My friend Tom Zampino captures the culture at this moment:
A culture that both celebrates and has become numb to the violence everywhere surrounding us – from mind-altering video games, to soul-crushing pornography, to an insatiable, profit-oriented, free-market economy imposing little or no restraint upon the abortion and euthanasia industries (perhaps the new alpha and omega of our age) –breeds only hatred, and bigotry, and contempt. And, perhaps most destructively of all, unbridled indifference to life and human suffering and death. As the Bishops keenly observed, a nation born into “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is now “haunted by death, imprisoned by fear and caught up in the elusive pursuit of protection.” We are, doubtless, on an ever-accelerating course towards complete self-destruction. The actual facts surrounding the Alton Sterling case – whatever they turn out to be – likely won’t lead us into further destruction. But they will certainly confirm, once again, our undeniable race towards it. But we, as people of faith, are not with resources. We never are. Not when we can look to the one who gave us life itself – the one who is, in fact, life itself. And certainly not when we have already been given a road map back. We need only open our eyes to see it.
Read it all. Take action. And pray.
The rampant disregard for life in all its forms continues—horrifically and tragically.A culture that kills its unborn and euthanizes its sick and infirm will inevitably think nothing of destroying anyone, for any reason.To disrespect any life is to disrespect all life. There is a seamless garment. And we are shredding it at our own peril.
And today we celebrate...