Special Resources

SPECIAL RESOURCES RELATED TO NATIONAL TRAGEDY

When our CyberFaith Editorial Board met to plan additional resources for prayer, reflection, and dialogue relating to this tragedy, we discovered a wealth of excellent material already available on the web. We decided then to provide our CyberFaith users with a researched index of reliable links.

PRAYER RESOURCES

Prayers for Healing and Strength
www.usccb.org/nab/mourning.htm

Suggestions for Liturgy
From the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: www.usccb.org/liturgy/liturgicalresources.htm
From the World Library Publications: www.jspaluch.com/sep11.html

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

Information on Islam
www.usccb.org/seia/esposito.htm The Islamic Tradition
www.usccb.org/seia/siddiqi.htm How An Islamic Leader Views Dialogue
www.ncccusa.org/news/01news75.html A Study on Islam

Viewpoints on A Just Response
www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2001/01-175.htm Statement by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on the Use of Military Action
www.usccb.org/comm/nationaltragedy/interfaith.htm An Inter-Faith Statement on the Terrorists’ Attacks
www.usccb.org/comm/nationaltragedy/justwar.htm Two Traditions: Nonviolence and Just War
www.nccbuscc.org/sdwp/national/criminal/ccv94.htm Confronting a Culture of Violence: A Catholic Framework for Action
www.usccb.org/sdwp/projects/violence/index.htm An Anti-Violence Packet for Diocesan and Parish Leaders
www.osjspm.org/cst/doclist.htm Full text of Catholic social teachings (some documents in Spanish), summary, and notable quotes, with resources for educators, from the Office for Social Justice, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Activities
www.usccb.org/sdwp/projects/violence/schools.htm Suggestions for Youth in School Setting
www.usccb.org/sdwp/projects/violence/parishes.htm Suggestions for Youth in Parish Setting

In conclusion, we offer this poem written by one of our CyberFaith editors who commutes each day from Staten Island to our office in lower Manhattan, three blocks from the disaster site.

Evensong on the Staten Island Ferry

The bones, the bodies
of our dear ones
stick in our throats.

Ash burns our eyes
as their smoke rises
up to the heavens

as an evening sacrifice.
The puffy storm clouds
gather over New Jersey

and Brooklyn, beckoning
to the clouds of the burning pyre:
"Friend, come up higher."

And so they do,
until the skyline,
shining in the wake of the ferry,

turns to gray. Sliding away,
we watch and pray.
We say over and over in our broken hearts,

"Goodbye, goodbye,"
clutching at faith.
And then the blessed rain

pelts down upon us,
our umbrellas, our bags,
our children, our cars,

our buses and trains,
the raw bricks of our buildings,
as if God knew

that we, poor humans,
could never
could never ever

never ever

cry enough tears.

—Joanna Dailey

Page updated on August 23, 2002