Screenshot of the Brother Dutton webinar hosted by the DMCC
By Anna Weaver
Hawaii Catholic Herald
The Damien and Marianne Catholic Conference hosted a webinar on Servant of God Joseph Dutton on Dec. 11.
Hosting the live session was Deacon Modesto Cordero, who remains the DMCC’s president after relocating to California from Hawaii where he was previously the diocesan director of the Office of Worship.
The featured speakers were seasoned Kalaupapa historian and tour guide Patrick Boland, Brother Joseph Dutton Guild treasurer Ed Paz, and Father Jon Schnobrich, pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Stowe, Vermont, where Dutton was from.
Boland gave a biographical overview of Dutton’s life that included excerpts from Dutton’s own writing, as well as historical photos. Dutton, who fought in the Civil War, soon after had a short-lived marriage that ended in divorce. He held various jobs and fell into alcoholism before converting to Catholicism, largely due to its focus on penance.
As an act of reparation for his past sins, Dutton decided to go to Molokai to help Father Damien de Veuster. He arrived in 1886 and remained there until shortly before his death, tending to the wounds of the Hansen’s disease patients and overseeing the boys home on the peninsula.
Although Dutton is often called Brother Dutton, he was not a member of a religious order. He did become a secular Franciscan toward the end of his life at the prompting of Mother Marianne and her fellow Franciscan Sisters serving in Kalaupapa.
Speaking next in the webinar was Paz, who reviewed the path to sainthood so far for the “Servant of the God” and went over some of the terminology and steps that will need to take place before Dutton can be canonized.
Finally, Father Schnobrich spoke. His parish of Blessed Sacrament was built on land where Dutton was born. The church is uniquely marked on its exterior with large murals depicting the story of Kalaupapa, Sts. Damien and Marianne, and Dutton.
The priest talked about Dutton being close to people who were in most need, tending to their physical wounds like he was dressing Jesus’ wounds himself. Dutton was described as a “joyful penitent” for never losing his focus on atonement but also having a happy spirit.
“He was born in a place of beauty and then died in a place of beauty,” said Father Schnobrich referring to Dutton’s journey from a now-famed Vermont ski town to the isolated and starkly beautiful Kalaupapa peninsula.
“This is a time to pray to Dutton and see where we are going to go from here,” Deacon Cordero concluded the formal part of the presentation before opening the webinar up for questions.
Some pertained to specific historical and medical matters such as how infectious diseases brought by foreigners to the islands wiped out much of the Hawaiian population. How long it would take Dutton to become a saint was another topic as was a mention of why the term “leper” is offensive to those suffering from the disease and should not be used today.
You can watch past DMCC webinars including the Brother Joseph Dutton session at https://dmcchawaii.org/past-webinars-series.
