2006.09.03: September 3, 2006: Headlines: COS - Mali: COS - Senegal: Religion: 911: Star Tribune: The Rev. Patrick Malone served in the Peace Corps in Mali and Senegal before ministering at Ground Zero after 911
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2006.09.03: September 3, 2006: Headlines: COS - Mali: COS - Senegal: Religion: 911: Star Tribune: The Rev. Patrick Malone served in the Peace Corps in Mali and Senegal before ministering at Ground Zero after 911
The Rev. Patrick Malone served in the Peace Corps in Mali and Senegal before ministering at Ground Zero after 911
In June 2001, he was ordained and assigned to work as an associate pastor at St. Luke's Catholic Church in St. Paul. When the towers fell, he volunteered to help in New York City and found himself ministering to rescue workers at Ground Zero. "I worked with the first responders. The diggers wanted [the clergy] there; they were extremely ready to talk. It was so raw there, and despite the chaos and noise, a religious, spiritual place."
The Rev. Patrick Malone served in the Peace Corps in Mali and Senegal before ministering at Ground Zero after 911
Patrick Malone, Roman Catholic
Last update: September 08, 2006 – 10:49 AM
Photo: Jim Gehrz, Star Tribune
The Rev. Patrick Malone, 47, a Jesuit priest, works in the Dominican Republic (we talked with him during a visit to Minnesota). He was born in West St. Paul, graduated from the former Brady High School and the University of St. Thomas, both in St. Paul, served in the Peace Corps in Mali and Senegal, earned a double M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, survived leukemia and became a Jesuit in 1992. In June 2001, he was ordained and assigned to work as an associate pastor at St. Luke's Catholic Church in St. Paul. When the towers fell, he volunteered to help in New York City and found himself ministering to rescue workers at Ground Zero.
I worked with the first responders. The diggers wanted [the clergy] there; they were extremely ready to talk. It was so raw there, and despite the chaos and noise, a religious, spiritual place. They were looking for the dead. We became attuned to the sights and smells of death. The police and firemen who had fallen, many had thick protective suits that were preserved and easy to identify, and whenever one was found, there would be great reverence. This messy, smelly, noisy place was holy ground. We who were there in the pit defined ourselves by before and after this time. I was there six weeks, and it was the toughest ministry to leave. My faith did change there. I learned, oddly, to relax in my work, to understand that I would do ministry in unexpected ways. And I learned that I was in the right place, that I could be a priest, a curer of souls.
So my faith in God was not shaken; it grew deeper. But since then, my faith in the church has been shaken as I've seen pain in people related to church decisions that have little to do with what matters.
9/11 helped me to know even more that we are not Christian because of what we say, but because of what we believe -- do you believe in the Paschal mystery? In life from death? That question has helped me get back to the roots of my faith. If you are in a state of desolation and despair, remember that the human spirit is incredibly capable of coming back to life. I saw that in the pit. I was close to the cross there. And to me, the cross says: The violence stops here. You can perpetuate the unfairness in the world, or you can let [Jesus] absorb it.
Pamela Miller • 612-673-4290
When this story was posted in September 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
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Story Source: Star Tribune
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Mali; COS - Senegal; Religion; 911
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