Rosemary Cain said she has been praying for years that someone who has the ability to change hearts and minds would come forward and have the human remains removed from the World Trade Center site and the Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island.She thinks her prayers may have been answered with the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI into the city.
"He has the power to make this happen," said Cain of Massapequa, whose firefighter son George, 35, died that day and whose remains were only partially recovered.
"We want the pope to be our advocate. Be the advocate for the souls, but he can't answer our prayers if he doesn't hear them."
Cain, along with WTC Families for Proper Burial Inc. 9/11 families and World Trade Center United Family Group, are urging the pope through the news media to pray on Sunday in his blessing at the World Trade Center site and in his prayers at Holy Mass offered at Yankee Stadium to have the remains recovered and given a proper burial.
Diane Horning, president and founder of WTC Families for Proper Burial Inc. said on behalf of victims' families she has appealed to the pope to speak publicly about what the families said is the desecration of human remains.
In the months and years after Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the unidentified remains of many victims have been stored at a Fresh Kills facility.
Horning said she has written letters and sent e-mails to the Vatican, contacted the apostolic nuncio to the United States and the Conference of Bishops in Washington, D.C., and Cardinal Egan of the New York Archdiocese.
"We wanted very much for him to know about our situation, but we were never really sure if our message was getting through," said Horning, who lost her son Matthew, 26, whose remains were partially recovered.
Anthony Gardner, executive director of the World Trade Center United family group, whose brother Harvey's remains were never recovered, said it is a matter of faith and decency.
"It's a moral issue and a principle of our faith," said Gardner, who is Catholic.
"We are appealing to the pontiff to pray because if it's an issue in the heart and mind of the pope there would be a resolution.
"That's how much faith we have."
Gardner said he wanted to make it clear that the groups' only goal was to get their .message to the pope.
"It's not our intention to hold a protest or a rally," Gardner said. "We just want the pope to hear us. We want to ask for his prayers." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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