Some day, "when it calms down,"
Monsignor Paul Belzer says, there will be a memorial service here for Timothy McVeigh.
Some day, "when it calms down,"
Monsignor Paul Belzer says, there will be a memorial service here for Timothy McVeigh.
Msgr. Belzer is the longtime pastor of the church in Pendleton that the Oklahoma City bomber attended as a child and as a teenager. Bill McVeigh, the terrorist's father, still attends services here and works on church activities.
Back in May, before the first scheduled execution date for McVeigh, there were prayer vigil services at Good Shepherd. When the execution date was subsequently delayed for thirty days a new vigil was not scheduled here but a couple were held in Buffalo.
Tim McVeigh stopped going to church about the time he entered the United States Army. It was the first sign of a change in McVeigh's life and values. Few people noted it at the time but today his turn away from God is one explanation that is being circulated as to how a "good boy" could go bad.
Yes, Janet Reno's orders at Waco and Ruby Ridge were perceived as serious wrongs. They were very upsetting to McVeigh. But without the moral compass that his church would have provided, Tim McVeigh slipped into the false logic trap that two wrongs can make a right. Taking out his anger on the innocent victims at Oklahoma City's federal building could not make a right.
Tim McVeigh has made secret arrangements with his lawyer as to the disposition of his remains after Monday, 6/11/01. His family is not even being told. There is one report he has considered having his ashes spread over the Erie Barge Canal in Pendleton where he enjoyed happy times as a kid. McVeigh told biographers Dan Herbeck and Lou Michel, "I don't want to create a draw for people who hate me, or for people who love me." Those earthly remains reportedly will not be brought back to Good Shepherd Cemetery. For residents of the area, and the parish, that's a relief. This peaceful enclave of prayer and retreat along Tonawanda Creek Road would not easily assimilate the notoriety that the burial of America's most infamous terrorist would bring. As I stopped to visit the last resting place of some of my relatives in the cemetery behind the church I, too, was at ease that Tim McVeigh would not be coming back to Good Shepherd.
Tim McVeigh Will Not Rest Here
Cemetery
Chapel
Out back of the church, at the far rear of the cemetery, there is a little chapel.
I've been going back to this haven for spirits since I was a child.
I've found it a good place to reflect on those who have passed on, the past events of
life, and ...
a quiet place to pray.
Lord, help us to learn from this tragedy.
Let it prompt us that multiple wrongs don't make rights.
That hate, killing, and revenge are not solutions.
Remind us of this.
When ignorant sophistication tempts us to stray from Your Way.
When pseudo science and politically correct orators deceive us.
When worldly information-overloads confuse us.
When emotions and challenges overwhelm us.
When we ignore the value of life and truth.
Help all the victims of this tragedy to accept this outcome.
Give them the knowledge and peace they need.
Only You know the final judgement awaiting Tim McVeigh...
And all of us.
Before that, please send our community and country
Some
real Wise Men, to help us adjust our thinking and actions.
6/10/01