Statement from Archbishop Chaput and Bishop Gomez
on today's terrorist attacks

September 11, 2001

Today's events test our faith and our character as a nation. They also erase our divisions and remind us that we are one people committed to the sanctity of the human person and the rule of law.

Every American today struggles with three emotions: Grief for the many innocent persons who have been murdered and for the many others in Colorado and elsewhere who have lost friends and loved ones in the attacks. Anger at the murderers and their contempt for innocent human life. Pride in the heroism of the men and women police officers, firefighters and military and medical personnel who have struggled to save the victims, often at the risk of their own lives.

God is a God of both mercy and justice. May God grant His mercy to those who have died and to those who now carry the immense burden of sorrow and loss. May God guide our national leaders to vigorously pursue the perpetrators of these crimes and bring them to justice.

Today's violence was born of hatred. Our responsibility is to answer hatred with justice and love. May God grant all of us the wisdom to act in the coming days as His children guided by His love, as we pray for both the living and the dead.

+ Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
+ Bishop José H. Gomez