Bishop Larry Silva celebrates the Liturgy of the Eucharist (HCH photo by Darlene Dela Cruz)
Catholic Charities Hawaii president and CEO Terry Walsh gives the keynote talk at the diocesan Red Mass, Jan. 16 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa. (HCH photo by Darlene Dela Cruz)
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
In a talk full of autobiographical detail, the head of Catholic Charities Hawaii spoke to Hawaii’s public leaders about the courage and humanity of immigrants and refugees at the annual diocesan Red Mass, Jan. 16 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa.
“I speak from experience,” Terry Walsh said, “that when one opens their heart to encountering a stranger, smiling at a newcomer, or getting to know one’s neighbor, fear melts away.”
“The distrust and apprehension that may have previously existed is replaced by friendship and connection,” he said.
Migrants and refugees, and society’s responsibility toward them, was the topic of the annual liturgy that asks the Holy Spirit to rain down wisdom upon Hawaii’s public servants. Bishop Larry Silva was the main celebrant of the hour-and-a-half-long liturgy.
The Red Mass was held for the first time in the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa on School Street because the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, its venue for more than 60 years, was under construction.
More than 30 lawmakers, city council members, government officials, military officers, police officers and others filled five pews in the large church. Also present were six leaders of Protestant and Orthodox Christian denominations.
Walsh linked his remarks to Pope Francis’ “Share the Journey” migration campaign which, he said, calls for a “global effort to renew solidarity with migrants and refugees.”
“Today, as much as any time in our history, this message of aloha is crucial, as the culture of welcome is under threat,” he said. “Where would we be as a country if not for its rich history of welcoming immigrants from all over the world?”
The speaker’s immigrant family
Walsh, who has been the CEO and president of Catholic Charities Hawaii since January 2017, used his own family as an example.
“My wife wasn’t born in this country,” he said. “We have seven foster sons who are Sudanese refugees. My mother-in-law is a Vietnamese immigrant. My wife’s aunt is a refugee. My great-great grandparents were immigrants from Ireland.”
This, he said, “is a typical American family — a quiltwork of different languages, cultures and ethnicities.”
In his more than 20 years in social services, Walsh specialized in working with refugees, a passion he developed while attending Chaminade University of Honolulu as an undergraduate and meeting his wife’s aunt, a refugee from Vietnam.
Over the years, he has helped refugees from Haiti, Cuba, Vietnam, Bosnia, Kosovo and Somalia settle in the United States.
As a consultant with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, he was deployed to Kenya, where he interviewed hundreds of the so-called “Lost Boys” of Sudan, the victims of poverty, exploitation and war.
In spite of their tragic lives, Walsh found the young men “full of faith, hope and dignity.”
“Their resilience was palpable” and their aspirations high, he said. When asked what they wanted to be, “doctor, attorney, pilot, politician or pastor were the most common answers.”
Walsh’s work led him and his wife, Shari, to take in seven foster sons from Sudan.
“The most poignant part of my journey was being able to look into the eyes of refugees and immigrants from all over the world and see the reflection of God,” Walsh said.
“To learn about another human being from a different culture and realize that they have the same hopes, dreams and aspirations as me is a profound bonding experience,” he said.
The Mass began at 9 a.m. with a procession of Hawaiian societies, men in black suits and red and yellow shoulder capes, and women in black or white muumuu and yellow feather leis, as an oli, a Hawaiian prayer chant, was sung.
Ten deacons and 20 priests then took their places in the sanctuary decorated with arrangements of red anthuriums and red carnations.
Two famous immigrants
“Peace be with you,” the bishop said, welcoming the congregation. “We thank God for your presence here today.”
In a brief homily, Bishop Silva spoke of two famous immigrants to Hawaii, St. Damien who came “to share the riches of his faith in Jesus Christ” and St. Marianne who “brought beauty, healing, and freedom through her devotion and love.”
“Of course, not all immigrants come with the noble motives of Father Damien and Mother Marianne,” the bishop said.
Some flee “tyrannical governments or terrorists,” he said. Others seek better economic opportunities.
“Some come, knowing that they will engage in back-breaking labor, but are willing to do so because they want their children and their children’s children to thrive,” he said. They come knowing they will be welcomed by compassionate people.
“But not all who come here find such a welcome,” Bishop Silva said. “And so we need to remind ourselves that our own salvation depends upon our care for the stranger and the alien.”
At the end of Mass, the public officials were asked to stand for a blessing.
“God of power and might, wisdom and justice, through you authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment is decreed,” the bishop said.
He then prayed for the governor and lieutenant governor, the mayors, legislators, judges, civil officials, “and all others who are entrusted to guard our political welfare.”
“May they be enabled by your powerful protection to discharge their duties with honesty and ability,” Bishop Silva said.
“You can certainly count on our prayers,” the bishop told the officials in closing.
