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Renowned missionary inspires and empowers students

June 11, 2014   ·   0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons

Local high school students were empowered as their classroom changed venue last week.
In the auditorium at St. Michael Catholic Secondary School in Bolton, seeds of change were planted, by renowned missionary Father Christopher Hartley.
Father Hartley addressed a full house of staff, students and visitors, who listened to his inspirational tale of life-changing advocacy. His story is not about political activism, but rather a revelation of love and renewed direction.
Father Hartley, whose story was featured in the documentary, The Price of Sugar, is a British-Spanish Catholic missionary priest who fought to bring more humane conditions to Haitian sugar cane workers in the Domincan Republic, from 1997 to 2006.
He and students from St. Michael are kindred spirits, as the school organizes a mission trip for the very same cause each January.
“The DR mission is now part of our school identity,” said Urszula Cybulko, chaplaincy leader.
It was quite a coup for the school to get Father Hartley to speak, during his brief visit to Ontario. It was the only Peel school to get the opportunity to host him.
In her introduction, student Lexie Hesketh-Pavilons, who will be making her third trip to the DR in 2015, said Father Hartley is an inspiration and trailblazer.
“We are kindred spirits,” she said. “This (mission trips) was an experience unlike anything else and it will stay with me for life.
“And we have people like Father Hartley to thank for paving the way.”
Father Hartley came to grips with real human fear, going from “a priest in hell” to an accomplished missionary and sought-after speaker.
His experience instilled in him a renewed sense of purpose, compassion and love.
He’s currently serving in a remote region in Ethiopia, near the Somali border. He’s isolated, surrounded by Al-Shabaab terrorists, but his faith and sense of duty remain unshaken. The situation has worsened, to the point where the U.S. embassy in Addis Abada has urged American citizens to exercise caution.
“I will do anything for those I love,” he told the students. “Overcoming my fear is the measure of my love.”
This was the real personal outcome of his time in the Dominican Republic.
Father Hartley had lived a comfortable life, being in a position of respect in his affluent parish in New York City. He spent 13 years there, and even worked with Mother Teresa, but deep in his heart, he felt there was something more, something vitally important.
After talking with one of his peers who had been to the Dominican, he decided to go and see for himself. It only took one look and his life would be forever changed.
He arrived there in September of 1997 with no idea about human rights, social justice or any real fear.
It was his first mass in one of the bateys (sugar cane workers’ camps) that clarified things for him. Bare-footed children and adults, dressed in rags, trudged through the mud to enjoy a makeshift mass. They began singing, in an almost angelic fashion. Perhaps it was a sign.
The defining moment for him came in January of 2000, when then Dominican President Leonel Fernandez paid a visit to Hartley’s parish in Los Llanos. What was supposed to be a simple invocation turned into a passionate plea for the plight of the sugar cane workers. At one point, Father Hartley welcomed the president to the “threshold of hell,” starting a maelstrom of public and media attention.
Father Hartley and representatives of the Catholic Church met with the powerful Vicini family, which controlled the Dominican’s sugar cane production. Initially vowing to work with the church, the Vicini family did nothing to improve the lives of workers.
Hartley persisted and one more headline drew world-wide attention in January of 2003: “A priest in hell.”
“It was war from then on,” he said.
Death threats began and he was assigned a body guard to protect him.
This was the first time in his life he experience real fear. He was constantly looking over his shoulder and concerned himself and for those around him.
This fear became the source of a personal epiphany. As Christian teachings profess, Father Hartley had, hundreds of times, told the faithful “don’t be afraid.”
Now, these words had meaning and Father Hartley enjoyed a sense of enlightenment – he now had the credentials to preach with passion.
Those he served lived “crucified lives,” he said, noting they placed their trust in him. He vowed to continue working so they have their hour of justice. Replacing fear with love, he answered the cry of the poor.
He was exiled from the Dominican Republic in October of 2006. He continued to campaign for Haitian worker rights in the Dominican Republic and helped draft the Better Sugarcane Initiative, which encourages fair trade for sugar.
The Catholic Church has an enormous world-wide network, with active missionaries doing similar work each and every day. He pointed out his native Spain boasts some 20,000 missionaries alone doing “incredible work.”
Things changed in the Dominican Republic and continue to change for the better today.
The work carried out by students at St. Michael is a reflection of that change.
Father Hartley told the students they can help change the world first by being informed. Their segment of the population is a powerful one, and they can, and should, ask the large consumer goods manufacturers whether they use Dominican sugar. Students can boycott things like liquid sugar (soft drinks) and write emails expressing their concerns.
Father Hartley met with several students who were part of mission trips and engaged in an informal and insightful discussion.
He told them the material goods and donations they bring to the Dominicans and Haitians are one thing, but they must bring their hearts, too. What the young people bring back with them, and share with us, is paramount to change.