Anger: First responders, clergy excluded from 10th anniversary ceremony

Following New York City’s announcement that 9/11 first responders will not be invited to the 10th anniversary ceremony, law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics, and other volunteers continue to voice their anger and disappointment. Meanwhile, religious leaders in New York City are requesting Mayor Mike Bloomberg to rescind his ban and allow Catholic priests, Jewish rabbis and Protestant ministers a role in the ceremony at "Ground Zero."

"Among the honored dead are men and women with whom I’ve worked," said retired police officer Edie Rojas. "For days after the World Trade Center collapsed, I attended funerals of our honored dead… men from the bomb squad, emergency services, people who were family. And now I’m told I’m not invited?"

Not only are the deceased remembered at the ceremony, but also those who were injured or became ill after exposure to alleged toxic substances. With the recent denial of federal funding to them in July, many believe this exclusion from the ceremony is evidence that the mayor and the city are attempting to push these men and women into the background.

"Mayor Bloomberg will be a prominent figure at the 9/11 anniversary. Excuse me! He wasn’t the mayor in 2001," said an angry First-Grade Detective from the NYPD who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Actually, the Mayor, President [Barack Obama] and most of the ‘honored guests’ had nothing to do with 9/11 except they give speeches and talk about tolerance towards Muslims, as if we are children," said the decorated police detective.

A former police officer who responded to the disaster in Manhattan added, "Some of the most important people working that day were the police and fire chaplains who not only prayed and comforted the injured, but also physically helped us in our search and rescue operation," said retired Officer Benjamin Rodriquez. "They should be allowed to lead the attendees in prayer."

According to a press statement from the Mayor’s office, New York City officials have promised to hold a ceremony at a later date to honor the 91,000 or so first responders and volunteers who helped in the preliminary search and rescue efforts and the subsequent cleanup in the ensuing 10 months.

"I’m angry about the fact they’ve invited celebrities and political figures to this event, but the real heroes are told they’ll have a ceremony of their own at a later date. That’s like being told at a wedding that you’re seated at the children’s table," said a New York firefighter who lost a relative on 9/11.

"It just doesn’t mean as much, it means less if it’s not on September 11, and this doesn’ t change the fact that we were not invited to the actual ceremony," said Katie Jarvez, a first responder from lower Manhattan.

The office of Mayor Bloomberg announced last week that given the space constraints, they had to focus on accommodating victims’ family members first at the 10-year anniversary ceremony, but failed to mention the invitations sent to the politically favored.

As far as excluding religious leaders, Rudy Washington, a deputy mayor in former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s administration, told Fox News that he’s outraged. Mr. Washington had organized an interfaith ceremony at Yankee Stadium shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks and is remembered by cops, firefighters and emergency medical personnel as part of that fateful day. He has suffered severe medical problems connected to the time he spent at Ground Zero.

"This is America, and to have a memorial service where there’s no prayer, this appears to be insanity to me," said former Deputy Mayor Washington.

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