Chuck Hagel: “I wish to commend my friend, the guest Chaplain, this morning. Father Damian is extended best wishes and thanks from…”

“I wish to commend my friend, the guest Chaplain, this morning. Father Damian is extended best wishes and thanks from this body. Father Damian and I share a few things in common. One is we graduated from the same high school just a few years apart--actually, Mr. President, many years apart. Father Damian had the unenviable task of trying to redefine the standards that my brothers and I debased at St. Bonaventure High School and Scotus High School in Columbus, NE--not an easy task but one that he achieved with great dignity and success. We are very proud of Father Damian for many reasons. He is pastor of two Catholic parishes in Omaha--St. Agnes and Our Lady of Guadalupe in south Omaha. Father Damian has done as much to bring the Hispanic community of Nebraska--indeed, middle America--together as any one individual I have known in the last few years, and he has done it with remarkable ability, with common sense and truth. People respect him not just because he wears the Lord's uniform but because he has done it the right way; he brings respect and dignity to all whom he touches; he conveys that as he deals with people. We are very proud of what he has been able to accomplish in our community and across the Midwest, aside from being nationally recognized for his achievements with many recognitions and honors.”