They Are in Our Prayers : Local Parishioners Join in Mourning Victims of Oklahoma Bombing

As President Clinton joined the nation in mourning the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing Sunday, parishioners at San Fernando Valley churches added their prayers in hopes that some might still be saved from the wreckage of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

But as rescuers continued for a fourth day their dismal mission of scouring the nine-story wreck, answers to prayers seemed unlikely. Still, they prayed, many filled with the anger of a nation outraged by the slaughter of innocents. The punitive sentiment for the bombers is clear in even the youngest hearts.

“Don’t let them live,” said 9-year-old Robert Shore as he sat with his mother and father waiting for memorial services to begin at St. John Baptist de la Salle Catholic Church in Granada Hills.

“I don’t know what they were thinking,” said Catherine Carfaro, 26, who like many was affected most by the tragic images of children--both dead and alive--being pulled from the debris. “All those babies. That’s just disgusting.”

Between the celebrations of Christ’s Resurrection, there were words of comfort for the scores of dead, the children and their families.

“This morning we dedicate to the victims of the bombing in Oklahoma, the children, the adults who lost their lives,” said the Rev. Michael Slattery before a congregation of 400 at St. John Baptist de la Salle. “It is difficult for us to comprehend why that would happen, why someone would conceive within themselves for that to happen.”

And difficult, too, to feel safe. The randomness of the attack, the sheer number of dead and injured, has invaded our sense of well-being and safety. “It frightens the children,” said Paul Walker, 43, of Granada Hills. “Even at work, it’s made us question our security.”

Walker, his wife and three sons volunteered to light seven candles during a memorial service for those who lost their lives. They felt tied to the victims, they said. A year ago, a school in Tulsa had collected money for the earthquake-damaged Tulsa Street School in Granada Hills, which the Walkers’ sons attend.

Across town at St. Mel’s Catholic Church in Woodland Hills, a slow tear rolled down Gwen Kirk’s cheek as she spoke about the bombing. “It’s a sad day in our history,” said the Malibu resident, her voice quivering. “They don’t consider the horror they brought into other people’s lives.”

Yet even as the grim task of cataloguing the dead continues in Oklahoma, ministers preached about the resilience that faith can provide in the face of human cruelty. “You can’t live life scared,” said Ninfa Tesoro, 51, of Mission Hills. “You just hope and pray that everything will be all right.”