From None to Two

From None to Two was Originally Posted on February 20, 2012 by

On the heels of the recent Sainthood of Father Damian comes news of the date for Mother Marianne Cope’s Sainthood. She went to Kalaupapa on Molokai to care for the patients after Father Damien died of the disease.

The current story is at: http://www.kitv.com/news/30492063/detail.html and Wikipedia will have a page with further details as times goes on.

You may not be Catholic, but both of their stories are uplifting. Few of us can do the things these people were able to do.

The whole story of Kalaupapa and the leper colony is a sad one, especially now that we know a simple way to treat the disease. However, there are still leprosy colonies in various places around the earth.

When it was though that the disease was ultra contageous, affected people were forceably taken from their homes and placed in remote locations. One location was the remote area called Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai. The area is bordered by the highest sea cliffs in the world at 3300 feet. Access was by boat or mule ride down switchback trails.

Until recently, that area was the only county in the U.S. that required government approval to enter. Now the area is a National Historical Park. In the town still live 14 sufferers of the disease. Although the area is a park, current residents will be allowed to live there for life. It appears it would be difficult to try to integrate people into a society they had only read about. Many of the remaining citizens were physically scarred also.

If you care to, search out the 1999 movie “Molokai: The Story of Father Damien”. It had a number of stars in it but was a good story without them too. It included Alice Krige (Star Treks Borg Queen) plays the soon to be Saint Cope. Kris Kristopherson and Peter O’Toole also star.