote his life to Hansen's disease 
        patients;
Whereas for 16 years, from 1873 to 1889, Father Damien labored to bring material 
        and spiritual comfort to the Hansen's disease patients of Kalaupapa, 
        building chapels, water cisterns, and boys and girls homes;
Whereas on April 15, 1889, at the age of 49, Father Damien died of Hansen's 
        disease contracted a few years earlier;
Whereas the Roman Catholic Church began the consideration of beatification of 
        Father Damien in February 1955, and Father Damien will be beatified on 
        June 4, 1995, by Pope John Paul II in Brussels, Belgium;
Whereas Father Damien was selected by the State of Hawaii in 1965 as one of the 
        distinguished citizens of the State whose statue would be installed in 
        Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol;
Whereas the life of Father Damien continues to be a profound example of selfless 
        devotion to others and remains an inspiration for all mankind;
Whereas common use of sulfone drugs in the 1940's removed the dreaded sentence 
        of disfigurement and death imposed by Hansen's disease, and the 1969 
        repeal of the isolation law allowed greater mobility for former Hansen's 
        disease patients;
Whereas in the mid-1970's, the community of former Hansen's disease patients at 
        Molokai recommended the establishment of a United States National Park 
        at Kalaupapa, out of a strong sense of stewardship of the legacy left by 
        Father Damien and the rich history of Kalaupapa;
Whereas the Kalaupapa National Historical Park was established in 1980 with a 
        provision that former Hansen's disease patients may remain in the park 
        as long as they wish; and
Whereas the remaining patients at Kalaupapa, many of whom were exiled as 
        children or young adults and who have endured immeasurable hard ships 
        and untold sorrows, are a special legacy for America, exemplifying the 
        dignity and strength of the human spirit: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives of the United States 
recognizes Father Damien for his services to humanity and takes this 
occasion to--
            (1) celebrate achievements of modern medicine in combating 
        the once-dreaded Hansen's disease;
            (2) remember that victims of Hansen's disease still suffer 
        social banishment in many parts of the world; and
            (3) honor the people of Kalaupapa as a living American 
        legacy of human spirit and dignity.
                                 <all>