In response to terror
Peop le f lock to church after Sep tember 11 attacks
By Kamille Nixon le in the Archdiocese of San Francisco flocked to Mass on the days Peop following nightmarish terrorist attacks on United States landmarks , according to pastors throughout the three-county region. Pastors say pews were packed on the Saturday and Sunday following the Sept. 11 hij ackings of four commercial airliners that were then crashed into the twin towers of New York's World Trade Cen ter, the Pentagon building, and a field in Pennsylvania. Standing-room-only crowds like those on a typical Easter Sunday marked the first post-attack Sunday, Sept. 3.6, in churches from Bolinas to San Mateo. Daily Masses are seeing increased numbers as well. While attendance in some parishes is back down to pre-attack levels, pastors are noting an increased focus on prayer and dependence on God. Most striking was the wave of new faces into parishes the weekend following the attacks. Redwood City 's St. Matthias Parish saw a "huge " increase with "tons of people " j ust after the attacks and a subsequent steady flow since then , accordin g to one parishioner. The pastor of San Francisco 's St. Anne of the Sunset, Father Eduardo Dura , said the congregation at the 10:30 Mass on the first Sunday after the attack nearl y filled the huge church. The pastor at San Francisco 's St. Agnes saw attendance during the first weekend after the attack similar to Easter Sunday, and a steady i ncrease of about 30 percent more than pre-attack in subsequent weekends. "It probably reflects a bit of an image of God, " said Jesuit Father John Chandler , pastor at St. Agnes. "We come when we' re afraid. We resort to RESPONSE TO TERROR, page 6
Remembering Danny Richards , a friend killed by terrorists By Msgr. John P. Heaney
\JP n September 11, more than 6 ,000 were killed by the shameless act of terrorists. Among them were hundreds of New York City firefighters , NYPD officers and New York New Jersey Port Authority officers. Among the dead were Officer Leahy of the 6 th Precinct and Detective Danny Richards of the NYPD Bomb Squad. I didn't know Officer Leahy but I felt his presence when I prayed with others at the 6th Precinct. Danny Richards was a friend of mine. I saw him last in Albuquerque , along with Lt. Jerry Sheehan and others from the NYPD Bomb Squad, at the annual conference of the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators - of which I am the . International Chaplain. Danny is now and always will be a p art of my memory and prayers. Danny was a former Airborne Ranger who served as a peacemaker in Bosnia. His longtime friend and fellow detective, Detective Dan McNally, was also in the north tower when it collapsed. McNally called Richards the "whole heart and soul" of the Bomb Squad Unit. "He 's a man of incredible
integrity and strength - one of those guys you always look up to. " McNally, who graduated with Richards from the Police Academy in 1983, was with Richards and two of the other missing cops, Officer John Dallara and Sgt. Michael Curtin , when they vanished. In an open letter his squad called the 44 year-old Richards "The keystone member of the unit and a role model for other detectives. His spirit , honor and fairness is cherished by the members of the Bomb Squad and is fortif ying us now in our resolve during these trying times." Richards, the unit 's intelligence coordinator, had
gotten all of his available men together and made it to the site just after the south tower had fallen. Through the dust, rubble and debris , they linked up with Port Authority and Emergency Service officers, helping get countless people out of the area. The group of heroes was in the lobby of 6 World Trade Center when it collapsed. "We all leaned up against the wall and had the building come down on us. It was like having a mountain fall on you," McNally said. Officer Mark Demarco somehow managed to find his flashlight REMEMBERI NG, page 8
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Msgr. John Heaney