Several priests of the Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport responded quickly to the mass murder of adults and schoolchildren at a Newtown, Conn. elementary school, rushing to the scene to comfort victims and their relatives.<\/p>\n
Brian Wallace, the diocese\u2019s director of communications, said that priests from St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, the only Catholic parish in Newtown, are actively responding.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe parish is huge and extremely active and it\u2019s just up the street,\u201d Wallace told CNA Dec. 14.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin minutes (of the shooting) the pastor, Msgr. Bob Weiss, was at the scene of the tragedy working with families,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe quickly alerted other priests from the parish who joined him. As this unfolded, and the significance of it became apparent, we also alerted all our clergy in the upper Danbury area.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary on the morning of Dec. 14 left at least 27 people dead, including 18 children.<\/p>\n
A law enforcement official told the Associated Press that the attacker was a 20-year-old man with ties to the school. He apparently had two guns.<\/p>\n
Wallace said the murders have had a deep impact. \u201cWe\u2019re disoriented by it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is so profoundly disturbing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very difficult time. I think it\u2019s going to get worse. The indications are that there may be a number of children who were killed.\u201d<\/p>\n
CBS News reports that the gunman was the father of one of the students and is from New Jersey. A possible second shooter is in custody.<\/p>\n
Wallace also noted that many Catholic clergy have responded, including those in local medical facilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur chaplains in the hospitals are meeting with people. Our priests are on the ground doing everything they can to deal with grieving families and with people who have good news but are totally traumatized by what has occurred.\u201d<\/p>\n
Newtown is a small town of only 27,000 people.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Read the rest.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"photo: Cloe Poisson, Hartford Courant From Catholic News Agency:\u00a0 Several priests of the Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport responded quickly to the mass murder of adults and schoolchildren at a Newtown, Conn. elementary school, rushing to the scene to comfort victims and their relatives. Brian Wallace, the diocese\u2019s director of communications, said that priests from St. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[1101,1348,1349],"class_list":["post-19094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ripped-from-the-headlines","tag-connecticut","tag-newtown","tag-school-shooting"],"yoast_head":"\n
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