Posted on 03/06/2005 9:11:24 PM PST by NormsRevenge
MAYERTHORPE, Alta. (CP) - A priest urged parishioners Sunday to pray for the soul of Mountie killer James Roszko while lamenting the collapse in values that helped turn his heart black.
"We should pray for the one who caused this tragedy, who himself seems to be a victim of a lack of love," Father Andrew Bogdanowicz told 130 parishioners who packed the pews at St. Agnes Parish.
"We don't know exactly what happened in his heart. I was told he was baptized Catholic, so he is one of us."
Parishioners - some wearing the tiny red and white ribbons to symbolize their grief - dabbed their eyes or cried softly.
"Perhaps we should blame ourselves, too," Bogdanowicz said. "It is easy to judge, but this man didn't grow up in the desert . . . Have you prayed for him knowing he has been lost, knowing he has committed crimes in the past?"
The 46-year-old Roszko, a convicted child molester, known cop-hater and community pariah, shot four Mounties dead in a large Quonset hut on his farm Thursday morning.
The officers had been staking out his property near Mayerthorpe while investigating stolen car parts and a small marijuana grow operation.
Police say the constables - Anthony Gordon, 28, Leo Johnston, 32, Brock Myrol, 29, and Peter Schiemann, 25 - were ambushed by Roszko who was carrying a semi-automatic, assault-style rifle.
Roszko was wounded in the attack and soon after killed himself.
On Sunday, RCMP Cpl. Wayne Oakes allowed there was "a possibility" that Schiemann was not wearing body armour but said he was not in a position to comment further.
He also declined to comment on published reports suggesting not all the officers were armed.
The Mayerthorpe and Whitecourt detachments, meanwhile, issued an emotional news release Sunday thanking all Canadians for their support.
"We need the communities we serve to know that their outpouring of support, love, prayers, hugs, flowers and caring has touched all our hearts," said the release.
"You have eased a burden that we could not have borne without your support. For that, we are eternally grateful."
In his sermon, Bogdanowicz urged people to honour the memory of the officers but also blamed abortion, euthanasia, violent video games and movies for helping society to lionize cruelty.
After the service, some said forgiveness for Roszko will come while others urged compassion for his relatives.
"Time will heal all wounds but the forgiveness for James' soul and for his family is there in my heart," said Bob Pimm. "It's a terrible thing that's happened and there's nothing we can do to change what's happened."
Across town at Mayerthorpe Baptist Church, worshippers set up a table at the altar with the names of the four officers displayed in black ink on white sheets of paper. On the table were four roses in a vase wrapped in a red and white ribbon.
The congregation sang songs and prayed for the families of the victims while urging an end to marijuana grow operations.
At the Alexis reserve south of Mayerthorpe, about 70 band members crowded into their church to honour the fallen officers.
Johnston, who was also Metis, was the beat constable for the reserve.
Prior to singing to the beat of traditional drums, young and old lined up to hug, hang on, and cry with Mayerthorpe Const. Julie Letal, who attended in the Mounties' full red serge uniform.
Letal, who also used to police the reserve full time, said the band members are part of her family.
"They love me as much as I love them. That's all I can say," she said.
A candlelight vigil was planned for Sunday night in Whitecourt, where Gordon had been stationed.
Meanwhile, Pentecostal Pastor Arnold Lotholz confirmed Sunday he was the one Mounties aimed a rifle at during a case of mistaken identity on the road outside the Roszko farm crime scene Saturday.
Lotholz, who helps co-ordinate emergency responses in the area, said he had been given permission to view the crime scene but by the time he arrived, security was on heightened alert due to some unspecified threat.
He said the officer in charge of the scene was not from the area and didn't recognize his vehicle.
"I knew they were tense. That's why I drove up slowly," said Lotholz.
"I wasn't scared."
Mounties have refused comment on the incident.
Funerals for the slain officers begin this week. A national memorial service is set for Thursday afternoon in Edmonton at the Butterdome arena on the University of Alberta campus.
Thousands of police officers from across North America will attend, along with RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli and Alberta Lt.-Gov. Norman Kwong.
A spokesman for Paul Martin confirmed Sunday the prime minister will also attend.
["Time will heal all wounds but the forgiveness for James' soul and for his family is there in my heart," said Bob Pimm ]
Is Pimm a priest? Forgiveness requires the trespasser to repent and ask for forgiveness. I read no evidence of either one.
I'm all for a fair prayer and a fair hanging.
The dead and their families are the only human beings with the authority to forgive the killer. We cannot forgive for them.
[Didn't you get the memo?]
I'm so old-fashioned that I've been left out of the loop...
Memo to "Father" Andrew Bogdanowicz:
You are NOT one of us!
The article said the killer was dead, so the priest asked parishoners to pray for his soul. In so doing the good priest was wise enough to blame himself and the community for not praying for this man's conversion before the murders. As I see it the priest did exactly what the Christian faith demands he had done. (For the record, this preist did not 'forgive' the unrepentent murderer, he did his Christian duty by asking the congregation to pray for the killer's wretched soul).
Idiot, Non-Christian, Liberal, brain-dead Priest Alert!
You got that right. A wolf in shepherd's clothing. He needs to be ejected from the sheepfold.
So refreshing to see someone who reads accurately before jumping to conclusions! It's a rare quality these days.
To quote Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, he is "slobbering over the criminal."
"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
- Matthew, 5:43-44
Apparently this is from the Talmud.
The injunction from the Sermon on the Mount to "Love your enemies" seems to me to be one of the most defining characteristics of the teaching of Jesus. Even today, it is natural to think, "How could that possibly work?". The fact that it is such a strange idea means that even self-professed Christians do not accept it. But this also points to the fact that a very unique individual actually expressed this idea that and that it was not somehow made up later on.
How about praying for the Mounties and their families?
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