Originally published at The Crux
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The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is calling for continued healing of his country, asking Catholics and people of goodwill to work towards peace in a “fractured and divided world,” on the eve of the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City issued a statement ahead of the momentous anniversary Friday, which will mark 25 years since the terror attacks that killed nearly 3000 people and caused tumult around the globe.
Coakley asked all Catholics to join him in prayer for the victims of the attacks, and expressed his closeness to the victims’ families and friends.
“In a special way,” Coakley said, “we lovingly embrace in prayer the victims’ families and friends, who still mourn the irretrievable loss of their loved ones on that day.”
“We also remember the first responders and emergency workers, so many who gave their lives in selfless acts of courage,” Coakley said.
The attacks involved the hijacking of four planes, two of which the hijackers into the World Trade Center towers in New York, while another they flew into the Pentagon; the fourth aircraft crashed in rural Pennsylvania after passengers and crew
