The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1890-05-31


THE MA R II Y B PR | EST.
Cardinal Moran Lectures On tho
Apostle Of the Lepers."
misn's Life Overcoming Irreligious
Digotry and Hatrsd-How the Remains
OF the Martyr Of Molokai Were Laid "a
Rest.
Cardinal Moran recently delivered a.
Sydney lecture on Father Damien the
Apostle Of the Lepers,"' at the close Of
which no suggested the erection Of .
stained-glass window in St. Mary's Ca
thedral to psrpetuate the name Of the
leper- priest.
His Eminencs, IN op ening the lecture,
remarked that some three months ago
he had deemed 1t his duty to draw at
tention to certain statements rejecting
on Father Damien which had appeared
in religious newspaper in Sydney.
The writer, who was supposed to be q
Christian minister, who stood alone as
the caluminator of brave and good
II man, made 9 number of grave charges
against the martyr of Molokai and &C.
cused him of crimes and vices Of which
no one before had ever heard. He (the
I CardinaD felt it his duty, in order to
save the memory of brave and good
and pure man from what was intended
o. a stain publicly to challenge the
writer of the accusation to which he re-
ferred to sustain and prove his grave
charges, or else withdraw them. Dur
ing all the weeks that had passed the
writer had been silent; but though this
writer, whose reflections on the char
Acter of the dead priest had 80 strangely
oontrasted with the generous tributes
of all classes and or eeds throughout the
world had remained silent, on the
other hand indignant denials and COM
plete refutations of the calumnies had
flowed in from all quarters, and espec-
tally from those who were themselves
privileged to witness Father Damien's
indispensable zeal, devotion and self
placement in his self-sacrifce as q
martyr to Christian compassion and
charity.
They had, after all, reasons in one
sense, to thank the writer who had
published the libels on Father Damien,
for the publication of those calumnies
had served to bring out the martyr
priests heroism in all the brighter
colors, and the testimonies which had
been evoked by the attempt to cast a
slur on a blameless Life and holy
memory would render it impossible
for any one at any future time to
question: the character, the motives,
the life, or the work of Father Damien.
Among others the United States Consul
at Hawaii had written q beautiful
tribute to the hero priest.
It was = singular thing that while
communicating little with the world
himself, and then only to solicit aid for
the poor lepers, faithful chroniclers
had put on record the progress of
Father Damien's work. During the
sixteen years the good priest labored at
Lolokai accounts had been written
from year to year, and it was most re-
markabls that these narratives, all full
of admiration, were, almost without
exception, written by Protestant clergy
men who had visited the leper island
or its nsighborhood.
Soon after undertaking his mission,
Father Damien, who was q most exem-
plary priest, asked the Government to
allow him occasionally to visit the
nearest priest 30 as to make his confess
sion and receive the Sacraments. After
q time Father Damien became In every
sense on exile, it being no longer posi-
BILE for him to go in and out of the set
element, and he had to toll on till
brother priest following in the foot
steps cast in his lot with the lepers and
removed some portion of the burden
which had rested 50 long on Father
Damien's shoulders. In his broad
Christian charity he knew and made no
religious or national distinctions-all
the lepers with the common title suffer
ing and misfortune being embraced,
Catholic and Protestant, Mormon and
Pagan, in his fatherly care.
After living in the midst of the loath-
some disease, Father Damien himself
fell martyr to it, q martyr to duty.
The last days of the Apostle Of the
Lepers were described, and the lecturer
read the account OF the Irish lay brother,
Brother James, in whose arms Father
Damien died, of how the remains of the
hero were laid to rest beneath the same
tree under which he had slept In the
farst days of his exile, when there was
NO roof to cover his head. Providence
vouohsafed most peaceful and happy
death to Father Damien. It was re-
corded by those who performed the last
Christian Offices that the marks of dis
ease whioh had disfgured his face to-
tally disappeared in death, and that
though his hands had been severely at
tackled by the disease, the first joints,
which had touched tho Blessed Sacra-
ment SO often in the celebration OF the
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