September 11 Recovery Work of Catholic Charities Featured in Continental Airlines' 'Heal America' Video

Catholic Charities USA
Monday, 4 March 2002

The compassionate services provided by Catholic Charities agencies following the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center are featured in a video titled "Heal America," which will air on cross-country Continental Airlines flights in March and April.

"The Heal America video showcases the care and assistance that Catholic Charities agencies have provided to those affected by the terrorist attacks and by the economic downturn that followed," said Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, president of Catholic Charities USA. "We are proud of the services provided by Catholic Charities agencies."

Catholic Charities is the only faith-based service organization featured in the 30-minute video that documents the outpouring of patriotism and support displayed by Americans working together to overcome financial, physical, and emotional challenges in the face of aggression on American soil.

The Catholic Charities portion of the video stresses how the need for services is will be felt in the months and years after this tragedy, and cites as an example the long-term assistance provided to victims of the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City.

The video includes personal stories told by victims survivors of the World Trade Center attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing who turned to Catholic Charities for help.

One especially compelling story was told by Carolann Larsen, the wife of one of the firefighters killed in the World Trade Center. Larsen gave birth to the couple's fourth child just two days after the terrorist attack. In the video, she shares how Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens helped her family and how the agency is ready to help in the weeks and months ahead.

Larsen said that Catholic Charities helped with tuition for her children so they could stay in their school, and that the agency was ready to offer counseling to the children "later, when things finally sink in to them, they realize what has happened, and they'll really be missing their father."

Tom DeStefano, chief executive officer of Catholic Charities in Brooklyn and Queens, explains in the video how his agency worked to deliver immediate emergency assistance and continues to provide victims with long-term recovery services.

"I know my colleagues throughout the country in Catholic Charities have made a pledge that we're going to be there for these victims and perhaps many of the victims that we still have not seen, who have not come forward," DeStefano said.

Heal America also shows how Catholic Charities will be helping victims for years to come, by illustrating Catholic Charities of Oklahoma City's work with victims of the 1995 bombing. The video includes interviews with people hurt in the disaster.

Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating also explains in the video how Catholic Charities helped heal Oklahoma City.

"Only 3 percent of the population is Catholic, and yet Catholic Charities has had a very significant role in helping to bring us together as a community—black, white, red and yellow, Protestants, Catholics, and Jews—because this, the Oklahoma City tragedy, was an attack on our family. And the only way we could become whole again is if we become whole together. And Catholic Charities has been very instrumental in having that happen," Gov. Keating said. "The events in Oklahoma City, like the events in New York, were horrific for just a few moments, but the recovery is many, many years."

Catholic Charities USA has distributed more than $21 million of the money donated after the terrorist attacks on September 11, with a growing portion of the disbursements allocated to programs that address the long-term needs of families whose lives were impacted by the tragedy.

"I commend Continental Airlines for taking on this project and encouraging Americans to help their neighbors in need," Fr. Hehir said.

Other leaders and celebrities appearing in the video include First Lady Laura Bush, former President Jimmy Carter, New York Gov. George Pataki, and actor Dennis Franz.

Negotiations are also being held with several cable networks for airing of the video later in the spring.

Catholic Charities USA's members--1,640 local agencies and institutions nationwide--provide help and create hope for more than nine million people a year regardless of religious, social, or economic backgrounds. For more than 275 years, local Catholic Charities agencies have been providing a myriad of vital services in their communities, ranging from day care and counseling to food and housing.

For more information, or to contact Catholic Charities USA, see their website at: www.catholiccharitiesusa.org