Ten years ago, Newtown, Connecticut, was catapulted into the national highlight when a young man shot and killed 26 people Dec. 14 at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Twenty of the victims were children in first grade; the opposite six were adult staff members. Many were members of St. Rose of Lima Parish, where Msgr. Robert Weiss has been the pastor since 1999.
Reflecting on the horror and the events of the intervening years, Msgr. Weiss said: “Gratitude sustains me. I pray so much and check out to maintain myself within the Lord’s hands.”
The priest presided at funerals for eight of the kids over a five-day period in December 2012, in addition to wakes and burials. He also said he continues to experience post-traumatic stress for which he has been treated.
Twenty of the victims were children in first grade; the opposite six were adult staff members. Many were members of St. Rose of Lima Parish, where Msgr. Robert Weiss has been the pastor since 1999.
“I haven’t had a full night’s sleep since then. It’s been a difficult experience for me and for others, too,” he told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview Nov. 21.
Within the immediate aftermath of the shooting, there was an outpouring of generosity from all around the world. “We were overwhelmed with things people sent us, from ornaments and prayer chains to cards and donations,” Msgr. Weiss said.
Parish staff members were on site 24 hours a day to reply calls and emails and Msgr. Weiss restricted volunteers to two-hour shifts opening the mail since it was such an emotional experience.
There was also a reputable threat to the parish two days after the shooting, which was met by a SWAT team and required an evacuation of the church. Later, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his followers harassed victims’ families for years, claiming that the shooting never happened and was staged by actors as a part of a government plot to construct support for gun control.
“I haven’t had a full night’s sleep since then. It’s been a difficult experience for me and for others, too.”
Msgr. Weiss was also targeted by Jones as a liar and unfaithful priest who lacked credibility. Wolfgang Halbig, an associate of Jones, entered the parish school under false pretenses with 4 photographers and was faraway from the campus by police. Ultimately, Jones was ordered by two courts to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to families who suffered from his lies.
Healing is a recurring theme for Msgr. Weiss. He said the community took its lead early from the families of the victims and supported foundations, programs and scholarships. “It facilitated their healing and had an impact on the community. We saw that good could come from bad and it bonded us together,” he said.
Help got here from many places, including Yale University in Recent Haven, Connecticut, which provided free counseling for one yr and Madison Square Garden, the Recent York City sports arena, which renovated the parish gymnasium.
“As a small community, we didn’t have the resources, but people here didn’t forget the goodness that was shown to us,” the priest said.
Parish staff members were on site 24 hours a day to reply calls and emails.
One among the early letters to the parish got here from Msgr. Basil O’Sullivan in Dunblane, Scotland, where 16 school children and one teacher were killed by a lone gunman in 1996. The 2 pastors forged a friendship and Msgr. O’Sullivan visited St. Rose of Lima on the primary anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting.
“It was so healing. He reminded us that darkness stays for awhile, but the sunshine will come,” Msgr. Weiss said.
The connection between the 2 pastors was explored in a Netflix documentary, “Lessons from a School Shooting: Notes from Dunblane.”
Msgr. Weiss said he and his parishioners use their sad experience to assist others. When there are other school shootings, reminiscent of in Uvalde, Texas, Msgr. Weiss mails a poignant letter of empathy and encouragement to the parish. He offers to speak or listen. And his parishioners respond with generosity, as well.
“We’ve learned from our own experience to not overreach,” he said.
Within the letter to the pastor and parishioners at Sacred Heart Church in Uvalde, Msgr. Weiss wrote: “This can be a tragedy that may put your community before the world, but don’t let it define the community you’re. You might be bonded together in faith, family and friendship, and that’s what is going to enable you, because it has us, to face together in strength and hope and to work toward the healing you wish. Know that you just are usually not alone and that we stand in solidarity with you. Know that in time there shall be abundant blessings that may come from this tragedy.”
He said counselors advised the parish to develop ministries for men, women and youth. “They’re still going strong and I’ve watched miracles occur through these ministries,” he said. He also noted that there’s a bond between older and younger parishioners and when men arrive early for Mass, “they talk and hug and exchange football back pats within the vestibule.”
Msgr. Weiss is disenchanted that there was no national progress on gun violence, mental health and domestic violence for the reason that Sandy Hook shooting.
The parish youth group can be particularly lively, he said, participating in retreats going to confession and being “comfortable being within the presence of the Eucharist.”
He said he goes to the church on Sunday night for adoration where there may be “one light over the monstrance” and the young individuals are “sitting on the ground. It’s an oasis from their lives they usually need the time.”
The priest said the Newtown community has modified in 10 years. Lots of the affected families left town. Some experienced suicide, divorce, remarriage and miscarriages. Recent people moved in and the leadership of non secular, political and civic organizations has turned over.
Msgr. Weiss is considered one of the few clergy from 2012 still in place. At 76, he’s eligible to retire, but asked to remain for the tenth anniversary. He plans to remain in place through the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination in 2023.
He’s disenchanted that there was no national progress on gun violence, mental health and domestic violence for the reason that Sandy Hook shooting. The local tragedy didn’t change the world, as he hoped. Nonetheless, Msgr. Weiss said priorities have shifted in lots of families, partly consequently of COVID-19.
“Fathers are rather more invested of their families and there may be more priority on spending time as a family,” he said. Anecdotally, he added: “ I haven’t had a baptism within the last three years where the daddy didn’t hold the kid.”
St. Rose of Lima recently dedicated a straightforward parish monument to the shooting victims and can hold a memorial concert December 12 and have a good time a Mass of Remembrance December 14.
Msgr. Weiss said that is more likely to be the last anniversary marked with a giant event.
“The psychologists told us 10 years is a big mark. People’s emotions change. After this, we’ll have an annual Mass of Remembrance,” he said.
But people is not going to forget. As he put it: “Only a few people who find themselves still here can mention the shooting without tearing up.”
