Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is towing the party line when it comes to statues of historical figures. Her latest target is a Catholic saint who sacrificed his life to help lepers in Hawaii.
She believes Father Damien is a symbol of “patriarchy and white supremacist culture.”
“Even when we select figures to tell the stories of colonized places, it is the colonizers and settlers whose stories are told — and virtually no one else,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “Check out Hawaii’s statue.”
Ocasio-Cortez said she would prefer to see a statue memorializing Lili’uokalani, the indigenous queen who ruled Hawaii until the kingdom was overthrown in 1893. The progressive lawmaker said she wasn’t trying to “litigate each and every individual statue,” but was instead using Damien to show “the patterns that have emerged.”
“Virtually all men, all white, and mostly both,” she said of the figures in statuary hall inside the U.S. Capitol.
Father Damien, it should be noted, is quite an important historical figure in Hawaiian history. Canonized in 2009 by then-Pope Benedict XVI, Father Damien devoted his life to caring for the spiritual and physical needs of those suffering from leprosy, now known as Hansen’s disease. From 1873 until his death in 1889, Father Damien ministered to those separated from their loved ones as a result of the disease.
During that time, he shared the Catholic faith with lepers. Ultimately, the priest contracted the disease himself and succumbed to it….
The above comes from a July 31 story on Faith Wire.
The statues are chosen by their respective states. That woman is not a resident of Hawaii, nor does she represent the people of Hawaii. It’s none of her businneds.
How blind can you be, AOC? Your commitment to leftist dogmatism has prevented you from appreciating and honoring a miracle of grace. Now as never before I worry about the state of your soul. You are literally playing with fire, AOC. You are young and presumably have time to repent and place your hope in Christ our Lord. I am certain St. Damien is praying for you presently. It would be a sublime irony if it was his prayers that led to your conversion.
You have to be stupid to be a Democrat.
Oh good grief, let those who want to honor Queen Lili’ uokalani for any good she did honor her their own way, and those who want to honor St. Damien in their own way. Why does it always have to be “either or”. I am sure the woman did some good things and some bad things as we all do. Also, when her grandfather “united” the country under his rule, I am sure there were other indigenious people who might not have been so happy about that. That is the case with all countries.
Towing and toeing have different meanings. Faith Wire should know this. I agree American spelling is often a pain in the butt. But it is what it is.
AOC seems off base in her comments here.
Alexandria Vacia-Corteza. The gift that just keeps on giving.
Another thing, it seems the queen liked Fr. Damien and what he was doing and helped him, so why do people want to take down his statues in her name. It makes no sense at all.
Once this insanity starts, there is no quick or easy end to it. Flannery O’Connor has now been declared a racist. Who’s next?
Maybe Pope Francis for canonizing Fr. Serra and elevating Fr. Kino?
And, like the French Revolution, this revolution is starting to eat its own. Ellen Degeneres and several liberal entertainers have run afoul of totalitarian orthodoxy. So, of course, they must be “canceled.”
Our “Catholic” brother, Joe Biden, says transgenderism is “the civil rights issue of our time.” And, that we must fund abortion all the way through until after birth!
Jesus will still be Lord after November regardless of the results. That said, will the violence be institutionalized and long-term or of relatively short duration following an unlikely Trump victory?
To a radical like AOC, Fr. Damian’s white skin cancels out all the good work he did for non-white people.
That’s where progressives are in 2020 America, vote them out!