Orlando, Fla., Jan 19, 2010 / 05:39 am
The disastrous earthquake in Haiti shows that this world is a fallen “valley of tears” and is not a particular judgment on the Haitian people, Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando, Florida wrote on Sunday. He said such a crisis calls to mind both Christ’s crucifixion and the hope-giving nature of His resurrection.
Writing in the Orlando Sentinel, Bishop Wenski noted the devastation and misery produced in Haiti by the “monster earthquake” of Jan. 12. He said Catholics can be tempted to ask what the victims did to deserve their sufferings.
Referring to Jesus’ discussion of the collapse of the tower of Siloam in Luke 13, he commented:
“Jesus warns us not to see these events as somehow the wrath of an angry God. Evil came into the world not by God’s willing it; but through the devil and human sin. Jesus says in the Gospel: Don’t think that those Galileans were the biggest sinners around. Don’t think that those who died in the tower were guiltier than anyone else.”