Security in Omaha's Catholic Schools

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
A somber morning in Minneapolis and certainly all across the
country given the horror that happened up there yesterday. And
we're joined for a few minutes this morning by Deacon
Tim McNeil, Tim as the Chancellor the Omaha arch Diocese. Tim,

(00:22):
good morning, Good to have you on, Jim. This is
a horror for all parents, of course, and many I'm
sure wondering what is the situation in the omahas Diocese,
in school in churches and church schools regarding security? What
do you have? What can you tell us?

Speaker 2 (00:42):
So all of our schools, parishes, they all have safety
plans and those plans are reviewed every every year. They
get training by professionals, so all those are in place.
Now they'll take an opportunity because of the horror of yesterday,
to review the plan again. So but you know, we're

(01:05):
talking about human behavior, and and so they are equipped
or trained as they can be, knowing that there is
nothing is foolproof.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Nothing is full of proof, particularly I guess in a
case like this where you have somebody approaching the building
from outside and shooting through the windows, unless you have
security inside and out. And that leads me to a
got an email from a listener Tim to ask you,
and he's a parent four young kids. The Catholic schools
in Omaha. If the parents at a school decide they

(01:37):
want it and are willing to increase tuition to pay
for it, would the archdiocese support armed security guards like
off duty law enforcement people.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
We don't need that decision up to parishes. So some
of our churches do have undercover armed security guards and
with with the appropriate training. So those guards could be
current uh law enforcement, could be retired law enforcement, all
with training. So that's that's the decision left up to

(02:10):
our parishes. And and we have examples of that in Omaha.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
I see. Okay, so it's church by church basically or
parish by parish. Are any are any of them doing it?

Speaker 2 (02:21):
As far as you know, Oh yeah, we have I know,
you know two or three in Omaha we do that
have undercover security.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
Yeah, now you have. You you're not an ordained priest,
but uh, but you do have religious training obviously. Deacon McNeil,
what what would what can you say to people at
a time like this, when when these these folks who
were acted actually in the act of worship at the
time and uh and and the left likes to criticize

(02:54):
people for offering prayers at a time like this, what
would you say?

Speaker 2 (02:58):
Well, and it's pithy as sometimes it sounds you just
said it. It is prayer. Now, I don't it's I
don't understand why why prayer is a villain in this story.
It doesn't make sense to me or any poppy other person,
a person of faith. But that is now is the

(03:19):
time when you have to turn to prayer for understanding,
you know, for peace and consolation. Uh, especially not to
let your heart, your own heart get hardened. Yes, uh,
that you don't want to seek vengeance and strike out
and point fingers and name call is. Yeah, it's the

(03:42):
time to like Lord, I don't. I don't understand that
this is way too big or from too big for me.
It's not too big for you. And I'm not gonna
I'm not gonna have a pass forward without.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
You, right, And I know you're you're not as psychiat
was either, But I can imagine, tim, these kids are
going to need some help, the survivors in particular, particularly
the ones that were wounded, and thank god they're going
to survive apparently, but also the others who were in
there while the shooting was going on. Does the Catholic
Church in general have resources available.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
Yes, so we we rely on Catholic charities who has
a stable of a therapist. Our schools. We know that
we've instructed them yesterday that to gather with their students,
get their students to start asking questions. Priests will be
involved in the classrooms today in the next following days. Again,
it's important if students and staff express themselves and you

(04:39):
allow them to have their feelings and not to say
it's going to be okay, it's going to be okay tomorrow.
Let them express what they're feeling. So, yeah, there's a
there's a there's a bunch of resources, mental health resources
that we make available. And again considered you know that
environment was these are young beginning the school year, opening

(04:59):
up with with with worship, and we can't imagine the
trauma they're experiencing.

Speaker 1 (05:08):
Did I hear in the news that the two young
kids that were killed were siblings? Did I hear that?

Speaker 2 (05:16):
I don't know, I can't.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
I thought I heard that. Man, I hope, Well, I
don't know what I know.

Speaker 2 (05:21):
They're they're eight and ten years old. Yeah, so I'm
not sure.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
Hey, thanks for the time this morning. We appreciate it
very much. Chancellor, Chancellor of the omaharch Diocese, Nacon Tim
McNeil