St. Tammany gun shakedown

Under current federal scrutiny, a Louisiana sheriff shifts his position after spending years defending two lawsuits that request the return of items seized at the residence of a former deputy.

“I’m not surprised that, two days after I was served with a subpoena to appear before a federal grand jury on February 28, the sheriff’s office now claims we can have our son’s shotgun back,” said the former St. Tammany Parish deputy, Norman J. Manton, Jr.

Sherrie Buras-Manton, his wife, and plaintiff in the action against St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Rodney “Jack” Strain and other St. Tammany Parish deputies, told Human Events that when she and her husband met with Strain in 2008, after her husband was released from jail and all charges were dropped, she requested that her personal items be returned.

“None of the personal items seized were returned, and no one ever gave us a reason why,” she said. “We filed papers in federal court requesting those items and alleging that our First and Second Amendment rights were violated.”

“One of the items was a Remington 870 Youth Model 20 Gauge Shotgun with the initials ‘DJM’ that belonged to my then 18-year old son David J. Manton,” she said.  Her son David died in 2010 in a freak gun accident.

Also seized as a result of a search warrant, were religious items to include a Bible, Missal (used to celebrate Catholic Mass), David’s rosary beads, and various Catholic medals and prayer cards, she said.

“David’s rosary beads were a first Holy Communion gift from my husband and me when he was a young boy.  He had the rosary beads hung on his shot gun in a locked closet in his bedroom,” Buras-Manton said.

“We have been demanding the return of our Bible, David’s rosary beads and his shotgun for close to five years,” she said. “Since my son is deceased, each memory of him is all we have left.”

“The Sheriff’s office has the Remington 20 Gauge Shotgun in its possession,” said Charles M. “Chuck” Hughes Jr., attorney for Strain. “We have always had it.  They [Mr. and Mrs. Manton] have always known that we have it, but they chose to ignore it.”

When asked whether the sheriff’s office possesses any of the other items listed in the federal complaint, Hughes told Human Events that the only item seized from the Manton home was the shot gun.

“That’s a lie,” said Manton.  “I was told by the evidence custodian, that high ranking members of the sheriff’s office told him to hide the items, which included the religious materials and the shot gun.”
“I was also told by a senior deputy that my items were locked-up,” he said.

Hughes said the shot gun was seized because Manton is a convicted felon and was in violation of probation.

Attorney for Buras-Manton in the federal action, Daniel G. Abel said, “Manton could not be in violation of his probation because Louisiana statute and federal law outlines which crimes limit the right of a person to keep and bear arms.  The crime of construction malfeasance is not one of them. ”

“The shot gun was not even owned by Manton.  The owner of the shot gun was his son David.  The gun was in David’s room, in a locked closet, when authorities removed it,” he said.

“The entire search and seizure of Manton’s home and subsequent arrest was initiated to cover-up underlying criminal activity at the hands of the sheriff’s office,” he said.

“St. Tammany Parish Sheriff attempted to blame Manton for the death or disappearance of Albert Bloch,” he said.  “Bloch’s death or disappearance in 2007 is the subject of an ongoing investigation by federal authorities, in which Manton has been called to testify before a grand jury as a victim of departmental misconduct, not a suspect.”

Abel said that until recently the Sheriff’s office claimed they seized the religious items because they thought the items belonged to Bloch.  “It is outrageous for them to now claim they did not seize them at all.”

“Of course the sheriff’s office has the shot gun, who else would have it?” said Richard Feldman, president of Rindge, N.H.-based Independent Firearm Owners Association, who is an attorney and co-plaintiff in the federal lawsuit against the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s office.

“The Sheriff’s attorneys went through all this costly litigation yet only now admits to having the shotgun?  Why didn’t they say it in their Reply papers?” he asked.  “The seized shot gun has not been made available to us, although we have tried to obtain it on numerous occasions.”

Feldman says that in addition to the current FBI investigation, the Sheriff’s office is under heightened scrutiny with an ATFE investigation underway into a claim that the St. Tammany sheriff’s office has an ongoing and seemingly lucrative business in the sale of illegally confiscated firearms in violation of the Gun Control Act of 1968.

Robrt Pela’s Heartwarming Valentine Tale: "If It’s Friday, This Must Be the …

Katie Johnson
Chow Bella has a valentine for you. For the rest of February, we’re handing out Candy Hearts — stories of food and love from some of our favorite writers. Enjoy.

I know a 12-year-old who eats nothing but peanut butter and chicken fingers. Three meals a day. No kidding. She has, as that old poem about eating peas with honey goes, done so all her life. My little friend is one of those poor, early-21st-century kids who are allergic to pretty much everything: potatoes, red meat, oxygen. She can’t be in the same room with a lettuce leaf, but it’s okay. She’s lucky enough to have parents who allow her to eat Peter Pan Extra Crunchy straight from the jar and call it “lunch.”

See also:
- Robrt Pela’s Dreaming of a Moist Christmas
- Candy Hearts archives

If this pisses me off, it’s because I was one of those now impossible-to-fathom kids who ate anything. Sauerkraut, sushi, okra–I loved it all. This was in the Sixties before it became fashionable for children to be terrified of contact with white flour; long before any of us had ever even heard of gluten. And so I devoured plantains and mutton stew and beef liver. I asked for seconds of cioppino and broccoli and veal-stuffed cabbage. I ate everything. But I drew the line at one foodstuff: I refused the body of Christ.

I was too young to spell transubstantiation, but old enough to know that one should never eat some dead guy, no matter how famous he was. But I was a little Catholic boy, in the second grade, and this meant that the time for my First Holy Communion was drawing near. I was now old enough, my parents explained, to once a week eat the little round communion wafers that were served at the end of Sunday mass. These disks, my father explained to me, were magically turned into the flesh of God’s son, and eating them somehow made everything right with the world.

My subconscious was the first to protest. I began having nightmares in which I was forced to attend a Jesus-hosted progressive dinner party that ended with a dessert made up of the Virgin Mary’s lady parts.

My parents remained unconvinced that eating Jesus was a bad idea. I held my ground. I didn’t care, I insisted, that Jesus’s dad was a vengeful god who could see everything I did and punish me for not wanting to taste his son. I was not swayed by reports that Christ had plans to return to earth one day soon to scoop up all the people he liked best, and that refusing to swallow pieces of him would land me on his Divine shit-list for all eternity. I was not going to eat the son of God.

My parents, both staunch Catholics, tried to reason with me.

“After you make your First Holy Communion, you’ll really have a relationship with the Holy Spirit,” my father explained, hopefully.

“Not to mention indigestion!” I replied. “Can’t Jesus and I just be pen-pals?”

“You’re a Catholic,” Dad tried. “You have to complete all your sacraments, and Holy Communion is one of them.”

“Marriage is a sacrament,” I squeaked. “Instead of doing Communion, couldn’t I just get married twice, like my sister did?”

My 8-year-old sarcasm was no match for my father’s impatience, and so, every Thursday afternoon, I joined the kids from St. Jerome’s Catholic School to learn about the joys of drinking the Blood of Christ and how to eat a Communion wafer without chewing it, which was a sin that would cause the floor to open up and send me straight into the fiery depths of Hell.

I nearly ended in Hell anyhow, after our priest, Father Pat, turned up at our final First Communion class for a dress rehearsal of that Sunday’s big event, when we’d receive “the body and blood” for the first time during mass.

“Very well, kiddies,” Father lisped to all of us cannibals-in-training. “Everybody form a line. I’ll be the priest, and you be the parishioners. Remember: this is a joyous occasion, but joy is no excuse for forgetting your lines.”

Tips for Choosing the Perfect First Communion Dress from Sweetie Pie Collection

Communion Dress with Cap Sleeves

BALDWIN, NY (PRWEB) February 14, 2013

First Holy Communion is a beautiful, memorable and joyous occasion and the Sweetie Pie Collection wants to make it extra special by offering these tips when purchasing a child’s first communion dress.

Buying a First Communion Dress has become more manageable than in the past. There are more size ranges, dresses for plus size girls, and a more extensive choice of styles. There are an increased number of stores to choose from as well as online retailers. Here is a detailed list of tips to assist in shopping for a communion dress:

First of all, DO NOT wait until the last minute! Since most Communions are in April and May, the Communion shopping season starts in early January, and goes through April. However, waiting is the biggest mistake that most people make. What individuals do not realize is that many of these dresses are made to order. Shopping early in the Communion season (January and February are highly recommended), will ensure not only the availability of most dresses, but shoppers will have plenty of time to have any necessary alterations done before the Communion date without having to stress about getting the dress ready in time.

If waiting until the last minute to shop for communion dresses, dresses may be available, but the selection will be much smaller and could take time to follow through the purchase order.

Second, SIZING. Communion Dresses do not have the same sizing as girls clothing. It is very important to take the correct measurements and match your little girl up with the correct size dress. Only three measurements are needed to find the correct size Communion Dress- the bust measurement, waist measurement, and length measurement.

To get the correct bust measurement, use a tape measure and wrap it around the child’s body under the armpits at the widest part of their chest. Keep the tape measure loose, and write down the measurement.

To get the correct waist measurement, wrap the tape measure around the child’s mid section, right above the belly button. Keep the tape measure loose and write down the measurement.

To get the correct length measurement, it should be taken from the top of the shoulder down to where you would like the dress to fall. This is known as a “hollow to hem” measurement. Most churches require “Tea Length”, which is down below the knee, usually to the bottom of the calf or top of the ankle, but not to the floor.

Third, STYLE. Every year, manufacturers come out with new, beautiful Communion styles. Some styles are timeless, popular year after year; while others change with the times, and will be brand new contemporary styles that exemplify beauty and elegance.

Some people prefer a simply-designed more traditional dress, while others may want a more modern and elaborate dress. This can be because of ethnicity and family customs, or just personal preference. Most Communion Dresses are made in either satin, taffeta, or silk, with varying amounts of tulle, organza, lace, beadwork, and appliqués.

Keep in mind, there are rules when buying a Communion Dress. The most important rule that applies to all Churches is that the Communion Dress must be white. Silk (this is never bright or pure white, but usually a diamond white), is acceptable. Many Churches have different rules in regard to sleeves and length of the dress. Despite the fact that most Communion Dresses are sleeveless, some churches require shoulders to be covered during the ceremony. In this case, most girls either buy a dress with sleeves, or more likely, purchase a jacket, shawl, or caplet to wear with the dress. As far as length, all Churches require that the dress fall below the knee, but how far down varies in some churches. Most Churches just require “Tea Length”, which is between the lower calf and top of the ankle. In most cases, as long as the dress does not cover the shoe, and is at least as low as the calf, it is considered acceptable. For the specific requirements, it is recommended that you require within your individual Church or Parish.

For plus sizes, many manufacturers offer dresses in what the industry refers to as “Half” or “Plus” sizes. These are wider cut dresses that are usually designed specifically for girls that may be slightly, or even significantly overweight. The availability of these dresses is somewhat harder to come by, so Sweetie Pie Collection recommends shopping as early as possible to ensure the availability of these dresses.

The fourth factor in choosing a Communion Dress is of course, BUDGET. A Communion Dress can sell for prices ranging from under $100 to well over $500 for a Couture Communion Dress. A more expensive dress does not necessarily correlate to a better dress for your taste. The main factors that come into play with the price of a dress are the quality of fabric (for example, silk is a much higher quality and more expensive fabric when compared to satin or taffeta), quality of materials, beadwork, embroideries, and of course, craftsmanship. Although price should not solely drive a decision on a Communion Dress, it is recommended to avoid dresses that the price seems excessively low. This is only because these dresses tend to be of significantly lesser quality and tend not to make it through the occasion. To some degree, you do get what you pay for.

Hopefully, these tips will assist you in making the best possible decision when choosing a First Holy Communion Dress. The goal here is to help give you a stress-free shopping experience so that you can truly enjoy your First Communion celebration.

About Sweetie Pie: Sweetie Pie Collection creates an extensive line of flower girl dresses, communion dresses, christening dresses, pageant dresses, couture communion dresses, baby dresses and special occasion dresses for girls of all sizes. From infant to teens, Sweetie Pie Collection provides special occasion formal wear that is hand made with detailed precision and craftsmanship. Sweetie Pie Collection’s Children Formal Wear Boutique collections are designed by the leading fashion designers with some of the most innovative and trendsetting styles each and every season. Sweetie Pie Collection’s dress styles are unparalleled in elegance, sophistication and exquisiteness.

The Sweetie Pie Collection can be found in the finest and most exclusive bridal shops, children’s stores and specialty boutiques in all 50 states, and over 20 countries worldwide.

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• ‘I still love my Dad’ in spite of decade …

‘I still love my Dad’ in spite of decade of rape

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Fiona Doyle spoke bravely last night about the decade of sexual abuse she suffered from her father, but declared: “I still love him. He’s still my Dad.”

On RTÉ’s Late Late Show, however, Ms Doyle said she could never forgive her father for the horror he unleashed on her from the time when she was seven years of age.

While she also loved her mother, she said: “I walked out those court doors an orphan.”

Ms Doyle, who had been raped and indecently assaulted by her father, Patrick O’Brien, over a 10-year period, described how she learned that a request by him for a coffee was a coded signal for sex.

Last night she told Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy: “It was the sign, the code. I’d be called at night when my mother went to bingo. ‘Fiona come down here and make me a cup of coffee’. And I’d come down, make him a cup of coffee and I’d bring it in to him and then just stand there and wait and see what position he wanted or what he wanted me to do.”

She also described the stress she still felt as an adult recalling details of the abuse that started on the day before her First Holy Communion.

Writing her victim impact statement for her father’s criminal trial was particularly difficult. “My First Communion became significant when I was writing my victim impact statement. I wrote about my feelings and the effects of the abuse, not the rape. I didn’t think I could write about it.

“I was stressed about it. I sat up the whole night and forced myself to remember the details, struggling because I was little at the time.”

She said that she “cut a lot of the nasty details” and wrote it in a way that she would feel comfortable reading it to the court. However, she said she still felt uneasy telling other people about the abuse.

She also described her mixed emotions when she saw her father being led away to prison, saying she knew it would be the last time she would see him.

“I nearly shouted at them not to take him. I nearly said ‘Don’t lock him up.’”

Earlier yesterday her daughter, Kristel, 26, said her mother got “the best sleep of her life” on Thursday after Justice Paul Carney revoked O’Brien’s bail and sending him to jail.

O’Brien, aged 72, of Old Court Avenue, Bray, Co Wicklow pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 16 charges of the rape of his daughter.

Kristel said that while the judge’s decision to send her grandfather to jail came four days too late, she was happy that he had acknowledged that an earlier decision to grant him bail was wrong.

“He did apologise and he did rectify it,” she said. “He did it quite quickly. Unfortunately, it was four days too long, but he did it. Now it is written in law that my mum was telling the truth and no one can ever change that.”

In his initial decision not to send O’Brien to jail, Judge Carney took into account O’Brien’s old age and ailing health. But Kristel told RTÉ radio yesterday that her grandfather had “exaggerated” his illnesses.

“As for the walker, he was more than able to lift that out of the boot of that taxi and then all of a sudden he had to use it to walk? It doesn’t make sense,” she said.

“It was laid on for the courts and for the cameras.”

She said her grandfather had shown “no remorse whatsoever” for his crime and if he had, he would have pleaded guilty to more counts of rape.

The courts heard the abuse started the night before Ms Doyle’s First Holy Communion. But Kristel said it had, in fact, started “way before” that night.

“There is a whole lot more to this story and my mother wants to get all of that out there: How heinous it was; the real age it started from; how long it continued for.”

Her mother is currently writing a book and “some of the stories you will not believe”, Kristel said.

Ms Doyle tried to tell people about abuse but her mother would call her a “troublemaker” and provide a cover for her father.

Kristel said her grandparents also tried to put her down when she became the first person in the family to finish school. “They told me I wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t smart enough, and I couldn’t do it.” she said. “I was told I was up myself and I was very snobby”

“I wanted to go travelling and I was told: ‘You can’t go around splashing your money like that.’ Anything I tried to do to better myself was brought down.”

Kristel said she figured out what had happened to her mother when she was 14, both because of her mother’s over-protectiveness towards her children and Ms Doyle’s fraught relationship with her own parents.

She said there was no way of holding her grandmother legally responsible for her failure to protect her mother as a child.

“But I do take some solace in the fact that she has lost her husband, she has lost her family, she has lost the community in which she lives in. She will be in some sort of prison if not actual prison,” said Kristel.

Picture: Collins Courts

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Father freed on appeal in ‘worst case of abuse of a daughter’

A CHILD rapist who admitted abusing his daughter for 10 years walked free from court today after a judge granted him continuing bail to appeal his prison sentence.

Mr Justice Paul Carney suspended the last nine years of a 12 year sentence imposed on Patrick O’Brien (72) after describing his crimes as one of the most serious cases of serial rape of a daughter.

He certified the case a fit case for appeal with respect to issues arising and remanded O’Brien on continuing bail pending that appeal. He ordered that the appeal hearing be expedited and granted continuing legal aid to O’Brien.

Patrick O’Brien, of Old Court Avenue, Bray, Co Wicklow pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 16 charges of the rape and indecent assault of Fiona Doyle at Mackintosh Park, Pottery Road, Dun Laoghaire from 1973 to 1982.

The abuse began when O’Brien raped the victim on the night before she was to make her First Holy Communion.

In a statement to media outside the court Ms Doyle said that she was totally devastated by the ruling.

She said: “He raped me for ten years and he just walks out of here today. I just can’t believe that this has happened.

“Last week I felt great, I was vindicated and I was told I was telling the truth. He admitted it. He pleaded guilty.

“For him to walk out of here today without serving one day, just one day, it’s just devastating. We are totally devastated by the whole thing.

“I just want to go home now with my kids and just let it all sink in,” she added.

“I’m a fighter. I’ll come back at it again.”

Asked if he has ever said sorry, Ms Doyle said: “No, never. He never said sorry… I don’t know what’s going to happen now. All I can do is just wait and see. I just need to make sure that we’re ok and that my kids are ok.”

Before passing sentence Mr Justice Carney heard evidence from the director of nursing services with the Irish Prison Service in relation to the level of care available to someone with O’Brien’s health issues and age.

Francis Nangle O’Connor told Monika Leech BL, prosecuting, that the Prison Service have managed patients with similar conditions as O’Brien. She said that the level of care available to him would be as good as that in the general community.

The court previously heard that O’Brien has a heart condition and that he requires oxygen for eight hours every night. Ms O’Connor said this could be provided.

Mr Justice Carney asked Ms Leech whether the DPP wanted a prison sentence to be served and if she would stand over any prison sentence imposed.

Ms Leech told the court that her only instructions in this regard were that the DPP viewed the case as falling at the lower level of the upper end of the scale but that the sentence was a matter for the court.

After hearing these submissions Mr Justice Carney said that he had only come to his view in this case in the last five minutes. He said it was a most difficult case to judge.

He said: “If I impose a serious custodial sentence and suspend it, it will go out in sound-bites, as these things do, that in one of the most serious cases of serial rape of a daughter, the man walked. That is all the community will be told.

“On the other side if I impose a heavy sentence unsuspended I will be branded as a trial judge who substituted one injustice for another. I am trying to strike a balance.”

He noted that the evidence was that the abuse of Ms Doyle was so regular that it felt to her like it became as frequent as having dinner.

He said that that after sending the other children to bed he would ask Ms Doyle to make him a coffee. He would then take the coffee and tell her to lie down, either on her front or on her back.

He said that O’Brien would have sex with her on a chair or on a coach and that it became so frequent that the child would position herself so that she could continue to watch television during the assault.

Mr Justice Carney noted that in another judgement, the Kennedy case, the Court of Criminal Appeal suspended a moderate sentence imposed of the basis on the health of the accused.

He said that in that judgement he was “horrified” to find that the DPP, “behind my back, saying it’s a matter of indifference” whether that accused served a prison sentence or not.

He said that he believed he was taking a very moderate position by imposing a sentence of 12 years for the rape charges, along with concurrent sentences of three years for the indecent assault.

He said the primary mitigating factor for the accused was his serious and exceptional medical condition. He said that other factors were his guilty pleas, his expression of remorse, his good behaviour, history of employment and the length of time since the offences. Based on these mitigating factors he suspended the final nine years.

- Declan Brennan

God’s love was assured early in life by common sense

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Faith Walk

January 18

My first crisis of faith occurred when I was only 7 and just weeks away from my first Holy Communion. Because the second grade’s first confession would precede its first Communion, Sister Paulette prepared our hearts and minds for when we would confess our sins in the sanctuary at Five Holy Martyrs Church in Chicago. As part of that preparation, we memorized the Ten Commandments so we’d know what sins to declare.

Sister’s lesson on the Third Commandment, to keep holy the Sabbath, brought a deep worry. According to God’s rules, she said, anyone who did not go to Mass each and every Sunday would go to hell. Period.

I wasn’t worried for myself — my mother made sure we went to Mass every Sunday. But a chilling reality hit me. My father, who never went to church, was going to hell. With all the fervor of a soon-to-be communicant, I took my plight to God and prayed hard.

I remember the ouchiness of my bony knees as I kneeled against the linoleum in my bedroom, but I don’t remember what I said or asked. Likely I prayed for leniency, perhaps for an exception for my father, or maybe just a way to better understand the reasoning behind such a damning rule.

What I do know is that I stopped worrying, because somewhere in those weeks I came to a decision. Sister’s pronouncement did not make sense, and God would not do anything that didn’t make sense or that didn’t seem fair. That decision helped me put aside my worry about my father’s damnation.

In the fourth grade, when Sister Zigmunta announced that anyone who did not believe in Jesus could not go to heaven, I looked at the world map in our classroom. I knew that most of the world’s people did not believe in Jesus. If, as my Baltimore Catechism said, “God made us to know, love and serve him, and be happy with him in heaven,” then it made no sense for God to create millions of people knowing they could never get to heaven.

Today, 60 years after my first communion, I find that I still puzzle out God’s mystery using the common sense of a child driven to her knees by worry. Would God create gay people and then damn them for living like gay people? Would God punish those in the World Trade Towers for the crimes of a sinful America? Would God condemn Muslims or Christians or Jews to terrorism and hate crimes?

That little 7-year-old, with her deep faith in a loving God, tells me that none of that makes sense.

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For a special day

The Irish Times – Saturday, January 5, 2013

DEIRDRE MCQUILLAN

Jacadi, the French children’s and babywear shop on South King Street, Dublin celebrates its 20th birthday this year. Anne Bell, from Rosses Point in Sligo, founded the shop after a trip to Paris in 1990 even though banks told her that franchises were a thing of the past, and friends said that no one would be interested in French baby clothes.

Now, two of her four daughters, Gill and Suzanne, work in the business with her. They love seeing first-time dads pick their daughters first dress, they say, or watching girls try on their first communion dresses “and sharing special family moments with so many families”.

The umbrella is €26.95 and the white lace gloves €21.95. These and other items can be found in the shop and on their new website due to launch shortly (
prettylily.ie) with their first dedicated First Holy Communion range of dresses and accessories.

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Mum’s silent protest over communion snub

Mum’s silent protest over communion snub at Dovercourt’s Our Lady Queen of Heaven church

9:28am Monday 31st December 2012 in News

By Helen Barnett

Mum’s silent protest over communion snub

A MOTHER brandished placards displaying damning allegations outside a church because her son is not allowed to have his first Holy Communion in her chosen parish.

Liza Moore, from the Manningtree area, has been told her seven-year-old son Harry can’t be confirmed at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic church in Fronk’s Road, Dovercourt.

She said Father Michael Stokes will not carry out the ceremony because he is not part of the parish and instead he must go to Saint Mary and Saint Michael’s in Mistley.

While Harry and his school class at St Joseph’s Primary School arrived at the church for a carol service on Thursday, December 20, Liza stood with placards for a silent protest.

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Brentwood said that in order to prepare for the first communion, Harry and Liza had to take part in mass weekly in Our Lady Queen of Heaven.

Liza, who is also an animal rights campaigner, claimed the restriction made by the church could be because she is vegan – an argument which is strongly denied by the church.

Comments(1)

rascalmaster

says…

10:16am Mon 31 Dec 12

Dont know much about religion… but being “all encompassing all embracing and all welcoming” must surely be a good thing…
rascalmaster

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St. Rose Church counseling school shooting victims’ families in Newtown …

NEWTOWN, Conn. (WABC) —
A number of clergymen are with the families and helping them to cope with the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.

“I think the reality is settling in that these children are with the Lord now, and they’ve been taken from them too young, too innocent. We just told a little boy about his sister now; it was just so hard to see, he said, ‘Who am I going to play with now? I have nobody to play with now?’ So, excuse me. A lot of these people are from our parish which makes it pretty heavy for me too. I’ve baptized some of these children and they were getting ready for first communion, but the parents are, I have to say the love in that room, as broken as they are, is just phenomenal. It’s been a privilege for me to stand with them today, to talk with them, to pray with them. There’s not many words you can say, there’s no words you can really say, just to be present to them. Many of them mentioned that, that has really made a difference to them, just our presence with them today,” said Msgr. Robert Weiss, of St. Rose Church.

Related Photos

“Some of these victims, some of them were your parishioners?” Reporter N.J. Burkett asked.

“Yeah many of them actually were. Some of them are very active in our parish community. You know, as I said, children were getting ready to make their first holy communion,” Msgr. Weiss said, “It’s just, this community will never be the same. It’s broken.”

To help the community deal with the events, there will be a memorial mass this evening at 7:00 p.m. at St. Rose Church.

The church will also be open 24 hours a day until further notice.

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS FROM THE NEWTOWN SCHOOL SHOOTING SCENE

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Suffer the children

THE St Pius X Parish in Raiwaqa was a hive of activity yesterday as parish members, families and friends marked the first communion of 44 children at the parish.

First communion marks the first time a child receives the sacrament of the holy eucharist and is one of the most important occasions in a Catholic’s life.

St Pius X Parish priest Father Tom Rouse said the first Holy Communion celebrations marked the moment a child became a part of the community and took part in the work of the church.

“For these young people it’s a very special occasion because they have been preparing to receive this and it’s a very sacred moment for them,” Fr Rouse said.

“This is a moment in which they will share in the gift which Jesus has to share which is his body and blood so that is why this occasion is important for them.”

Fr Rouse said the children had gone through roughly a year of learning before receiving their first communion and it was good to see them in such high spirits.

And the occasion of the first communion was especially significant for 11-year-old Olivia Burese.

Miss Burese, who is deaf, said through a sign language interpreter that she had faced many difficulties during the one-year process of learning about her first communion.

However the Gospel School for the Deaf student said she was happy her hard work had finally paid off.

Miss Burese — the fifth child in a family of nine — said she had watched members of the parish receiving their holy communion and always anticipated the time when she would be able to do the same.

Her father, Dan Burese said it was a big milestone for the young lady to receive her first communion adding that he was very happy with the assistance given by the interpreters.

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