l,
'' ,
,
i'i'Ti*riir
i
ii'»ii'n| ( M| ,H, (
WttSZ
3*
Volume
(l(
,
rii|l|M|
mdsih
atholic NEWS HERALD &
2001
14,
Number
11 t
,
TIM
uwun
0S6£ aa
September
((
1
Serving Catholics
in
Western North Carolina
in
the Diocese of Charlotte
A NATION MOURNS Bishop urges 'prayerfor entire nation in wake ofattacks By
JIMMY ROSTAR
Associate Editor
CHARLOTTE
—
iam G. Curlin on Sept.
Bishop Will1 1
joined with
world in lamenting terrorist attacks against the United States, while at the same time calling for prayer and healing in religious leaders across the
the
wake of the tragedy. In three separate services
on the
day of the worst terrorist attacks ever against the United States, Bishop Curlin weaved a theme of asking God to guide people in achieving worldwide peace. "Today is a day of mourning for our nation and our world," said Bishop Curlin during a morning prayer service in the Diocese of Charlotte Pastoral Center minutes after
news of the attacks was reported. "The most horrible instances of violence have unfolded before our very eyes," he said as images of destruction wrought by four hijacked aircraft were broadcast from New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon in Washington and a field outside Pittsburgh.
"So often in these times, we hear about the tragedy of violence in Israel, in Palestine, in Bosnia," the bishop said. "Now, that horror has come home." Parishes across the diocese opened their church doors following
Want To
make checks
payable to the Diocese of Charlotte
and send
to
1123
S.
Street, Charlotte, N.C.
Disaster"
Write in
the
"Victims
of
memo.
To find out where you can donate to the much-needed blood supply, call (800) GIVE LIFE or visit the American Red Cross Web site at
www.redcrosshelps.org.
the terrorist attacks, inviting parishioners for personal prayer, Masses and prayer services.
More memorial
services and
Masses throughout the diocese were being planned for later in the week. In Charlotte, Bishop Curlin of-
noon Mass in the pastoral center to the victims and their loved ones. "In the wake of this profound at-
fered his
human life, we pray for those who have died and for God's mercy upon those who were wounded," he tack on
said during the
Mass.
"We
pray for
those whose loved ones will not be coming home tonight. Indeed, we
pray for our entire nation." In addition to the two services at the pastoral center, Bishop Curlin
presided at an evening memorial
Mass
in St.
Patrick Cathedral.
Some
who
gathered wept as the bishop offered prayers for the deceased. At each of the three gatherings, the bishop voiced his hope that people will redirect a desire for revenge into
"We must
financially contribute to
Church 28203.
photo by Bob Roller
a positive, Christ-like response.
to help?
the relief effort,
CNS
not
let
hate rule our
hearts," the bishop said. "If
then
we
we
are truly defeated. If
we we
do, do,
have lost as a nation. Yes, we must defend ourselves. But we cannot let our anger, our despair, our desire for revenge defeat us. That is not the will
way
of Jesus.
"From the cross, Jesus Christ looked down upon his murderers and said, 'Father, forgive them.'
We
CNS photo
must
keep that in our hearts as we pray for our brothers and sisters in this time of deep sorrow." Contact Associate Editor Jimmy Rostar by calling (704) 370-3334 or email jtrostar@charlottediocese.org
from Reuters
Above: Firemen work around the remains of the World Trade Center after both towers collapsed. Planes crashed into the two towers Sept. 11, leading to their collapse. Above left: Smoke from the Pentagon building in Arlington, Va., billows across Washington, seen in this rooftop view from the offices of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. An American Airlines jet crashed into the building Sept. 11, shortly after
Trade Center
in
New
York.
two other planes flew into the World