Area priest says Londoners going on with lives

Many churches have opened their doors to the public for prayer, said the Rev. J. Friedel.

Six time zones away from Southeast Missouri, the Rev. J. Friedel woke Thursday morning to the sound of breaking news on BBC radio.

The terrorist attacks at 8:51 a.m. London time hit close to home for Friedel, who lives in Cape Girardeau but is vacationing in London. Friedel, a Catholic priest and the director of the Newman Center at Southeast Missouri State University, said that after hearing the initial news he watched the events unfold on television. Officials cautioned people against leaving their homes right after the bombings, so Friedel said he did not venture outside until later in the day. Even then, he said, he could see that many were still affected by the attacks, which killed at least 37 and wounded about 700.

"I went to a grocery store earlier this evening, and just by watching people on the street, I could tell that people are very sober, but they are going along with their lives," he said.

Much like after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, many London churches have opened their doors to the public for prayer, and some had special services. Friedel said he attended Mass Thursday evening.

"People are mindful and are doing what people of faith do at times like this," he said. "And that's feeling that somewhere, we've got to try to find God in the middle of all this."

Friedel said the attacks have not convinced him to cut his vacation short, and he plans to remain in London until his scheduled departure on July 14. Still, he said, the roller coaster ride of emotions has revived memories.

"It certainly gave me flashbacks to September 11, and here there has been every normal reaction to a terrorist attack imaginable, from shock to horror, to outrage, to sadness, to fear," he said.

People in Southeast Missouri also said the London bombings remind them of Sept. 11.

Pat Suzuki of Cape Girardeau said she thinks Londoners are probably feeling much like many Americans did after the terrorist attacks nearly four years ago. She also said the recent bombings make her concerned about the future.

"I worry about what the world is coming to and what my grandkids are going to have to face in their lifetime," she said.

Barry Robinson, also of Cape Girardeau, said the threat of terrorism and the Sept. 11 attacks are never far from his thoughts.

"I don't think that it's ever left my mind, because with everything that's taken place in the world, there is a constant reminder that we live in a time of civil disobedience in every country," he said. "There is less respect now for mankind, less respect for self."

wmcferron@semissourian.com

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