The National Catholic Register reports that the Diocese of Honolulu is preparing to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the arrival of Catholic missionaries in Hawaii, with yearlong festivities culminating in a closing Mass at the renovated Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in July 2027. Bishop Larry Silva, soon to be replaced by Jesuit Bishop-designate Michael T. Castori, described the celebration as a “sending forth” for missionaries, emphasizing the need to evangelize in Hawaii’s culture. The article highlights the historical struggles of early missionaries, the outlawing of Catholicism for a decade, and the subsequent flourishing of the faith, exemplified by figures like St. Damien of Molokai and St. Marianne Cope. It also mentions a planned heritage pilgrimage to France and the launch of a bicentennial website. While seemingly a commemoration of historical missionary efforts, this celebration, orchestrated by the post-conciliar structures, is a profound act of self-congratulation for a “Church” that has largely abandoned the very mission it purports to honor, substituting true evangelization with a naturalistic, ecumenical, and modernist agenda.
The Illusion of Mission: Evangelization Without Conversion
The article presents the bicentennial as a call to “be better evangelizers” and “missionaries,” echoing the language of the conciliar sect. Bishop Silva states, “There are many who have not heard of Jesus Christ here in Hawaii… Who will tell them about him if we don’t?” This rhetorical question, while seemingly pious, conceals a fundamental modernist error: the reduction of evangelization to a mere sharing of “good news” rather than the imperative call to conversion and submission to the One True Church. The article’s focus on “sharing the good news” and “Jesus may be known, may be loved, may be honored, and may be glorified” lacks any mention of the necessity of baptism, the sacraments, or the explicit rejection of false religions. This is not the evangelization of St. Damien, who sought to bring souls to Christ through the Catholic Church, but rather the conciliar model of “dialogue” and “encounter,” where the distinct truths of Catholicism are diluted to accommodate a relativistic worldview. Pius XI, in Quas Primas, unequivocally stated that Christ’s kingdom “extends not only to Catholic nations or to those who, by receiving baptism according to law, belong to the Church, even though their erroneous opinions have led them away or discord has separated them from love, but His reign encompasses also all non-Christians, so that most truly the entire human race is subject to the authority of Jesus Christ.” The modernist “evangelization” described in the article, however, often implies that other religions can be paths to God, a direct contradiction of Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus (Outside the Church there is no salvation).
Historical Amnesia and the Distortion of Missionary Zeal
The article recounts the “uphill battle” faced by early missionaries, noting that Catholicism was outlawed for a decade after its arrival. While acknowledging this historical struggle, it fails to draw the necessary theological conclusions about the nature of true mission and the cost of discipleship. The early missionaries understood that conversion meant a complete break from paganism and a total embrace of Catholic truth, often at great personal cost. Their zeal was for the salvation of souls through explicit faith in Christ and membership in His Church. The modernist “missionary” approach, as presented in the article, is one of “encounter” and “dialogue,” seeking common ground rather than demanding conversion. This is a betrayal of the very figures it claims to honor. St. Damien of Molokai, for instance, did not merely “share the good news” with the lepers; he brought them the sacraments, taught them Catholic doctrine, and lived among them as a true father in Christ, ultimately sacrificing his own life for their spiritual and physical well-being. His mission was one of radical conversion, not mere humanitarian aid or cultural exchange. The article’s silence on the specific Catholic doctrines that St. Damien preached and the sacraments he administered is a glaring omission, reducing his heroic sacrifice to a generalized “service” that could be emulated by any well-meaning individual, regardless of their faith.
The Cult of “Culture” and the Denial of Original Sin
Bishop Silva’s comment that the Hawaiian culture “was a very religious culture” and that missionaries “werenʼt starting from scratch” is a classic modernist trope, implying an inherent goodness or spiritual insight in non-Christian cultures that merely needs to be “baptized” or “fulfilled” by Christianity. This directly contradicts the Catholic understanding of original sin and the absolute necessity of grace for true spiritual insight. While natural virtues may exist, without the light of revelation and the grace of Christ, all human cultures are ultimately subject to error and sin. The missionaries’ task was not to build upon existing “religious culture” but to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which often meant challenging and transforming deeply ingrained cultural practices that were contrary to divine law. This modernist approach, which seeks to find “seeds of the Word” in all religions and cultures, is a form of indifferentism, condemned by Pope Pius IX in the Syllabus of Errors (Proposition 15: “Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true”; Proposition 16: “Man may, in the observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal salvation, and arrive at eternal salvation”). The article’s tone suggests a celebration of cultural diversity rather than a recognition of the universal need for Christ and His Church.
The “Sending Forth” of Modernist Missionaries
The article describes the closing Mass as a “sending forth” for missionaries. However, given the conciliar context, this “sending forth” is not a call to preach the fullness of Catholic truth and convert souls to the One True Church, but rather to engage in the modernist project of “dialogue,” “ecumenism,” and “social justice.” The “missionaries” being sent forth are products of a system that has largely abandoned the supernatural for the natural, the dogmatic for the pastoral, and the salvific for the humanitarian. Their “battle” is not against sin and error, but against “injustice,” “poverty,” and “exclusion,” often defined by secular rather than theological categories. This is a far cry from the “battle” fought by the early missionaries, who understood that the primary enemy was sin and the devil, and that the only true liberation came through Christ and His Church. The article’s emphasis on “challenges” and “joys” without specifying the spiritual nature of these challenges further underscores the naturalistic bent of modernist “mission.”
The Renovation of a Basilica: A Symbol of Neo-Church Priorities
The renovation of the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, including a reliquary chapel for St. Damien and St. Marianne Cope, is presented as a central part of the celebration. While honoring saints is commendable, the context of a post-conciliar “renovation” often implies a modernist reinterpretation of sacred spaces, stripping them of their traditional beauty and theological clarity to reflect a more “inclusive” and “modern” aesthetic. The focus on a “reliquary chapel” could be seen as a positive nod to traditional devotion, but without further details, it is impossible to ascertain if this renovation respects the sacred character of the relics and the basilica’s original purpose. Furthermore, the article’s mention of the cathedral’s history, including St. Damien’s ordination there, serves to connect the present conciliar structures to the heroic past, implying a continuity that is, in reality, a profound rupture. The “renovation” of the basilica, like the “renovation” of the Church since Vatican II, risks becoming a symbol of the triumph of modernism over tradition.
The Pilgrimage to France: A Journey to a Modernist Source
The planned heritage pilgrimage to France, to visit the Sacred Heart community where the first missionaries originated, is another example of the conciliar tendency to focus on historical roots while ignoring the theological drift. The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, like many religious orders, has been deeply affected by the post-conciliar crisis. While the article does not specify the current state of the French community, it is highly unlikely that it remains untouched by modernism. A pilgrimage to such a location, led by a retiring modernist bishop and his successor, would likely be a celebration of the order’s history rather than a critical examination of its current fidelity to Catholic doctrine. It is a journey to a source that, in many ways, has been poisoned by the very errors that the early missionaries sought to combat.
Conclusion: A Bicentennial of Betrayal
The Honolulu Diocese’s bicentennial celebration, as presented in the article, is a microcosm of the post-conciliar Church’s self-referential and ultimately hollow commemorations. It celebrates the form of missionary activity while gutting it of its substance. It honors the memory of true missionaries like St. Damien while simultaneously promoting a “mission” that would be unrecognizable to them. It speaks of “evangelization” without conversion, “culture” without the need for radical transformation, and “mission” without the explicit preaching of Catholic dogma. This is not a celebration of 200 years of Catholicism in Hawaii, but rather a celebration of 200 years of a faith that has been systematically undermined and distorted by the very structures that claim to perpetuate it. The “sending forth” described is not a call to true missionary zeal, but a perpetuation of the modernist agenda, ensuring that the “good news” shared is not the fullness of Catholic truth, but a diluted, naturalistic, and ultimately soul-destroying imitation. The faithful are called not to celebrate this betrayal, but to reject it and return to the unchanging Tradition of the Church, which alone offers the path to true salvation.
Source:
Honolulu Diocese Celebrates 200 Years of Catholicism in Hawaii (ncregister.com)
Date: 19.06.2026