Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented today as follows:
“I am asking Roman Catholics all over the nation to make a Thanksgiving Day appeal to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg regarding the request of those families who lost their loved ones in the World Trade Center (WTC) attack of September 11, 2001: please accede to the plea of ‘WTC Families for Proper Burial’ (click here for more info) so that this group can disband. Since 9/11, these families have yet to be afforded a respectful burial for their kin. It is only fitting that this unconscionable condition come to an end this Thanksgiving.
“It is hard to believe that more than four years after this national tragedy, these families are still being denied a proper burial for their loved ones. The remains of more than 1,200 victims of 9/11 who could not be identified are deposited in the Fresh Kills garbage dump on Staten Island. The families of 9/11 have been told that the remains—including identifiable body parts and personal effects—could be retrieved for a proper burial. But to date, nothing has been done to satisfy their request.
“Norman Siegel, a noted New York City attorney and civil liberties advocate, is a man of great courage and conviction; he is also a personal friend of mine. Because of the recalcitrance on the part of the Bloomberg administration, he was forced to file suit on August 15, 2005 in pursuit of a proper burial; the case is scheduled to be heard December 8.
“As Catholics know, August 15 is the Feast of the Assumption, and December 8 is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception; these are two holy days of obligation honoring Our Blessed Mother. It would be so great if Mayor Bloomberg were to take advantage of a national feast day, Thanksgiving, and put an end to this issue by doing the right thing.”
Contact Mayor Bloomberg:
City Hall, NY, NY 10007 or www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html
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