Kiwanis tribute to a resolver of challenges

The executive director of Caritas Archdiocese of Panama, Monsignor Laureano Crestar  Durán, died Friday, August 19, after several months  in hospital.

The Spanish priest, who last year completed 50 years of serving in the ministry, entered hospital  on April 17  after suffering a stroke.

Mark Scheinbaum of the Panama Canal Kiwanis Club, and a regular contributor to Newsroom  wrote: “Many things will be said and written about his service to the Lord, the Nation, and Kiwanis, but I will always remember the way he would welcome me never as a stranger, but with a smile, un abrazo, and always a joke and a sense of humor.

“When I first met him more than a decade ago I think I was most impressed by his concern for people, and an instant connection with those he met … Christian or Jew … Catholic or Protestant … he always seemed to know that differences between people were just challenges to be resolved, not walls to divide. Kiwanis was blessed to have him in our lives”