OCEANIA/AUSTRALIA - The commemoration of the Twin Towers victims is open to everyone

Sydney (Agenzia Fides) - It will be a celebration open to all, without exception or discrimination, which will be held on Sunday, September 11 and presided by Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, in the Cathedral of Santa Maria, to remember the 30000 victims of 11 September 2001 in New York. As reported to Fides by the local Church, the commemoration will mention, in particular, the 200 Australians killed in the disaster.
Participants will include civil and religious authorities, the faithful of all religious communities, members of civil society organizations, non-believers but also citizens who want to stop and reflect and pay tribute to the victims of the attack. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the massacre, people in the world of music will take part and sing songs and play music.
The approach chosen by the community in Sydney is quite different from that adopted in the United States, where religious leaders cannot take part in the official commemoration ceremony. "This is an inclusive approach, which does not intend to exclude anyone," explains the Australian Church. "September 11th is a day to remember, and it is for everyone. Its memory belongs to all men of good will. "Christians point out that, among the victims of the attack on the Twin Towers, there is also a Franciscan friar, Father Michael Judge, OFM, who was the Fire Department’s chaplain in New York and died during the collapse of the first tower. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 09/09/2011)