“What now?”

That question has undoubtedly flashed through everyone’s mind at some point over the past three weeks. For junior Emily Weiss, the place that could best help her answer that question was Campus Ministry, and the person who could best help was Campus Minister Harry O’Rourke.

O’Rourke explained that as the pastoral needs of the Saint Louis University community had shifted since Sept. 11, the focus of Campus Ministry’s efforts had changed as well. The fear, anxiety, hurt and confusion that now pervades everyone’s life needs to be addressed, not dismissed.

The Campus Ministry-sponsored Iraqi encampment project that was scheduled for Sept. 13-15 was postponed indefinitely. This project aimed to show the SLU community the devastating effects sanctions have on the people of Iraq, as opposed to its minor effects on the Iraqi government. It was designed to take form in a simulation of a refugee camp in Quad I. Participants would eat the equivalent of an Iraqi refugee’s diet, sleep in a tent and be exposed to and witness the conditions these sanctions impose on the Iraqis.

“It would be inappropriate and disrespectful to continue such planned activities in light of the Sept. 11 events,” said O’Rourke. Campus Ministry “did not want to instigate any angry outbursts” or isolate any member of the SLU community, O’Rourke continued. Rather, according to O’Rourke, “[Campus Ministry is] trying to promote discussion and dialogue about issues related to terrorism and our country’s response, and to our foreign policy.”

For the past three Sundays during 10 p.m. Mass at St. Francis Xavier College Church, Campus Ministry has been collecting funds to send to the relief efforts in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. As of Sept. 30, more than $2,000 has been raised.

Since such a large number of charities have erupted as a result of the Sept. 11 tragedies, Campus Ministry has decided to send the money it collects, and the money donated and collected by other organizations and given to Campus Ministry, to the Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of New York. Campus Ministry will allow the Catholic Charities to determine how to administer the funds appropriately, as opposed to sending it as a specifically-targeted donation to the families of firefighters, the families of police officers, the families of victims, various college scholarship funds, or funds for rebuilding the destroyed areas.

O’Rourke noted that since the attacks, there has been an increase in student interest and involvement in the Campus Ministry office-a change especially noted in Pax Christi. Pax Christi, which is Latin for the Peace of Christ, is the official Catholic peace organization, and it is based on the principles of peaceful, nonviolent education and action. It is geared toward the promotion of peace in our society.

The attendance of Pax Christi meetings, which are Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. in Campus Ministry, has increased since Sept. 11. The organization holds candlelight vigils in Quad I every Sunday evening from 9:25 to 9:45, after which they proceed to 10 p.m. Mass. This vigil is to pray for peace and is open to everyone. O’Rourke noted that the vigils will continue indefinitely “as long as war is looming overhead, or is a reality among us.”

O’Rourke has been meeting regularly with Weiss and Jeff Taylor, both coordinators of Amnesty International, and with Lubna Alam of the Muslim Student Association since Sept. 11. This working group initially focused their efforts on fundraising to go toward relief in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania.

But because of the extensive fundraising efforts of other SLU organizations, this group decided it would be best not to exhaust the SLU community of its funds, so they decided to change gears and centralize their energy on the tragedy through an educational awareness approach. According to Alam, the essential point of their work “is to create a dialogue about what America should do in response,” and “to not only help foster a greater spirit of unity on campus, but to educate everyone as well.”

These meetings among O’Rourke, Weiss, Taylor and Alam have yielded ideas of a benefit concert, which will be announced at a later date, and of distributing green and blue ribbons for peace to the SLU community.

They chose blue and green as opposed to America’s traditional red, white and blue to emphasize the impact the events of Sept. 11 have on the entire world, not just America. The green represents growth and the blue stands for harmony.

“While we recognize that something needs to be done, we don’t want to see an escalation of the violence,” said O’Rourke. He expressed a “call for prudent action in responding” to the Sept. 11 tragedies.

In the beginning of November, MSA will be hosting Islamic Awareness Week, during which, among other events, a panel discussion on religion will take place. This inter-religious forum will include representatives of Judaism, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism. According to O’Rourke, “[This event] focuses on understanding the commonalties, differences and distinctions among the teachings of these religions.” The elements of fundamentalism and distortion or manipulation of one’s religion will also be included in this dialogue.

O’Rourke and a handful of SLU students, including some involved with Campus Ministry, are part of a loose coalition composed of representatives from Washington University, Catholic Workers, Human Rights Action Service and the International Institute.

This local coalition promotes peace, nonviolence and education in regards to the terrorists events of Sept. 11.