Newark, N.J., Nov 10, 2005 / 22:00 pm
Archbishop John Myers of Newark honored two police officers Thursday, who had been killed in the line of duty this year, and thanked those still on the job for “doing God’s work.”
During the archdiocese’s 13th annual mass for law enforcement officers at Sacred Heart Cathedral, the archbishop praised the late Atlantic City Patrolman Thomas McMeekin Jr. and Newark School District Special Police Officer Dwayne Reeves.
The ceremony was attended by hundreds of police officers as well as Gov. Elect Jon Corzine, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, and other dignitaries, reported the Associated Press.
"Every day you are called on to defend the weak, protect the innocent, to maintain the peace," the archbishop reportedly told the officers in the congregation during his homily. "Evil exists in this world. Terrorists can raise their bloody hands at any moment. I thank you for your protection. You are doing God's work.”
McMeekin was killed March 4 when he was struck by a bus while directing traffic at an accident scene. Reeves was shot outside a city high school July 18, allegedly by a man angered by a fight that had broken out between two girls.