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New York diocese holds discussions about nuclear plant security
Episcopal News Service
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2003-009-1
Posted: Friday, January 17, 2003
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The Episcopal Diocese of New York has stepped into the debate over the security of nuclear power by holding three community discussions about Indian Point, the controversial nuclear plant located on the Hudson River just 24 miles north of New York City. The discussions are designed to explore the moral dimensions of nuclear power as well as security concerns raised by the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The path of American Airlines Flight 11, which crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center, took it directly over the Indian Point complex. On September 8, 2002, Britain's Sunday Times quoted members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network as saying the initial plan for the September 11 hijackers had been to crash planes into nuclear power plants in the United States.
James Steets, communications manager for Entergy Nuclear Northeast, which bought the Indian Point plants from Con Edison just before the attacks, has stated that the company has spent $5 million on increased security since then.
Over three Wednesdays in January, Episcopal churches in the Westchester County cities of Nyack, Mamaroneck, and Ossining host open-invitation talks about Indian Point's safety and current evacuation plans for a nuclear emergency.
'This is a frightening subject and a divisive subject, and the church belongs where people are frightened and where people are divided,' the Rev. Steve Holton, rector at St. Paul's On-The-Hill Episcopal Church in Ossining, told the Westchester Journal News. 'We try to bring comfort to those who are frightened and unity to those who are divided. It is an ideal place for the church to get involved.'
'We feel that previous venues for discussion were political,' added Bishop Catherine Roskam. 'We wanted to provide a different context, a kind of safe space where we can learn about the issues and listen to one another.'
'The purpose of these meetings is to clarify that there are significant moral issues involved here,' said the Rev. Jeff Golliher, canon for the environment at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Manhattan, who will moderate all three forums. 'We hope that the concerns of the citizens will be heard. The church will be listening.'
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