The New York Times International - 13.08.2019

..

T HE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL EDITION TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2019 | 5

world

The Rev. Fabian Marquez had not slept

much. Whenever he closed his eyes, his

mind filled with the faces he saw drain-

ing of hope as they learned their rela-

tives had been killed. His week had been

a string of vigils, rosaries, memorial

services and funeral planning sessions.

Still, he had another community to at-

tend to, his congregation at El Buen Pas-

tor, a small mission church on the out-

skirts of El Paso, where every weekend

he presides over three Masses in Span-

ish and one in English and Spanish.

He was in his office, his Bible cracked

open and notes splayed on his desk, try-

ing to come up with a sermon. He had to

distill the horrors the community had

endured in the past week, and somehow

find meaning. El Paso had not been

struck merely by an episode of random

mass violence. The gunman who

charged into a Walmart store had a

manifesto that made clear that he had a

specific target: Hispanic people and im-

migrants, the people sitting in Father

Marquez’s pews. Fear had been added

to their anguish.

Father Marquez, a Mexican-Ameri-

can and native son of El Paso, wrestled

with what to say. It was Friday, and he

had not even read the Bible verses

scheduled to be the week’s readings. “I

haven’t had the time,” he said. He hoped

that a message offering comfort would

come to him. “I always follow what the

spirit tells me, and we take it from

there.”

After an exhausting week, he was re-

lying on the spirit to come through.

Father Marquez found himself draw-

ing inspiration from the Gospel of

Matthew, where Jesus is asked which is

the greatest commandment.

“We need to follow the commandment

of love — love God, love your neighbor,”

the priest said. “This was a tragedy that

came to break us and separate us, but

God is inviting us to spread the love that

only comes from him, and only with that

are we going to be able to overcome this

tragedy and this sadness.”

He let his words hang for a moment.

“I’ve been playing around with that,” he

added.

Father Marquez, 46, stumbled into the

priesthood. He had taught third grade

for several years. He served on the City

Council in San Elizario, a small town

outside El Paso. He had aspirations of

running for the State Legislature. He

had always been an observant Catholic,

he said, but he became more involved in

the church because he thought it would

help him politically.

Instead, he said, he received a differ-

ent call.

“As soon as I walked in, I heard it,” he

said. “ ‘Leave everything and follow me.

I’ll make you fishers of men.’ It was em-

bedded in my head. It was engraved in

my heart. And that never left me.”

He was the Diocese of El Paso’s first

seminarian in six years, ordained in

2004. Five years ago, he was dispatched
      to El Buen Pastor in Sparks, one of the
      impoverished colonias around El Paso,
      where residents had fought for years for
      access to water, sewage and electricity
      services.

The community sprouted from the

scrubby West Texas terrain, with the

church sitting beside dusty lots with

modest family houses, mobile homes

and a graveyard of old eighteen-wheel-

ers. It took years for the congregation to

raise the money and build the church.

In his office, Father Marquez has

crosses, a small statue of Jesus and pho-

tos all over the walls, including images

of him with Pope Benedict XVI and with

Pope John Paul II, whom he met more

than once.

He constantly collects thoughts for

homilies, sometimes pausing in conver-

sation to jot something down. He holes

up in his office to prepare, looking up the

verses and sketching out the points he

would like to make. That said, he likes to

keep it extemporaneous.

“You have to just rely that the Lord

will give you the wisdom, the knowledge

to say the right thing,” he said. “It feels

good. It makes sense. It flows nicely. It

feels connected. That’s how I interpret

the spirit saying, ‘Yeah, way to go,

you’re doing a good job.’”

In the hours after the massacre on

Aug. 3, Father Marquez rushed to a

school that had been turned into what

the police called a family reunification

center. Families hoping to find their rela-

tives piled in. Before long, many got

word that their loved ones were safe, in

hospitals, nearby stores or at a friend’s

house. As the hours went by, the number

of families waiting dwindled. Eventu-

ally, 17 were left.

Father Marquez waited with them

overnight and into the morning. At

around 10 a.m., he encouraged them to

join him in prayer. They said the Lord’s

Prayer, they offered one another peace,

and he recited for them the 23rd Psalm:

“The lord is my shepherd; I shall not

want.” At 10:30, law enforcement offi-

cials began taking families into another

room, one by one. The priest sat beside

them as they were told that their rela-

tives were among the 22 who had died.

“I cried with them,” Father Marquez

said. “I prayed with them. I embraced

them, because you cannot help but feel

their pain.”

He has vowed to attend the funerals

held by each of the 17 families he had

prayed with. (He wrote their names on a

rumpled piece of paper that, a week lat-

er, was still in his pocket.) He was also

asked to preside over the funeral Mass

of Raul and Maria Flores, who had been

married for 60 years and who were

killed together in the Walmart.

Over the past week, he helped the Flo-

res children choose readings and songs

for the service. He encouraged them to

share stories of their parents; he had

never met the couple, but he wanted his

homily to reflect their lives and charac-

ter.

“Jesus is telling you, don’t let your

hearts be troubled,” he said, laying out

his thoughts for the sermon. “That

brings me a lot of comfort, personally.

What happens when you lose someone?

You want to know where they are. You

want to know that they’re safe. So this

scripture tells them, I’m preparing a

very special place for you, and when

that place is ready, I’m going to come

and get you.”

Lee Ann Beck, a friend of Father

Marquez for 15 years, went with him to

the memorial that grew in a parking lot

behind the Walmart, where he led vic-

tims’ families and others in prayer.

“The people needed comfort in the

chaos, and he happened to be the voice,”

she said. “He has this way, he has this

gift of bringing that peace. Not everyone

has that.”

During the Mass on Sunday, candles

for each of the 22 people killed had been

set before the altar.

In his homily, switching between Eng-

lish and Spanish, Father Marquez

shared why he had not been there the

weekend before, describing the time

spent with the victims’ families.

“Don’t be afraid,” Father Marquez

said, standing in the aisle among the

congregation. “Those are the words God

gave us when we are all afraid.”

He repeated it, for his congregation,

and it seemed, for himself: “You do not

have to be afraid.”

Priest in El Paso offers ‘comfort in the chaos’

EL PASO

Through faith, he tries

to give hope to families

torn apart by massacre

BY RICK ROJAS

The Rev. Fabian Marquez saying a special Mass at his church in El Paso for the victims of the mass shooting. “Don’t be afraid,” he told his congregation. Below, a parishioner, on his 10th birthday, crying during the Mass.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CALLA KESSLER/THE NEW YORK TIMES

“I cried with them. I prayed

with them. I embraced them,

because you cannot help

but feel their pain.”

sile systems in Alaska and California,

which are designed to intercept inter-

continental ballistic missile warheads in

space, traveling a largely predictable

path.

Yet for all the hype, Russia’s early

tests of the cruise missile appeared to

fail, even before last week’s disaster.

And Russia’s story about what hap-

pened Thursday in the sea off one of its

major missile test sites has changed

over the past few days as the body count

has risen.

Beyond the human toll, American in-

telligence officials are questioning

whether Mr. Putin’s grand dream of a re-

vived arsenal evaporated in that myste-

rious explosion, or whether it was just

an embarrassing setback in Moscow’s

effort to build a new class of long-range

and undersea weapons that the United

States cannot intercept.

Many outside arms experts have long

regarded his effort as part fantasy, using

a technology the United States tried and

failed to make work in the 1950s and

1960s. If so, it may call into question one

of the Trump administration’s justifica-

tions for major new spending on Ameri-

can nuclear weapons to counter the

Russian buildup — though the United

States also cites a parallel program un-

derway in China.

The accident came at a critical mo-

ment in the revived United States-Rus-

sia nuclear competition. This month, the

United States withdrew from the Inter-

mediate Nuclear Forces agreement, cit-

ing long-running Russian violations,

and there are doubts that New START,

the one remaining major treaty limiting

nuclear forces, will be renewed before it

runs out in less than two years.

To Russian military officials, one of

the appeals of the new class of hyper-

sonic and undersea nuclear weapons is

that they are not prohibited by any ex-

isting treaties — giving them free run to

test and deploy them.

Russia’s military, in statements car-

ried by state news agencies, first said

that a fire broke out when a liquid-fueled

rocket engine exploded at a testing site,

but that radiation remained at normal

background levels.

That contradicted a report from local

authorities in the city of Severodvinsk,

about 25 miles away. An official in

charge of civil defense said two radia-

tion meters registered a spike. Russian

news media later reported radiation

briefly rose to 200 times normal back-

ground levels.

The reports were quickly taken off the

city’s websites, but not in time to stop a

run by city residents for iodine, a way of

protecting the thyroid gland against ab-

sorbing radiation.

“This information should be open” to

inform those who might be exposed or

wish to take precautions, said Alek-

sandr K. Nikitin, a former Russian naval

officer and researcher with the Norwe-

gian environmental group Bellona. “But

in Russia it is done differently.”

The Russian nuclear energy company

Rosatom on Saturday said the failure oc-

curred in an “isotope power source for a

liquid fueled rocket engine.” While the

wording was confusing, it was the first

official acknowledgment that the acci-

dent was nuclear in nature.

The change in Russia’s account, along

with separate American intelligence re-

porting and satellite imagery, got the at-

tention of American intelligence offi-

cials. They are now exploring whether

the small nuclear reactor that Mr. Putin

talked about when promoting the weap-

on failed, or exploded.

While the scale of the accident ap-

peared vastly smaller than the explo-

sion of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in

1986, which killed thousands, the slow

release of muddied information, the

public confusion and distrust of official

accounts, and the race for some limited

form of protection, seemed to have ech-

oes of the reaction to that disaster.

It has never been clear just how far

along Mr. Putin’s grand plans for the

cruise missile, which Russia calls the

9M730 Burevestnick, have gotten.

A missile-defense review published

by the Pentagon — after careful scrub-

bing to avoid signaling to Moscow what

American intelligence officials think

they know — notes that “Russian lead-

ers also claim that Russia possesses a

new class of missile” that travels five

times faster than the speed of sound and

moves “just above the atmosphere,” in

an evasive pattern that would defeat

American antimissile technology. But

the report made no assessment of

whether they would work.

“I’ve generally been of the belief that

this attempt at developing an unlimited-

range nuclear-powered cruise missile is

folly,” said Ankit Panda, a nuclear expert

at the Federation of American Scien-

tists. “It’s unclear if someone in the Rus-

sian defense industrial bureaucracy

may have managed to convince a less

technically informed leadership that

this is a good idea, but the United States

tried this, quickly discovered the limita-

tions and risks, and abandoned it with

good reason.”

Ivan Konovalov, director of the Center

for Strategic Trends in Moscow and a

military analyst, characterized the ex-

periments underway now as “pioneer-

ing” work on a new technology and

fraught with danger.

“When there are tests, anything can

happen,” he said in a telephone inter-

view.

But for Mr. Putin, facing protests that

reveal some public restiveness with his

long rule, the weapons programs have

been part of his argument that he is re-

storing Russia to the position the Soviet

Union held as a great power.

When Mr. Putin first spoke about the

new weapons in 2018, most of the atten-

tion fell on his description of an under-

sea drone, called the Poseidon, that

could operate autonomously and, Amer-

ican officials feared, hit the West Coast

in a nuclear “second strike” after an ini-

tial exchange. Mr. Putin seemed to be

seeking attention for the new arsenal.

“Nobody wanted to talk to us,” Mr.

Putin complained in the speech. “Now

listen to us.”

He and others have talked about Rus-

sia’s plans for the “Poseidon” in a nod to

the Doomsday Machine parodied in the

1964 classic “Dr. Strangelove,” which

could hit the West Coast even if Moscow

and Russia’s military centers were al-

ready destroyed in a nuclear strike.

While fictional, the movie was based on

a real Soviet plan, a demonstration of

how long Soviet and Russian leaders

have entertained the idea.

The “Poseidon” undersea drone still

appears to be years away. But for Mr.

Putin, the most promising weapon has

been the nuclear-propelled cruise mis-

sile, which he advertised to be able to fly

an unlimited range — an answer to

American “global strike” weapons that

are designed to reach any corner of the

earth, with a non-nuclear warhead.

A little more than a year ago, Russia’s

Ministry of Defense produced a care-

fully edited YouTube video that showed

the missile heading aloft, and left the im-

pression, wrongly, that it was already

working.

The Russian admission that the acci-

dent centered on an “isotope power

source” followed a series of anonymous

statements, run on Tass and other Rus-

sian news sites, that seemed to mix fact,

rumor and some disinformation. But

satellite images offer some clues.

An image from Thursday released by

Planet Labs, a company that launches

small satellites, appears to show the

Serebryanka, a ship that carries nuclear

fuel and waste, offshore from the

Nenoksa Missile Test Site. Its presence,

Jeffrey Lewis, a scholar at the James

Martin Center for Nonproliferation

Studies at the Middlebury Institute in

California, wrote on Twitter, “may be re-

lated to the testing of a nuclear-powered

cruise missile.”

That vessel, which can safely collect

nuclear waste, was also seen at another

test of the 9M730 Burevestnick. Other

facilities examined by Mr. Lewis’ ex-

perts seemed to show testing facilities

consistent with those previously shown

in Russian reports on past tests.

On Sunday, Mr. Lewis said that given

the string of other suspected failures in

tests of the missile’s propulsion system,

“we think they are having troubles get-

ting the reactor to light” and create the

heat to fuel the missile. The images on

the Russian YouTube video “doesn’t

show you enough to prove it’s working,”

he said.

“Maybe Putin will make it happen,” he

added. “Maybe it will never work.”

RUSSIA, FROM PAGE 1

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last year played an animated video of a nuclear-

powered cruise missile that he boasted would be able to reach anywhere on earth.

MARAT ABULKHATIN/TASS, VIA GETTY IMAGES

Spike in radiation detected after explosion in Russia

Russian news media

reported that radiation

briefly rose to 200 times

normal background levels.

РРthe appeals of the new class of hyper-the appeals of the new class of hyper-

Еthe appeals of the new class of hyper-Еthe appeals of the new class of hyper-Л

ЛTo Russian military officials, one ofTo Russian military officials, one ofИ

runs out in less than two years.

И

runs out in less than two years.

To Russian military officials, one ofTo Russian military officials, one ofИ

З

nuclear forces, will be renewed before it

З

nuclear forces, will be renewed before it

runs out in less than two years.runs out in less than two years.З

nuclear forces, will be renewed before itnuclear forces, will be renewed before itПП

runs out in less than two years.

П

runs out in less than two years.

О

the one remaining major treaty limiting

О

the one remaining major treaty limiting

nuclear forces, will be renewed before itnuclear forces, will be renewed before itО

Д

and there are doubts that New START,

Д

and there are doubts that New START,

the one remaining major treaty limitingthe one remaining major treaty limitingДГ

and there are doubts that New START,

Г

and there are doubts that New START,

the one remaining major treaty limitingthe one remaining major treaty limitingГ

О

ing long-running Russian violations,

О

ing long-running Russian violations,

and there are doubts that New START,and there are doubts that New START,О

ing long-running Russian violations,ing long-running Russian violations,ТТ

and there are doubts that New START,

Т

and there are doubts that New START,

О

mediate Nuclear Forces agreement, cit-

О

mediate Nuclear Forces agreement, cit-

ing long-running Russian violations,ing long-running Russian violations,О

mediate Nuclear Forces agreement, cit-mediate Nuclear Forces agreement, cit-ВВ

И

United States withdrew from the Inter-

И

United States withdrew from the Inter-

mediate Nuclear Forces agreement, cit-mediate Nuclear Forces agreement, cit-И

Л

sia nuclear competition. This month, the

Л

sia nuclear competition. This month, the

United States withdrew from the Inter-United States withdrew from the Inter-Л

А

sia nuclear competition. This month, the

А

sia nuclear competition. This month, the

United States withdrew from the Inter-

А

United States withdrew from the Inter-

Г

ment in the revived United States-Rus-

Г

ment in the revived United States-Rus-

sia nuclear competition. This month, thesia nuclear competition. This month, theГ

ment in the revived United States-Rus-ment in the revived United States-Rus-РР

У

The accident came at a critical mo-

У

The accident came at a critical mo-

ment in the revived United States-Rus-ment in the revived United States-Rus-У

The accident came at a critical mo-The accident came at a critical mo-ПП

П

The accident came at a critical mo-

П

The accident came at a critical mo-

А

States also cites a parallel program un-

А

States also cites a parallel program un-

"What's

ing long-running Russian violations,

"What's

ing long-running Russian violations,

and there are doubts that New START,

"What's

and there are doubts that New START,

the one remaining major treaty limiting

"What's

the one remaining major treaty limiting

nuclear forces, will be renewed before it

"What's

nuclear forces, will be renewed before it

runs out in less than two years.runs out in less than two years. "What's

News"

United States withdrew from the Inter-

News"

United States withdrew from the Inter-

mediate Nuclear Forces agreement, cit-

News"

mediate Nuclear Forces agreement, cit-

ing long-running Russian violations,ing long-running Russian violations,News"

VK.COM/WSNWS

United States withdrew from the Inter-

VK.COM/WSNWS

United States withdrew from the Inter-

mediate Nuclear Forces agreement, cit-

VK.COM/WSNWS

mediate Nuclear Forces agreement, cit-

ing long-running Russian violations,

VK.COM/WSNWS

ing long-running Russian violations,

and there are doubts that New START,

VK.COM/WSNWS

and there are doubts that New START,

the one remaining major treaty limiting

VK.COM/WSNWS

the one remaining major treaty limiting

nuclear forces, will be renewed before it

VK.COM/WSNWS

nuclear forces, will be renewed before it

runs out in less than two years.

VK.COM/WSNWS

runs out in less than two years.

To Russian military officials, one ofTo Russian military officials, one ofVK.COM/WSNWS