2023 Red Mass talk: A hope that transforms

By Robert Van Tassell

2023 Red Mass TALK

This is the prepared text of the talk given by Robert Van Tassell, chief executive officer and president of Catholic Charities Hawaii delivered at the annual diocesan Red Mass, Jan. 17, at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu.

Thank you, Bishop, for that generous introduction. We acknowledge and thank all the elected officials who took the time to be with us today. Thank you.

In today’s Gospel we heard “the blind will see, the lame will walk… the poor will have the good news proclaimed to them.” At first glance it may appear the poor got the short end of the stick. How do you pay the bills with a pocketful of hope? Let us explore further the power of hope, its ability to transform and how hope and charity must ultimately lead to justice.

I’d like to tell you a little bit about Eric. Eric loved his work as a Waikiki beach boy, where he taught surfing lessons and shared the local culture with others, an ambassador of Hawaii. He not only taught visitors how to safely enjoy the surf but how to respect and appreciate the beauty of Hawaii. He was living his dream. Then in an instant, a big wave and a rogue surfboard hit and he was out. Now he no longer surfs. He has been out of the water for six years, and has lost his cherished connection with the sea. It has been devastating. He wants to work but for now he struggles to walk. Obtaining workman’s compensation has been a multi-year process embroiled in legal battles. It’s not right, he says, I did nothing to deserve this. He was desperate until he met someone from Catholic Charities Hawaii – someone who believed in him and took action. As Eric says, “The Catholics do not give up on you.”

Through the work of Catholic Charities Hawaii, Eric’s outlook pivoted from desperation to hope, with simple words such as “we believe in you,” “we are with you,” and acts of compassion, phone calls, connections, a community reaching out and providing hope. Eric’s struggles continue. But now he has hope, goals and a pathway back to self-sufficiency.

That is what our staff does every day, hundreds of times a day. They turn desperation into hope, a hope that transforms and charity that ultimately leads to justice. It’s a story you hear repeated every time you talk to a member of our staff. Acts of charity and hope go hand in hand.

At Catholic Charities Hawaii we work with our clients to set realistic goals and help them believe in themselves. We design and create pathways to ensure it is all achievable. We do this in collaboration with peer agencies and policy-makers. This is key. As leaders and elected officials we create pathways by enacting just policies and budgets.

As author Brenee Brown writes “it does not matter how much hope we have if the deck is stacked or the rules apply to others — that is actually a recipe for hopelessness and despair.” Here in our communities we must level the playing field, ensure the rules apply to all and create just public policy. That is our responsibility — the kuleana of all of us here today. Many out there, like Eric, need navigators and advocates. As he wonders aloud, “I have Catholic Charities, but who do others have?”

There are times when hope and charity are not enough. We must work for justice. We must bring down institutional barriers and systems that hinder progress and can shatter hope. Pope Benedict reminded us “Charity cannot take the place of justice that has been denied.” Catholic Charities’ mission is both acts of charity AND advocacy for justice. In other words, helping Eric with his bills is charity. Working to ensure Eric and others like him have access to health care, economic assistance, and fair compensation …is JUSTICE.

Present with us today are leaders with the authority and power to create opportunities, fund budgets and enact legislation that create pathways of hope leading to justice. Elected leaders, social service agencies and all of us are the dispensers of hope — hope that moves us along the arc of justice.

Catholic Charities Hawaii has a long history of partnering with government agencies. During World War I, the Knights of Columbus financed the building of a center, right outside this cathedral, on the spot where the Chancery now stands, to provide a place of community for servicemen and their families.

World War II left a devastating impact on Hawaii. Answering Bishop Sweeney’s call for social services in Hawaii, four Maryknoll sisters arrived from New York to staff their newly formed agency and Catholic Charities Hawaii was born.

The sisters witnessed the struggles of immigrant workers and became strong advocates of plantation workers’ rights. Though humble they were never silent. They worked with civic leaders to create legislation establishing fair wages, just working conditions and workforce housing.

By the 1970s Catholic Charities was providing services to the elderly, immigrants and refugees, foster youth, families experiencing problems of child abuse and neglect, and a variety of advocacy services.

In the 90s, Catholic Charities continued to be innovative, providing specialized services for homeless families, domestic violence victims, and programs for the prevention of child abuse and neglect, financial management, and enhanced services for disabled persons.

In 1999, Catholic Charities Housing Development Corporation (CCHDC) incorporated as a subsidiary of CCH. Today our housing corporation encompasses more than 400 units with 150 more in the pipeline, providing permanent, safe, affordable housing to those in most need. Just as 75 years ago, when the Maryknoll sisters fought for plantation workers’ rights, so do we advocate and work today for the right of every person to have safe and decent housing, a fair wage and access to health care.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said “Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice, which make philanthropy necessary.” He also reminds us that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Our charitable works (philanthropy) must be on the ever-bending arc toward justice for all. Charitable acts are critical for the relief of suffering, but they have little effect on the political or economic status quo. Our bigger challenge is to recognize that justice requires political action. The cure is the act of reshaping social structures so that all members of society develop to their fullest human capacity.

For many reasons, we in Hawaii are fortunate. One reason is the frequently present symbol of hope and a beautiful reminder of God’s promise, the rainbow. Let it also be a reminder to us of our kuleana to ensure a pathway of hope for all God’s people.