Archbishop present when the mothers of alleged killer, victim, met
The Catholic Register (CCN)
"As incredible as that is," the mother of two teenage brothers killed on Jan. 22 and the mother of the alleged teenaged killer have been supporting each other, Archbishop Murray Chatlain of Keewatin - Le Pas said.
"I was very touched by their care for each other," he told The Catholic Register.
The shooting tragedy in La Loche, Sask., left four people dead.
The archbishop had travelled to the northern community of less than 3,000 soon after hearing of the shooting.
"It is the Church's role to accompany wherever there is suffering and storms," he said. "We have that responsibility to try to be present when there is the biggest need."
Archbishop Chatlain was present when the mothers met. He also spent time with the family of the alleged shooter, who appeared in court Jan. 25 facing four counts of first degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder and unauthorized possession of a firearm.
The teenager's family are "good people," he said. "We're not blaming them. It's just this has happened, and now how do we bring healing and support and try to find ways for our young people to have more hope."
In the early afternoon of Jan. 22 a 17-year-old, whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is alleged to have killed two brothers, aged 17 and 13, at their home and then spent about eight minutes terrorizing staff and students at nearby La Loche Community School with a firearm believed to be a shotgun. The youth was apprehended by RCMP after 11 people had been shot.
Two staff members hired earlier this school year: 21-year-old teaching assistant Marie Janvier of La Loche and 35-year-old teacher Adam Wood of Uxbridge, Ont., were also killed.
Although Archbishop Chatlain spoke of resisting the urge to place blame, he was not without criticism, particularly of an education system which had cut funding for extra-curricular programs at the school.
"It is impossible to draw complete correlations, but there is a need for the young people to have more support and programs," he said.
At a Mass he celebrated in Our Lady of the Visitation Church in La Loche, a largely Catholic town, the archbishop urged the congregation to focus on healing and support rather than placing blame.
"Anger is a very natural response," he said. "There are no easy words to make sense of this or take this pain away. There is need for great sympathy as the community tries to heal."
The Woods family expressed similar sentiments.
"It is in these moments, when tragedy strikes, that we are able to stop and consider life," reads the message from the Woods family. "We feel sadness and remorse, but rarely do we use that to fuel change. Rather than looking for someone to blame or coming up with outside opinions of reasons why this occurred, we must stop and listen."
About 90 per cent of the residents of La Loche self-identify as aboriginal. Unemployment is estimated to be about 22.3 per cent, and about 38 per cent of homes are deemed unsuitable by the National Occupancy Standard. The town's suicide rate is three times the provincial average.
Possible solutions to these issues were explored in a meeting after the Mass attended by native and political leaders.\Z