By Stephanie Tracy
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the issue of 7/4/02)
Order of Friars Minor Father Francis X. Gunn spoke to CCM’s summer Thursday Night Gathering about his experience and work with the Firehouse Support Teams, ministering to the firefighters of New York City in the wake of the World Trade Center tragedy.
"The most common response to tragedies like this is to ask questions," Father Gunn said. "To provide other people answers to these questions may deprive them of the growth that comes from finding the answers; our job is to validate people in their right to ask these types of ultimate questions."
Father Gunn has expertise in stress management and trauma and their impact on health care and emergency services personnel. He was invited by the International Association of Firefighters to help with the support and recovery efforts at New York City firehouses.
Peggy Sommar from Nativity Parish in Burke said the talk put perspective on the tragedy of Sept. 11.
"It was good to go back to the events of that day," she said. "And a lot of what Father talked about tonight in terms of dealing with tragedies will be valuable for those times in the future when we may be faced with tragedy again."
The presentation, entitled "9/11 and Beyond: The Transformation of the Human Spirit," examined the spiritual and emotional issues most commonly associated with traumatic experiences. Father Gunn emphasized that such situations can result in great personal growth, but that the examination of such questions and issues should not be taken up for its own sake.
"This is where the transformation occurs," Father Gunn said. "In facing these ultimate questions and the fears and anxieties that go with them; that’s where wisdom comes from. But this is not a journey to walk for its own sake; don’t go here unless life leads you here."
Some of the ultimate questions Father Gunn referred to included: "Who is in control?"; "Where was God?"; and "Why me?". Other emotional issues related to traumatic experiences include the worries about where loved ones are after death, survivor guilt, new priorities and relationships with time and determining the life-changing impact of the experience. He cautioned that the exploration of such questions is not simply an intellectual process.
"We can’t resolve questions like these without the experience to back them up," Father Gunn said.
He spoke about the need to restore the sense of safety and security following tragic experiences. Many people, however, have a difficult time letting go of the need to control.
"This is all part of the process," he said. "But your future happiness will hinge on those moments when you succeed in letting go; when you can acknowledge that you don’t have control over people, things, loved ones."
Father Gunn also addressed the paradox that often follows tragic events like Sept. 11.
"The paradox is that everything has changed and nothing has changed," he said. "We’re all the same people now as we were on Sept. 10; we just may not have known who we were then."
Conquering the power of darkness in the world is contingent upon the realization of a few principles, Father Gunn said.
"If you take nothing else away from this presentation tonight, I hope you walk away with the understanding that darkness is real, but that the mystery of the Resurrection is also real," he said. "We cannot lose hope, and I don’t think we have or will; if we’re ever going to overcome the darkness of hatred, it will ultimately come through the power of Christ’s love."
With detailed descriptions of people and events, Father Gunn brought some of the drama and horror of that day in Manhattan to the group of students. He lifted anecdotes from a new book, Last Man Down, by New York City fire Battalion Chief Rich Piciotto. He also shared his own memories of Order of Friars Minor Father Mychal Judge, the New York City Fire Department chaplain who was the first person declared dead at the World Trade Center site on Sept. 11.
"The same streets, the same elevators, the same stairwells took you to the same place everyday, but not on Sept. 11," he said. "Never in our history has there been a single day when so many people have never come home."
Piciotto and a few other firemen were perhaps the group of rescue personnel highest up in Tower One when the building collapsed. Father Gunn related Piciotto’s story of being buried under the rubble along with other firemen and workers he had been evacuating. Piciotto was trapped underneath the rubble in complete darkness for hours, thinking himself completely buried, unable to move for the instability of the debris. He was eventually able to see light coming from above; it was determined later that the darkness had been caused not by debris, but by thick, black smoke. Once the smoke cleared, Piciotto was able to climb out of the rubble and go for help.
"Chief Piciotto and the others were buried under 103 floors of rubble," Father Gunn said. "But through it all they kept the faith and saw the light. I’m convinced that the light of the Resurrection led them out."
John Freeman, a student at George Mason University, found the talk insightful.
"It was good that he brought the experience of the people in Manhattan here to Virginia," Freeman said. "It’s important to remember that we went through this tragedy together as a nation and as a community; now we have to begin healing as a nation and a community, and really be aware of one another."
Father Gunn has served for over 20 years in various ministries including pastoral and campus ministry, mental health, death and dying and stress management. He is a certified trauma specialist, and has 18 years experience as an EMT. Father Gunn has worked as mental health director of the Phoenix Team, a critical incident stress management team in New Jersey.
In his work with the Firehouse Support Teams after Sept. 11, Father Gunn helped coordinate support for firefighters at the site of the attack and workers at the morgue. Support teams made 450 visits to the firehouses of New York City’s five boroughs in the months following Sept. 11.
Father Gunn is currently stationed at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Manhattan, and serves as director of counseling services for the Franciscan Community Center.
The next Thursday Night Gathering for college students sponsored by George Mason’s Catholic Campus Ministry will be July 11 on the topic of spirituality and dating. For information call 703/425-0022.
Copyright ©2002 Arlington Catholic Herald. All rights reserved.
Return to back issues
Return to main
page