Letter to Bishop Sullivan

Dear Bishop Sullivan,

Greetings from Dublin where we are enjoying exceptionally mild weather for this time of year.

First of all, Bishop Dennis, I wish to sincerely thank you for the support that you are giving to our community in Westville Grove and by extension to the entire Family of Saint John of God worldwide, but especially in West Africa where people are deeply traumatised by the consequences of the terrible Ebola virus outbreak. Among the thousands of casualties of this killer disease are 17 members of our Hospitaller Family of Saint John of God, 12 Lay Hospitallers, 1 Sister of the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception who worked with the Brothers and 4 Brothers of Saint John of God.

Bishop Dennis in the first instance you have vividly demonstrated your support by visiting the Community at Westville and celebrating the Eucharist with them and secondly, by having a diocese-wide collection to get some financial help to assist our communities in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The response to the appeal has been phenomenal — and I understand from Brother Tom that people continue to give their support through prayer and donations. I will be meeting the Provincial of the West African Province of the Order, Brother Bartholomew Kamara, at a Provincials meeting in Rome next week and I look forward to telling him of the generosity of the people of the Diocese of Camden and conveying to him the prayerful good wishes of your good self, Bishop Dennis, and that of the clergy, religious and laity of the Diocese. One can hardly imagine just how much this real Christ-like response by the ordinary people of the Diocese means to so many people — their brothers and sisters in a far way continent, who live in the grip of this killer disease and the fear, sense of isolation and hopelessness that it gives rise to.

Sadly, the situation on West Africa continues to be ‘beyond’ a crisis situation; it is a desperate situation. We are faced with the very real possibility of the death of tens of thousands of people before a vaccine or serum can be tested and made available in sufficient quantities to treat the people with the disease and to prevent cross-infection. Our hospitals and clinics in Sierra Leone and Monrovia are closed to allow for decontamination procedures of the facilities. We are also putting in place a new community in Monrovia where the entire community of Brothers was wiped out by the disease. The Sisters of the Immaculate Conception who work with the Brothers in Monrovia have also contracted the Ebola virus; one Sister died and two other Sisters by the grace of God recovered and are now recuperating. All of the staff are undergoing specialized training. There is the real challenge of procuring medicines and the special gear and materials to ensure the safety of the care workers while screening and treating people who are or may be suffering from this killer disease.

We are working very hard to have our hospitals and clinics functioning in early November, please God, because there are people dying from other ‘ordinary’ illnesses that are not being treated. The Brothers with their co-workers have a program in place where they visit villages bringing medicine — for the ordinary illnesses, food and other necessary items for the people who feel totally abandoned and living in terror. The villagers look forward to the arrival of the Saint John of God vehicle; it means contact with the ‘outside world’ bringing with it more than anything else hope — the hope that they’re not forgotten and that there is going to be life after Ebola!

In conclusion, Bishop Dennis, please convey to the priests, laity, and religious of the Diocese our deep, deep appreciation and thanks for the solidarity and genuine Christian love and compassion they have shown for our suffering brothers and sisters in West Africa. The words that in my opinion best expresses these sentiments of gratitude are those of Saint John of God to a benefactor of his, “May what you have done be recorded in the Book of Life.” This, Bishop Dennis, is the only reward worthy of the sacrifices made and the real hospitality shown to their neighbor — the stranger referred to in the parable of the Good Samaritan told by Jesus — by the people of the Diocese of Camden.

Once again with my heartfelt thanks and asking for your continued prayers for the people of West Africa, I remain, dear Bishop Dennis, gratefully yours in the Lord.

Brother Donatus Forkan OH

Provincial

Dublin, October 31