Remembering Father Mychal Judge, NYC Fire ChaplainPosted on 12/22/2004 5:48:25 AM PST by M. Espinola
Remembering Father Mychal Judge, NYC Fire Chaplain
It was about 8:50 a.m. on September 11th when word reached West 31st Street about the tragedy in lower Manhattan. The thick, black smoke was already billowing skyward. At Engine Co. 1/Ladder Co. 24, the firefighters climbed into their gear and headed downtown. 
Across the street at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Mychal Judge did the same.
Father Brian Carroll, O.F.M., went up to Father Judge's room to inform him that a plane had just crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. Father Carroll recalls that Father Judge quickly took off his Franciscan habit, changed into his chaplain's uniform -- paused to comb and spray his hair-- and headed for the door.
The trip from the firehouse to the friars' residence is maybe two dozen steps. It was a trip that Father Mike--as he was known among both the homeless and the famous--made many times since becoming FDNY chaplain in 1992.
This morning, as thousands of New Yorkers ran for their lives toward midtown, Judge jumped in his Fire Department car. With firefighter Michael Weinberg at the wheel and the siren wailing, they sped downtown toward the World Trade Center.
He arrived at the burning 110-story towers, where Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani spotted him.
"Mayor Giuliani recalls that they were both down there very early in the event and the mayor saw him run by with the firemen," says Father Michael Duffy. "Giuliani says he grabbed his arm and stopped the friar, saying, 'Mychal, please pray for us.' And Mychal just looked at him with a big grin and said, 'I always do!' And then he turned and ran off with his firefighters, right to the tower, and that's where he died."
There were conflicting early reports of the exact circumstances of Father Judge's death. Cassian Miles, O.F.M., communications director for the Holy Name Province, confirmed with the fire department battalion leader on-site at the World Trade Center that Mychal indeed was anointing a firefighter and the woman who had fallen on the firefighter.
The priest, a bottle of holy water in hand, went to work. Within minutes, he was tending to Danny Suhr, a 16-year Fire Department veteran killed by a body falling from the north tower.
Father Judge removed his helmet to begin the last rites. His prayers ended when he was mortally wounded by a falling chunk of debris. Father Judge's body, according to Father Miles, revealed severe injury to the back of the head…
"You know what I want for Christmas? You know what I really want? Absolutely nothing! I have everything in the world."
"Stay out of tomorrow. God hasn't created it yet."
Father Mychal
Let us also remember Free Republic's own BCM.
Ping
Well, let's ask him about it. Oh, we can't. He's dead.
**"Stay out of tomorrow. God hasn't created it yet."
Father Mychal**
Good quote!
Hate the sin.
Love the sinner.
Post one piece of evidence about Mycah Judge being a pedophile or stfu.
This is a slanderous falsehood, and you know it. You've been reported for abuse.
What part?
I see the moderator pulled my original post, which I think was hasty, and so I shall back it up with some proof.
Google Fr. Judge and you will see that he was quite a prominent figure in the NYC gay community.
This is simply fact.
Perhaps, I should not have written that he was a pedophile, since I heard this information from a lawyer connected to the Archdiocese of New York a few years ago, and as such it is second hand information. For this, I apologize. At the same time, be prepared in the next few months for a lawsuit to be filed against the Archdiocese claiming that Fr. Judge did indeed molest several Catholic youths.
Regards!
I am not sure why I am being called on the carpet....in point of fact, I implore you and others to do research yourself and discover the truth.
I am in Singapore and am totally unconnected to this story other than my friends who work for the NY Archdiocese and the office of the District Attorney in Manhattan......I expect come Jan/Feb. to recieve your apology in my freep mail. I shall of course endeavor to forgive you. Pace.
I will bet you $1,000 that no such lawsuit is ever filed.
What "proof" have you provided other than hearsay, and a bunch of after-the-fact stuff from the gay community trying to claim Judge as one of their own?
You should stay away from this.
______________________________________________
You declare a dead man to be a pedophile and then look to forgive me....arrogant little cluck aren't you.
The first, that Fr. Judge was a gay activist. This is pretty clear. He marched in Dignity Parades, every eulogist claimed that he was gay, and his own writings attested to this. Do the research and you will come to the same conclusion. Fr. Judge was not only "homosexual" but he was an activist, intent on subverting Church doctrine on this issue.
The second argumet, upon reflection, I realize I should have not made. You are all right. The information I have recieved about a pending case against Fr. Judge was private and will not be verifiable until Jan/Feb. I jumped the gun and should not expect anyone on this board to trust me or believe me. For this, I apologize. While I am certain that events will bear witness to the veracity of my accusation against Fr. Judge, I should not have made this claim. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
I wanted to forward this lovely tribute to someone I know who could get it to some of Fr. Judges's surviving family members. Can't do it now thanks to your vicious and unsubstantiated comments.
God love you and Merry Christmas.
C'est la vie. The truth shall set you free. Perhaps, in the future, you should plan to create your tributes in places other than a very public and very contentious Conservative posting board. I make no claim to know where Fr. Judge currently is, indeed he may very well be singing with the Angels right now, but it is clear that while on this earth, he was no Saint and did his best to subvert Church doctrine.....a subversion that takes even more import given his clerical status. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Why does that not surprise me...
A hint for the uninformed and bigoted, such as yourself: the first word is "shut", the second is "the", and the last one is "up"...
Since you are all-righteous and feel like you need to pass judgment on the dead--and in a tribute thread, no less--I'm sure you can figure out what the "f" is...even in Singapore.
Let's parse that for a moment shall we?
Uninformed. So Fr. Judge was not a gay activist who set out to deliberately undermine the Church's doctrine on sexuality?
Bigoted. Well, under your definition of bigoted, then I join in the company of the Holy Father and the President who I assume you voted for in November. Really, this is the kind of logic one would expect from a Daily Koser. Very, very interesting. Your language is also very peculiar, considering your self-identification as a "Christian"....Who's being self-righteous now?
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