September 11, 2001 came. Between 8:45 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. local time, two planes with dozens of passengers on board crashed into the walls of the World Trade Center headquarters in New York, while a third in Washington, D.C., crashed into the western part of the Pentagon buildings. The new incarnation of terrorism led by al-Qaeda (meaning Basis) and Ossama bin Laden, invisible terrorism using sophisticated, lethal weapons and resources reaching billions of dollars, incited by Islamic fundamentalism, declared war on America and the western part of the world. A war that uses religion, bringing death and destruction in the name of God…
John Paul II was in Castel Gandolfo. The phone rang, and on the other side of the phone you could hear the terrified voice of Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Secretary of State. The TV was turned on and the Holy Father watched the dramatic images of the collapse of the WTC buildings, in which so many innocent people were imprisoned. He spent the afternoon between the chapel and the television, carrying in his heart the enormity of suffering. The next morning the Pope celebrated a holy Mass. Then, on the St. Peter’s Square, a special General Audience took place. I remember his words: “A dark day in the history of mankind.” I remember how, before the prayer, he asked the faithful to refrain from ovations and songs. It was a day of mourning.
He was worried and afraid that it might not end there, that the assassination could trigger an endless spiral of violence. Also because – in his opinion- the increase in the scourge of terrorism is also due to great poverty, to the very limited opportunities for education and cultural development from which many Arab nations have suffered. And, therefore, in order to combat terrorism, it was necessary at the same time to eliminate the huge social and economic disparities between the North and the South.
Once again, John Paul II was right.
With the consent of Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz – “Testimony”.
TBA marketing communication Publishing House. Warsaw 2007
