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Diocese of Sacramento |
Comments by Bishop William K. Weigand, Bishop of Sacramento, on the Terrorist acts against the United States. September 11, 2001
I am shocked and saddened by the horrifying terrorist acts in NYC and Washington, truly a tragedy for all Americans. My thoughts and prayers are with those who perished and with their families. May God sustain them in their distress.
I offered Mass earlier today for them, for the Country and the President, and for all emergency personnel involved. I shall continue to pray daily for all of them and I summon the Catholic community of the Diocese of Sacramento to unite with me in this daily prayer.
These were heinous acts. I pray urgently for the people whose hatred has inspired such barbarism. And I reiterate Pope John Paul's words to the American People in his message to President Bush that the "nature of all violence is anti-Christian and anti-human and leads to nothing." From the point of view of morality, one can only judge these deeds to be immoral and sinful.
Nevertheless, as Jesus forgave his executioners on the cross, so too, we are called to seek the help of God's grace in forgiving the perpetrators.
In the same spirit, the response of our Nation must be temperate, resisting all temptation to revenge, retaliation or indiscriminate action.
Only a response that is rooted in justice and equity will do justice to the victims.
At the same time, we ourselves as private persons must be equally measured and just, avoiding the pursuit of idle speculation that might lead to the victimization of any ethnic or religious group.
When all is said and done, I find strength in Christ's promise, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the World gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid." (John 14:27) God's providence holds us always in the hollow of his hand.