Statement on the Anniversary of September 11th
Administrative Committee
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
September 10, 2002
9/11. What this date now represents has changed our lives, our nation, our
world and our community of faith. 9/11 has become a symbol of unspeakable evil
and deep loss, of tremendous sacrifice and great faith and of challenges we
continue to face as a people.
We know the wounds are deep and will not be quickly or easily healed. The
murder of so many innocent people from so many countries requires us to act as
a nation and to offer continuing consolation and support as a people. The loss
of life in Afghanistan, whether U.S. military personnel or Afghan men, women
and children, also weighs heavily on us. Our faith tells us that every life is
precious whether a person worked at the World Trade Center or the Pentagon or
was on the flight that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania or lived in
Afghanistan.
We also mourn the loss of our sense of invulnerability. Yet, our faith
challenges us to live in solidarity with those around the world who face
pervasive violence and insecurity. As our nation considers important questions
of war and peace, our faith calls us to find the right ways to seek justice,
to become peacemakers, and to protect the life and dignity of all in a world
broken by terror and disrespect for human life.
One year later, we are still inspired by selfless acts of courage. We must
sustain our generosity in reaching out to those touched by this tragedy. We
must continue to teach the attitudes of respect and fairness that call us to
reject hate, revenge, and violence, particularly against those of us who are
Arab-Americans and Muslims. Most of all, we can defeat the fear that
terrorists promote by placing our trust in the Risen Lord and working to
replace hate with understanding and violence with respect for all human life.
We need to deepen the faith and hope that lifted us up and sustained us over
the past year to continue to shape who we are and how we act in the days
ahead. Firm resolve in defending innocent life and the common good against
terrorism is still required of our nation. In this necessary task, we must
ensure restraint in the use of military force, insisting that traditional
moral norms governing war and protecting the innocent be observed. This "war
on terrorism" should be fought with the support of the international community
and primarily by non-military means, denying terrorists resources, recruits,
and opportunities for their evil acts. As our nation seeks to defend our
people and values, we should hold fast to our basic principles of justice,
freedom, fairness, and openness in our treatment of all persons, especially
vulnerable immigrants and refugees.
We also need to ensure that poor people at home and around the world do not
bear disproportionate burdens in the sacrifices ahead. As we confront evil
acts, which no cause can justify, this "war on terrorism" must not deflect us
from sustained commitment to overcome poverty, conflict and injustice,
particularly in the Middle East and the developing world, which can provide
fertile ground in which hopelessness and terrorism thrive. Our faith calls us
to seek not only a safer world, but a more just and peaceful world for all
God's children.
On this September 11th, we join Catholics throughout the country who are
completing a nine-day novena of prayer, fasting, education, service and
witness. We ask a Merciful God to receive those who have died, to heal a
wounded people and to nourish our faith and our hope in the promise of the
Christ Risen. We ask the God of Justice to give us the grace, wisdom and
courage to help us comfort those who mourn, to show mercy, to hunger and
thirst for what is right and to become peacemakers (Matthew 5). We echo the
words that Pope John Paul II has said, "Evil…does not have the final word in
human affairs." Our task as believers a year after September 11 is to help
make this promise come true.
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Office of Social Development & World Peace
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000