Unique journey:Father Dr. John grew up on Long Island and after eighth grade joined the De Montford order. As a seminarian he had charge of the apothecary shop and gave medicines to students. After ordination as a priest he taught Biology, and Chemistry to seminarians. Then, in preparation for an assignment in Borneo Indonesia, he decided to study pharmacology at Fordham University. Within a short time he graduated as a pharmacologist and went on the missions with the ability to treat illnesses such as typhus and tuberculosis. In Borneo he ran into a patient who suffered from an abscessed tooth and in a short while began a side career as a dentist. (He's been doing dentistry for forty years.)
Years in Haiti:
After a long stay in Borneo, Father John was sent to Haiti. He operated a large, fifty bed hospital that specialized in care for tuberculosis patients. While there he made the mistake of being friends with personnel from the American Embassy. Since our Embassy was associated with "Baby Doc" and seen as against democratic change, Father John got branded as a CIA operative. The people who wanted vengeance against our American Embassy went after Father John and closed down his hospital.
What to do at fifty five?
At 55, Father John was out of a job. Since he loved medicine and care for the sick, he applied to study medicine at a university in San Pedro de Macoris. After three and a half years he graduated as an M.D. and began a new career. He heard about the PAP hospital here in Paraiso and came over to lend a hand. When he observed that the hospital had little impact upon the people in the mountains, he worked to set up a rural clinic in Leonardo, about an hour's drive from town.
What a way to retire!
Every day Father Dr. John gets up to receive patients in his clinic. They come from all of the mountains and even as far away as Barahona. People rave about his having blessed hands when he removes decayed teeth. They also can't forget how he charges only eighty pesos (less than three dollars) for each medical visit; and this includes all the medicine that the patient needs. The stories abound on how he saved folks over a hundred dollars in medications.
His spirit:
America is running out of priests like Father Dr. John. The seminaries are half empty, and the younger priests don't have the same drive to serve the poor as this remarkable man. However in groups like "Doctors without boarders", one can find laypeople who discover the same zest for service to the poor. In many ways, Father Dr. John is a happy, alive senior citizen. He could easily be resting in a priest's retirement home or doing part-time clergy work on the occasional weekend in the States. Instead, he lives right out in the middle of poor, rural people and provides excellent service day after day. In terms of humanitarian service, he is a marathon runner in the forward trenches.
Liturgy:
On Saturdays and Sunday mornings, you can find Fr. John celebrating Mass in our chapels. The Dominicans say he does not speak clear Spanish and that his sermons hammer at the cultural flaws in our area, such as the lack of marriages and children who grow up without a father in the home. But he has gained the deep respect which comes to a person whose deeds speak far more eloquently than his words.
His big cross:
Father Dr. John has painted the rims on the solar panels of his rural clinic, as well as his laptop, electronic keyboard and other household items a bright red and black in order to discourage the robbers. He contends with youthful robbers who have broken into the clinic four times. Besides painting the expensive items, he has an attitude: although the young person who is his next patient might be the one who robbed him last month or last night, he is a patient... and the doctor is in.
