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The Catholic New World
Observations - by Tom Sheridan, Editor

September 11, 2005

An American tragedy

Four years ago—Sept.11, 2001—there was death and devastation, suffering and sadness. Today, too, there is death and devastation, suffering and sadness. But there’s not a terrorist in sight, and no one to blame.

Not that some haven’t tried.

When Hurricane Katrina spun ashore on the Gulf coast it wiped out lives and property, stripping civilization from too many people. For too many others, it destroyed hope. That’s the worst of all.

Some have blamed—or tried to blame—God. A hurricane is, of course, an act of God; that’s probably what your insurance policy says. Katrina dealt New Orleans a glancing blow, but enough to overwhelm the levees protecting the city. Recalling Old Testament stories, a few have tried to say that New Orleans’ sinful reputation brought God’s wrath.

Others have been angered by reaction of some survivors who refused to evacuate, others who looted and worse. But it was mostly the poor who had no way out of the fetid, flooded, powerless city. There was no help and no hope. Anger, poverty and chaos make a flammable mix.

When it’s all over—which won’t be for a long, long time—the dead and injured and suffering will far surpass the World Trade Center’s terror attack: perhaps a million refugees, homes, jobs and possessions washed away. In addition to medical and material aid, crisis counseling will go on for years.

None of us, even those who have been able to go about our daily lives, removed from the tragedy except through newspapers, TV and Internet blogs, should be untouched.

And we have no one to blame. On Sept. 11, we could lash out against a palpable threat—terrorism. Many wanted—and are getting—revenge of a sort, however satisfying that is today, as a war drags on in Iraq, which wasn’t a part of the 9-11 attack.

Who do we blame for Katrina? God?

Hardly, despite the likes of Pat Robertson who in the rantings of misguided evangelism said in 1998 that God was likely to throw such storms at cities which offended him. God is no bogyman the self-righteous can use to threaten.

The government? Not for the storm, certainly, but likely for the response which wasn’t what this nation is capable of.

Fact is, there is no one to blame for the storm. We can only be responsible for how we respond to its challenge. The blame which must not fall upon the rest of us is a failure to care.

There has been an outpouring of help. Some is detailed in these pages; more has been visible elsewhere.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago is responding to the challenge, helping care for thousands of Katrina refugees who have straggled their way here, or been brought by humanitarian convoys.

Cardinal George asked that space be found in archdiocesan facilities; Catholic schools should waive tuition for the children of refugee families who no longer have classes to attend. Colleges and universities like Loyola, Benedictine and others have also responded. The displaced will get care, counseling and, perhaps most important of all, hope.

There has been death and destruction. There has been bureaucratic failure. But there also has been heroism and hope. Pray God there will be less of the former and much, much more of the latter.

There also has been much talk about race and about poor blacks being left to fend for themselves.

One of the images that struck me in the storm’s aftermath was that of a little African-American girl, perhaps seven, leaving the horror of a shelter for higher ground. She was holding the hand of an elderly wheelchair-bound white woman. Together they had struggled and together they would survive.

That was a picture of hope. And sometimes hope is really all we have.


Tom Sheridan
Editor and General Manager

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