Fifteen years ago, Capt. Thomas Colucci led the men of his 31st Street firehouse into what would be the finest hour for New York City's fire, police and emergency responders: Ground Zero on Sept. 11.

After the South Tower collapsed, the Catholic fire captain and his firefighters began digging through the wreckage, searching for any hope of survivors and the firefighters who had gone into the tower to save them.

Then, at 10:28am, the sky opened up with a roar, and a collective scream of terror erupted from the ground — the North Tower and iconic spire begin to fall — and the men and women who donned the uniforms of New York's first responders would give the final sacrifice amid a hail of steel, concrete and debris.

As they escaped, Colucci saw some of his comrades struck down — he and a few of the firefighters found their only refuge sheltering behind a car. Enveloped in that cloud of darkness, the fireman's vocation became clear: He would become a priest, helping those in darkness see a great light.

Nearly 3,000 men, women and children perished in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. But the legacy of 9/11 is that more than 25,000 other lives were saved that day, because ordinary men and women put on their uniforms and ran to save others from death and danger.

On a Tuesday morning, 343 firefighters and emergency personnel, 23 New York Police Department and 37 Port Authority officers laid down their lives for others. Many more would give their lives — a payment deferred by cancer they gathered from the rescue work.

Colucci retired in 2004, and, this year, he became Father Colucci.

When people ask him — and many have — "Where was God that day?" Father Colucci says that he saw, firsthand, the Body of Christ in action.

"The best of humanity came out that day," he said.

His department's beloved chaplain, Father Mychal Judge, had given his life anointing and praying over the injured and dying, faithful to the end in his vocation.

For weeks on end, the firehouses became places to mourn, wake and bury the dead. Most of the fallen were Catholic, and the faith helped bind them together. But it reminded Colucci of the fragility of life and the need to keep the soul always united to God in the state of grace.

"We may die suddenly and meet Our Lord at any time … and then we start eternal life." Continue reading

Sources

• National Catholic Register, article by Peter Jesserer Smith, a Register staff reporter.
• Image: LuckyBogey's Blog

It didn't take long for countless handmade posters to appear on poles and walls around the city, urgently and tragically asking about the whereabouts of people who had suddenly gone missing. The unmistakable smell of burning hung in the air for weeks. It seemed like everyone, myself included, was in shock, and we were all mourning the dead.

But these were anxious times, too. I recall the sense of dismay I felt that morning when watching the first plane hit and how that morphed, when the second plane came less than twenty minutes later, into a gut-wrenching realization that this was no accident. If the terrorists turned out to be Muslim, I thought at the time, the future could become very difficult for Muslims in the United States.

Fifteen years later, the War on Terror continues with no end in sight and the question of whether Muslims should even be allowed to enter the United States is being vociferously debated. Some politicians have eveninvoked Japanese internment as a model to follow when dealing with Muslims in this country.

A registry of Muslims, already tried on non-immigrant males from 24 Muslim-majority countries (to disastrous effect), has also been proposed. Most polls put anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States at around 50% of the population.

And anti-Muslim violence remains high. According to a Georgetown University study, American Muslims were approximately 6 to 9 times more likely to be attacked in a bias crime in 2015 when compared to pre-9/11 numbers. Continue reading

• Moustafa Bayoumi is an award-winning writer, and associate professor of English at Brooklyn College, City University of New York.

In his 20 years with the FDNY, Colucci moved up through the ranks to become a captain.

It was after responding to the attacks on the World Trade Center that he knew for sure he wanted to become a priest. Continue reading

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The cross made of one of the twin tower's T-beams became a national symbol in the days after the 2001 attacks, however a national group, American Atheists is suing one of the 9/11 memorial museums in an attempt to prevent the cross being displayed.

The atheists claim the cross has caused them 'physical and emotional' pain.

According to CNN, American Atheists says a religious symbol has no place in a memorial that's backed by public funds and that is supposed to serve as a monument to victims of many different religions - and to those who had no religion at all.

"It is important that it not be displayed to the exclusion of everyone else," said David Silverman, president of the American Atheists, which first filed suit in July 2011.

"This case is about inclusion, it is not about the elimination of religion, it is about the inclusion of everyone."

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum says it included the cross because it "became an icon of hope and comfort throughout the recovery in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks."

The case has gained national attention and has become important to many atheists and religious Americans alike.

Calling the case "absurd", Jeffery Toobin, CNN's legal analyst, does not think the court will order the cross to be removed.

"The museum is not building a place for religious worship, they are preserving a historical relic that was meaningful to a great many people and part of the story of 9/11."

"When the government is surveying a historic development, the government does not have to exclude religious images and artifacts from its displays," Toobin said.

The case hasn't gotten anywhere since it was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

The cross was discovered by Frank Silecchia, a construction worker who helped with the clean up and recovery at ground zero.

The cross is a steel T-beam, a common architectural device used in the building of the World Trade Centre twin towers.

Sources

• CNN
• CBS News
• The Blaze
• Image: Facebook

In Islam there have been positive developments. The attacks were repeatedly and clearly condemned by Muslim leaders all over the world. After Pope Benedict XVI's controversial Regensburg speech, the most notable response was the decision of 137 Muslim scholars to sign a declaration outlining what common values they shared with Christians.

This "common word" declaration is an example of "hard tolerance" - the increasing practice of making theological differences distinct and then talking about them, rather than trying to conceal them in a syrup of platitudes about love and mysticism. The aim is for priests, imams and rabbis to enter imaginatively into each other's ideologies, rather than simply agreeing.

Continue reading Why 9/11 was good for religion

Source

• Image: Non Profit status

The service in St Andrew's Presbyterian Church was attended by US dignitaries, including the US Ambassador to New Zealand David Huebner.

Hundreds of people filled the church and the nearby hall and the service was full of emotional reminders of the significance of the day and of US patriotism.

The carrying in of the US flag, the rousing rendition of The Star Spangled Banner and the US Marine Corps Forces Pacific Band's trumpeter signalling Taps and Reveille were all moments appreciated by visiting Americans and their New Zealand hosts.

The welcome to the church for the Eagles squad drew a round of applause from the congregation.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: Fox News.com

"The tragedy of that day is compounded by the perpetrators' claim to be acting in God's name," he said.

In a letter sent a letter to Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, Benedict said he was praying for the thousands of innocent victims of the "brutal assault" and hoped that their families may find continued consolation.

"Every human life is precious in God's sight and no effort should be spared in the attempt to promote throughout the world a genuine respect for the inalienable rights and dignity of individuals and peoples everywhere," he said.

Benedict called for a greater commitment to justice and a "global culture of solidarity" to rid the world of the types of grievances that spark such acts of violence.

"It is my fervent prayer that a firm commitment to justice and a global culture of solidarity will help rid the world of the grievances that so often give rise to acts of violence and will create the conditions for greater peace and prosperity, offering a brighter and more secure future," he said.

The pope, who visited Ground Zero in New York during his trip to the United States in 2008, commended Americans "for their resilience in moving forward with hope and confidence", but said the root causes of violence still had to be addressed.

Sources

• Associated Press
• Reuters

There will be no more imams as the public religious face of the project, and Sharif El-Gamal, the lead developer and Chairman of the 45-51 Park Place property says he has been trying to regroup and reach out to the community to get input into the final design.

According to El-Gamal, it will take years of hard work to determine what kind of facilities Muslim and non-Muslim visitors want and need.

Despite a NYTimes poll indicating residents want the project moved to a less controversial site, and the Anti-Defamation League opposing the project, the vision remains.

Park 51, the community centre portion of the project is designed to be open to all with an interfaith space.

PrayerSpace will be the mosque for Muslim prayer services.

Fund-raising for both projects are at their beginnings and being treated separately, however according to the NY Times the same people are managing both projects.

The proposed centre prompted furious protests in New York, and this despite the support from New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg and the White House's 'comment' that it supported the constitutional right to religious freedom.

Muslim leaders have said that not only did they have a constitutional right to build but they would would also help move the forward, even in the face of opposition.

It was a matter of principle, the leaders said.

The centre should not budge from its planned site.

Opponents of the Ground Zero Mosque are not seeking to restrict Muslim-Americans' right to build mosques.

The opponents are happy to respect others' religious freedoms but strongly believe religious pluralism is a two-way street and with rights come responsibilities.

Sources

• NY Times
• Front Page Magazine