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o w Diocese of if '1 __ , ^ S—(^rOSS Vol. 79, No. 17 Thursday, April 29, 1999 $.50 per issue Contents Headline Hopscotch ... 2 News 3 Commentary 4-5 Around the Diocese .. 6*7 Faith Alive! 8-9 Notices 10-11 Last But Not Least ... 12 Message from school shootings: Heed the warning signals MEMORIAL TO SLAIN STUDENTS — A young woman posts a message of love on a memorial to slain Columbine High School students at Light of the World Catholic Church in Littleton, Colo., April 21. Two students shot and killed 13 people before killing themselves at the school April 20. The church opened its doors to students and area residents mourning the lost lives. See commentary, pages 4-5. By Carol Zimmermann Washington (CNS) n the days following the Colorado school shoot ings, schools across the country were displaying their flags at half-staff and taking a somber look at the potential for violent outbursts in their own hall ways. Certainly not lost on many students was the chill ing reality that the killing rampage April 20 at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, could have happened in any school. But it particu larly hit home with the students at Bishop Brady High School in Concord, N.H., a Catholic school that escaped its own shooting incident in January. “The kids are more affected by the Colorado shooting than by what happened here,” said princi pal Jean Barker, who said her students have been haunted by the grisly images from Columbine > a school much like their own in a predominantly white, middle-class neighborhood. At Bishop Brady High School in January, a stu dent brought in a 22-caliber gun with 500 rounds of ammunition and a list of students and faculty mem bers he intended to shoot. The student spoke openly about his anger at the lunch table and even said he might shoot someone — comments the other students thought were a hoax. One student, who asked to see the weapon, passed on the information to the principal’s office. During the next class period, the principal secured the weapon and ammunition from the student’s locker and the police came in and made an arrest. Since that incident, Barker said, there has definitely been a heightened awareness at the school for potential trouble. But there is also an emphasis on positive things they can do. “We focus on the strength of our community and community building,” she told Catholic News Ser vice. “We also recognize the responsibility of each member not to necessarily agree with everyone, but to show respect for everyone and respect for human life.” Barker says she and other faculty members have continually told their students to take action and report anything that seems suspicious, “even if it seems far fetched.” “They didn’t buy into that, but now they do,” she added. That seems to be the overriding message of the horrible massacre in Littleton where high school students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Kle- bold, 17, armed with sawed-off shotguns, a semi automatic rifle, pistol and homemade bombs, killed 12 students and one teacher and wounded 28 stu dents before killing themselves. Frank DeAngelis, Columbine’s principal, said in an April 23 interview on NBC’s “Today” show that he never saw any warning signs of trouble from the (Continued on page 12)