Unlearned Lessons of 9/11, 25 Years Later

George Weigel recounted a conversation with Pope John Paul II following the September 11 terrorist attacks to reflect on the event 25 years later. Writing for The Tablet, Weigel described a somber dinner in the papal apartment where the Pope questioned the implications of the attacks, which targeted Lower Manhattan and the Pentagon.

Weigel told the Pope that the attacks represented a turning point in history and an example of evil working through a corrupted form of monotheism. He noted that the event presented both moral and political challenges. Weigel observed that while the primary duty of a government is to secure its citizens, President George W. Bush stated in a September 20 speech that military actions against al-Qaeda and the Taliban would follow just-war principles rather than being driven by revenge.