Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu is an ecclesiastical territory or particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The diocese is comprised of the entire state of Hawaii and the unincorporated Hawaiian Islands. The diocese is suffragan to the Metropolitan Province of San Francisco which includes the dioceses of Las Vegas, Oakland, Reno, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Rosa and Stockton. The patrons of the Diocese of Honolulu are the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Peace, and Blessed Damien of Molokai.

Persecution

Christian missionaries were influential in shaping the modern society of the kingdom after the deaths of Kamehameha and Kamehameha II. The missionaries, largely Congregationalists from New England, baptized the queen regent Kaahumanu and persuaded her to create religious policy favoring the suppression of the Roman Catholic Church in Hawaii. Kamehameha III agreed and enacted its expulsion from the kingdom. Fathers Bachelot and Short were forcibly boarded onto the brig Waverly by the chiefs loyal to Kaahumanu and they left Honolulu Harbor on December 24, 1831. They landed off the coast of California and worked in the California Missions near present-day City of Los Angeles.

Related Topics:
Christian - Missionaries - Kamehameha - Kamehameha II - Congregationalists - New England - Queen regent - Kaahumanu - Kamehameha III - December 24 - 1831 - California Missions - City of Los Angeles

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Native Hawaiian converts of the Roman Catholic Church claimed to have been imprisoned, beaten and tortured after the physical expulsion of their missionary priests. The persecution was prescribed, according to the Bishop Museum, by the Protestant ministers claiming that such treatment was ordained by God. Commodore John Downes of the United States Navy frigate USS Potomac expressed American disappointment of the king's decision resulting in the brief end of physical harm for the converts.

Related Topics:
Bishop Museum - Protestant - God - Commodore John Downes - United States Navy - Frigate - USS Potomac

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In 1835, the apostolic vicar and prefect working from Valparaíso dispatched Columba Murphy, a religious brother from Ireland affiliated with the Picpus Fathers, to evaluate the situation in the Hawaiian Islands. While other Picpus Fathers were denied entry into the kingdom, the king permitted Murphy to disembark from his ship due to his investigative role and the fact that Murphy, a mere brother, could not minister the sacraments. On September 30, 1836, Arsenius Walsh, a Picpus Father, arrived in Honolulu to continue Murphy's work. Murphy had left earlier to report back to his superiors. The royal government refused Walsh's entry. However, the captain of the French Navy ship La Bonite persuaded the king to allow Walsh to stay. The royal government agreed to permit the Picpus Fathers to work freely in the Hawaiian Islands as long as they only attended to foreign Roman Catholics, not Native Hawaiians.

Related Topics:
1835 - Columba Murphy - Ireland - September 30 - 1836 - Arsenius Walsh - French Navy - Ship

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On April 17, 1837, Fathers Bachelot and Short returned to Honolulu thinking the deal made with Father Walsh would apply to them. On April 30, the royal government forced them back onto their ship. The American and British Consuls compelled the king to allow Bachelot and Short to disembark. As a result, the captains of British Navy and French Navy vessels escorted Bachelot and Short into Honolulu. Short would leave the Hawaiian Islands again in October.

Related Topics:
April 17 - 1837 - April 30 - Consul - British Navy - Vessel

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France, which claimed to be a defender of the Roman Catholic Church, dispatched the French Navy frigate Artemise which sailed into Honolulu Harbor on July 10, 1839. Captain Cyrille-Pierre-Théodore Laplace was ordered by his government to:

Related Topics:
France - Honolulu Harbor - July 10 - 1839 - Captain Cyrille-Pierre-Théodore Laplace

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::Destroy the malevolent impression which you find established to the detriment of the French name; to rectify the erroneous opinion which has been created as to the power of France; and to make it well understood that it would be to the advantage of the chiefs of those islands of the Ocean to conduct themselves in such a manner as not to incur the wrath of France. You will exact, if necessary with all the force that is yours to use, complete reparation for the wrongs which have been committed, and you will not quit those places until you have left in all minds a solid and lasting impression.

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Fearing an assault on his kingdom for the religious persecution, Kamehameha III issued the Edict of Toleration on June 17, 1839. A major disappointment for the Protestant ministers, Roman Catholics became free to worship in the kingdom with the proclamation:

Related Topics:
Edict of Toleration - June 17 - 1839

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::That the Catholic worship be declared free, throughout all the dominions subject to the king of the Sandwich Islands; the members of this religious faith shall enjoy in them the privileges granted to Protestants.

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As an act of reconciliation, Kamehameha III donated land to the Roman Catholic Church in Hawaii for the construction of their first permanent church.

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