Claim: First responders and clergy are not invited to the 2011 September 11 memorial ceremony at ground zero.
TRUE
Examples: [Collected via e-mail, August 2011]
Due to "lack of room", NYC Police Officers , PA (Port of Authority,
that day in 2001 either. They just showed up.
NYC Policemen and Firefighters are not invited to the
I got an email stating that New York Mayor Bloomberg said that
there was no room for NYPD, FDNY, and EMS Officers at the Anniversary
Ceremony of 9/11/01. Is this true?
Is it true that New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has banned all
clergy and all prayer from the upcoming 9/11 memorial service planned to
commemorate the tragic events of that day?
Origins: According to CNN, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office issued a statement saying that due to space constraints, this year's
Yet now, after all the wreckage has been cleared and the rebuilding has begun, their path is again blocked — not by flying chunks of smoldering rubble, but by space constraints. The first responders are not invited to this year's It's a painful insult for many of the approximately 3,000 men and women who risked their lives, limbs and lungs on that monumental day, puncturing another hole in a still searing wound. In a statement, Bloomberg spokesman Andrew Brent said the commemoration ceremony is for the victims' families. "While we are again focused on accommodating victims' family members, given the space constraints, we're working to find ways to recognize and honor first responders, and other groups, at different places and times," Brent said.
When debris rained from the sky in lower Manhattan on
Also controversial was the mayor's decision not to include clergy or formal prayers in the ceremony:
City Hall officials, who are coordinating the ceremony, confirmed that spiritual leaders will not participate this year — just as has been the case during past events marking the anniversary. The mayor has said he wants the upcoming event to strike a similar tone as previous ceremonies. "There are hundreds of important people that have offered to participate over the last nine years, but the focus remains on the families of the thousands who died on "The ceremony was designed in coordination with "It has been widely supported for the past
Religious leaders are calling on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to reverse course and offer clergy a role in the ceremony commemorating the
Last updated: 1 September 2011
Sources: |
Marrapodi, Eric. "9/11 Ceremony Won't Include Clergy or Formal Prayers." CNN.com. 25 August 2011. Saul, Michael Howard. "9/11 Exclusion Spurs Outrage." The Wall Street Journal. 24 August 2011. Stein, Jeff. "First Responders Decry Exclusion from 9/11 Ceremony." CNN.com. 16 August 2011. FOXNews.com. "9/11 First Responders to Be Excluded from 10th Anniversary Ceremony." 17 August 2011.