"I rejoice in the brotherhood of Mormons and Catholics," said Dr. Fred Woods, religion professor for Brigham Young University in Provo, UT, at his recent speaking engagement at Chaminade University last Friday, October 7. The interfaith event brought together university presidents, staff, students, and guests from both campuses, each celebrating their respective 50th anniversaries.
"This type of bridge-building opportunity should happen more often," Woods continued. "We are not always going to agree on doctrine, but we need to find more common grounds to serve rather than battlegrounds to divide us."
Dr. David Coleman, Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts at Chaminade University, pointed out the common mission held at both BYU-Hawai'i and Chaminade.
"Both universities have, at the center of their mission, a religious vision," Coleman said. "The center of that mission is 'How to respond to Christ in our lives.' Isolation, caring, overcoming obstacles; these are things both universities share, and this event was an opportunity where both institutions could grow together and share in that vision."
Woods' speech, entitled "Damien and Napela: Yokemates in Charitable Service," provided a glimpse into the lives and contributions made by Father Damien DeVeuster (Roman Catholic) and Jonathan Napela (The Church of Jesus Christof Latter-day Saints), two significant ecclesiastical leaders in Hawai'i during the late 1800s.
The focal point of the speech centered around service, and more specifically, the service rendered by these two selfless church leaders at Kalaupapa, the place of banishment for more than 8,000 leprosy patients.
"Service brings joy, and we do it in different ways," said Woods. "It is a need to serve that brings people together."
Referring to the efforts of those caregivers in Kaluapapa, he continued, "There are a great many people of various faiths who were united in their service to their fellow man. The more I got involved with my research, the more I could see that Kalaupapa was a model we need to follow in our own time."
Born in Maui, Napela was one of the earliest converts to the Church in Hawaii, and served a pivotal role in its progression, translating the Book of Mormon into Hawaiian with Elder George Q. Cannon, an early apostle in the Church.
According to Woods, it was Napela who originally proposed the idea of a missionary training center. Woods told of Napela's idea to host missionaries at his home for two months, providing the necessary training in order to effectively teach the gospel and become familiar with local traditions and history.
Later in life, Napela's wife, Kitti, was diagnosed with leprosy. Knowing he too would be contaminated, he refused to leave her side. He was committed to stay with her, in sickness and in health, acting as a kokua, and that's what he intended to do, to help, said Woods.
The couple made their journey to the remote Moloka'i peninsula, landing in Kalawao (east end of the peninsula) in 1873. Napela was appointed to be the presiding elder for members of the Church in that settlement.
Ironically, the Napelas landed within one week of Catholic missionary Father Damien. On this island, the unique and loyal friendship was developed between Napela and Father Damien. Joined in the cause of service to their fellowmen, the two became good friends, said Woods.
Not only did they serve as spiritual leaders, but the two men over came a religious bias by turning a stumbling block of faith-centered conflict into stepping stones of a unified society, constructing buildings together, and creating a community out of a band of outcasts.
In their roles as caregivers, both men contracted the disease and would eventually pass away—Napela, before his wife, in 1879.
Damien died in 1889. The late Pope John Paul II declared him as "blessed" in the second of three steps to sainthood, after the Catholic manner. Woods provided several quotes from the great leaders of the ages, including one from Damien.
Speaking of his call to serve the people banished to this island, Damien said, "It's Providence I tell you that is inspiring me. Don't put any obstacles in the way. God is calling me. I must obey. If I refuse I run the risk of going to hell. As for you, God will punish you terribly for standing in the way of his will. Suppose the disease gets my body, God will give me another one on resurrection day."
Modern-day medicine has since provided the antidote to leprosy, and in1969 the quarantine was lifted from the island. Visitors and patients alike may travel to and from the settlement, now a historic park run by the U.S. National Park Service.
Looking beyond a person's faith is a way of life in Kalaupapa, where members of the LDS Church, Catholics, and Protestants interact constantly ,following the precedent set by Napela and Damien, said Woods.
Woods has visited the island four times, each visit providing him with an opportunity to interview some of the 36 remaining patients, three of whom are the last remaining members of the Church.
Kuulei Bell, one of the three remaining members (and the current postmaster)commented about living on the well-known island that was once a destination none would choose to make.
"The spirit found on Kalaupapa is unique to our island," she said. "Many years ago, I went to Belgium and met the Pope, representing all the patients of this island; I represented the Catholics, the Protestants, and the Mormons. That is what the island is all about – loving and serving everyone, no matter what religion they belong to."
Woods is returning to Hawai'i next Friday, October 21, to present a similar speech during the celebration of BYU-Hawaii's Jubilee Week. It will be held in room 185 of the General Classroom Building (GCB) at 1:00p.m.
To read coverage of this story, please visit the Honolulu Star Bulletin.