Remembering 9/11

September 10, 2006

September 11 marks the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our nation. No one can forget that terrible day when al-Qaeda operatives, executing a well coordinated plan, successfully carried out suicidal assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As would later come to light, their original plan included a number of other strategic targets. They failed to destroy the others because their attempts were foiled or postponed. Not counting the 19 hijackers, 2,973 persons, mostly civilians, lost their lives that day. Another 24 remain unaccounted for. Among the fatalities were 343 New York City firefighters and 23 police officers.

The attacks shocked and morally outraged the civilized world. The terrible images captured on video and live broadcast of the huge, billowing plumes of fire and smoke, of persons leaping to their deaths from the burning towers, of the collapse of the towers, and of the many stunned people searching frantically for missing loved ones in the aftermath are deeply etched into the memories of Americans.

The apocalyptic events of that day initiated a new call to arms and brought us across a threshold we soon learned to call the "post-9/11 world," a world now characterized by a sense of crisis, of heightened security concerns, and of a broad consensus that new strategic initiatives would be required to defeat this new enemy – Islamic extremists –waging a new kind of war using terror tactics. September 11 made us newly aware that the fundamental situation of humanity remained one of sin, manifested in violence, suffering, division, and hatred. By some estimates, over the last 3,500 years there have been only 230 years of peace throughout the world. What is most troubling about the present situation is that the terrorists have expressed neither remorse nor the intent to desist. The only choice they have offered us, as conveyed by Osama bin Laden, is conversion to Islam or death.

Sadly, the lex talionis (law of retaliation) has also been in evidence in our post-9/11 world. According to the 2001 FBI hate crime statistics report there was a rise of over 20% in hate crimes after 9/11. Anti-Semitic crimes comprised the majority of these incidents. How many of the 2001 reported hate crimes were 9/11 "backlash incidents” is not exactly known, but the number of reported “anti-Islamic” crimes increased from 28 in 2000 to 481 in 2001. That represents an increase of over 1600%.

In a joint statement released after 9/11, my brother bishops in the United States and I supported the right of our nation and the international community to hold the terrorists accountable. We offered our prayer for our servicemen and women who are risking their lives in armed conflict against the forces of terrorism abroad. We also sought to draw attention to the rich heritage of Catholic teaching on the just war theory. That teaching bears repeating now as we find ourselves locked in a protracted struggle in the militarily and politically complex Middle East.

The Church teaches that legitimate governments have a right and a duty in charity to defend their innocent citizens from attack, if as a last resort, force is necessary. Among the principles of a just war are the following: it must be waged justly, that is, within moral bounds; it must exercise proportionality, that is, it must use no more force than is necessary; and it should carefully discriminate between combatants and noncombatants.

These principles are not easy to apply in a war as shadowy as the present one against terrorism, in which the enemy wears no uniform, has no visible military installations, and whose theater of combat is global. Nonetheless, we are morally bound to do all in our power to proceed by these principles. We must always respect the life and dignity of every person. We may never unjustly deprive persons of their freedom and fundamental rights. We may absolutely never resort to torture, however compelling the apparent reasons may be. We must rise out of the dark valley of blind anger and a thirst for vengeance. We must, in our pursuit of peace, constantly look for alternatives to war and, once it has begun, for the most expeditious means to end it. We must not allow ourselves to equate terrorists with any particular people or religion.

In the final analysis, the only motive strong enough to lead terrorists to take the lives of innocents, regardless of the reasons they may put forward to justify their actions, is hatred. Hatred can never be overcome or destroyed by hatred or force of arms, which can only beget greater hatred. The only power strong enough to overcome hatred is the power of love. There can never be peace in the world without justice, but there can never be justice without forgiveness, and there can never be forgiveness without love.

As we pause to remember the events of the 9/11, let us offer prayer for those who have lost their lives and for the loved ones that they left behind. Let us pray for those serving in our armed forces, for an end to terrorism, and for a fast resolution to the armed conflict in which we are now engaged in the Middle East. Let us ask the Lord to teach us how we may most effectively become instruments of his peace.


+Bishop Raymundo J. Peña

last updated 05-Jun-2008 9:48 sitemap