Clergy tell of courage amid Clapham 'carnage'

by Coky Giedroyc
IN THE wake of the devastating rail crash near Clapham Junction in which 36 people died and 113 were injured in the Monday rush hour, priests and parishes close to the area of tragedy, and chaplains to the local hospitals, have been expressing their extreme distress and horror at the incident.
"It was the most harrowing experience" a shaken Mgr Patrick Keaveny from the nearby Clapham church of St Vincent de Paul, told the Catholic Herald. "By a long way, it was the most harrowing event I have encountered in my ministry. When I arrived at 9.30am, an hour after the crash, the scene was just a mass of steel, glass, crushed bodies, limbs. The most extraordinary thing was the eerie calm which hung over the place. Far from hysterics and wailing, we were all stunned into a state of silent shock."
Unanimous admiration has gone out to the emergency services for their swift reaction to the crash at Clapham Junction. By 11.30am, the trains were cleared of the injured by the police and fire brigade. "Sometimes a priest can feel in the way at an incident like that" Mgr Keaveny reflected. "But I was given total freedom of access by the police, to give comfort and spiritual help to whoever was in need, whether Catholic or not."
The hospital most affected by the casualties from the crash were St George's in Tooting, St Thomas's, Waterloo, and Westminster Hospital. Fr Wheelan, the full time Catholic chaplain at St George's, was celebrating morning communion at the time victims of the tragedy began to flood into the hospital.
He recounted to the Catholic Herald the "fantastic" response by hospital staff, many of whom were off duty. He described how over 100 patients were received at the hospital, and that by 11.15am all had been seen and moved to wards for care.
"A number of Catholics are among the 40 who are still critically ill, and most are from the Diocese of Portsmouth," he said. "But, irrespective of religion, what I recognised most among the survivors, was their immense generosity in suffering. They were more concerned for each other in the midst of this . . . how shall I describe it . . . carnage."
A particular story which Fr Wheelan recounted to the Catholic Herald told of two Catholic women who had been travelling this commuters' route for years. "Only knowing each other by first names, but realising that they were both Catholic, they developed a bond and would always sit together," he said. "In the crash, one has suffered severe injuries while her friend has been rushed to intensive care. During my visits, all she is concerned about is the condition of her (ravelling companion . . . and she only knows her by first name."
Tom Cox, Catholic Labour MP for the local constituency of Tooting, told the Catholic Herald that "this is an appalling tragedy and many people have lost their lives and many people will suffer from it for a long time to come. Though this is not the time to make political points in the face of such suffering, it must be said that London MPs have, for ages, expressed a deep concern for the number of passengers crammed into trains and for the lack of facilities available to them" he said.