July 22, 2015

By Dave Shampine
Staff Writer

CARTHAGE  - He sees himself as a reconciler, and in that light, Father George F. Maroun is reconciled to the reality that with the health challenges he faces, he no longer can carry on his pastorate at St. James Church and St. Mary’s in Copenhagen, his mission for the past 13 years.

“I can no longer function as I’d like to, and that’s not fair to the parish,” he said in a recent interview with the North Country Catholic. “I prayed about it and resolved that this is the right thing to do.”

Last October, Father Maroun, who had just turned 66 on Sept. 25, and enduring the affects of Parkinson’s disease, took advantage of a visit by Bishop Terry R. LaValley to reveal his decision to retire. “I said I’d remain to the end of the fiscal year, and he was very open to it.”

Although his retirement was effective July 1, Father Maroun remained in Carthage until July 12, allowing his successor, Father Donald F. Robinson, to enjoy some vacation time.

A Tupper Lake native, Father Maroun is the youngest of four sons of Camil and Navie Moses Maroun. He began studies for the priesthood at Wadhams Hall Seminary, Ogdensburg, following his graduation in 1966 from Holy Ghost Academy, Tupper Lake, where he was president of his class of 28.

He was a 19-year-old seminarian when his parents were both fatally stricken by heart attacks just ten months apart, in 1967 and 1968.

He continued his work for his vocation at Christ the King Seminary, St. Bonaventure University, and on May 4, 1974, he was ordained by Ogdensburg Bishop Stanislaus J. Brzana.

The following day, the new priest celebrated his first Mass in his home parish, St. Alphonsus Church in Tupper Lake.

Father Maroun reflected on his life as a priest, giving some frank observations, during an interview in the community room which he saw renovated in the basement of 191 year-old St. James Church. The interview follows:

What inspired you to become a priest? 
Since fourth grade, I wanted to be a priest. I came from a good faithful family, and when I was born, my grandmother, Mary Moses, (buried in Carthage) predicted I’d be a priest. She was a very simple person, illiterate, and she prayed a lot. The nuns at Holy Ghost were the Daughters of the Holy Spirit, who came to Tupper Lake directly from France, and they were a great influence on me.

Do you have a favorite saint?
St. Francis of Assisi, St. Joseph, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. She was a spiritual mother to me when my mother died.

You had been a priest about eight years when you were sent to do mission work in Mollendo, Peru, in 1982.  Did you volunteer or get assigned?
I volunteered. The Bishop can’t tell you to go. One of our missionaries, Father Paul Hagan, had come home for his father, who was dying, but he was killed in an accident. He died before his father did. (Father Hagan was 57 at the time of the Jan. 18, 1980 accident in the town of Gouverneur).

I was associate director of the missionary office, and since nobody else offered to replace him, I felt I should go. It was supposed to be for three years, but it lasted six.

I was sent to evangelize them, but it was they who evangelized me. You see the face of God in the poor.

Were you ready to come home in 1988 or did you want to stay?
I was ready to come home, but I missed the people.

About the priest scandal, do you hold contempt for the offenders and their protectors?
I don’t hold contempt for anybody. The perpetrators may also have been victims themselves. It’s a very sad thing. It is inherent in the society in which we live that society is saturated with sex. It is in all walks of life.
The scandal had broken out shortly before I came to Carthage, and it was a challenge for me. I had to face this thing, and it wasn’t easy. It was difficult interacting with people, not knowing what might be on their minds.
It has served as an excuse for people to not go to church. We need reconciliation here. It will take generations for us to get over this.

Would you change anything in your career?
Nothing. I’ve had a very diverse ministry, doing mission work, parishes, Propagation of the Faith. I had to learn to speak Spanish, and to do in Peru (where he was known at Padre Jorge) without the conveniences we have here. We couldn’t make telephone calls … it was hard to hear … so we communicated with telex machines.  I’ve faced up to the challenges, and I’m very happy with my vocation.
I guess if I had it to do all over again, I’d be more gentle on myself. I’d live my life more contemplative, in more prayer and meditation.

Is there anything you can point to as a disappointment?
The most frustrating to me is in evangelization, I like to see some results. You can only affect so many people. I’m not here to be best friends with somebody.

My focus is to bring people together. I see myself as a reconciler, a mediator. I think I’ve succeeded, but then it is frustrating when I don’t see those people returning to church. So I feel my mission has not been accomplished. I’m not here for personal gratification. I’m on a mission. Illness may have forced me to be more laid back.

Do you ask God why he has allowed your health challenges, which in addition to Parkinson’s, have been some bouts with cancer?
I’ve gained a lot of insight with the challenge of accepting the sicknesses and responding accordingly. If it’s there, make the best of it. Consider the whole philosophy of suffering: Jesus suffered; the people in Peru, with their suffering, they are helpless. And I’m doing fairly well with my Parkinson’s.

Speaking of that, you met with Pope John Paul, who suffered from Parkinson’s.
My first meeting with him was at a Propagation of the Faith session in the spring of 1981. He expressed concern about President Reagan being shot at (on March 30, 1981) and this was just a few weeks before his attempted assassination (on May 13, 1981).

In my second visit in February, 2003, the pope was suffering the effects of Parkinson’s disease. It was very sad to see him like that.

How has your final pastoral assignment been?
St. James and Augustinian Academy with their long history are strong. And the impact of military people has been strong. Without them, I don’t know if we could have survived. It’s sad that you get to love them, and then they have to leave.

You have the Lebanese influence here. My grandparents are buried here, and I have shirt-tail cousins here.
I love the people here, and Copenhagen is a good fit. I love them too.

Where will you be in retirement, what will you be doing?
I’ll be living at St. Bernard’s parish in Saranac Lake, assisting there. I’m not retiring from the priesthood. We don’t retire from the vocation, but retire from being a pastor.

This will put me close to my family in Tupper Lake (his brothers are Majeed, William and Camil Jr.) without being on top of them. And I’ll be near a good hospital, Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake.

I also hope to spend part of the winter with my first cousin, Father Richard George, at Fort Pierce, Fla. That’s in the Diocese of West Palm Beach, where (former Ogdensburg) Bishop (Gerald) Barbarito is.

Editor’s note:
Father Maroun’s service during his 41 years of priesthood have brought him assignments at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Ogdensburg; Holy Family Church in Watertown; St. Anthony’s in Watertown, and the Church of the Visitation in Norfolk. He was also a faculty member at Wadhams Hall Seminary-College, serving as assistant professor of language and religious studies.