Dear Editor:
We live in a world full of hate and shame and blame.
Dear Editor:
We live in a world full of hate and shame and blame. In the words of Richard Rohr, “the reason people do evil, why they hate, sin, and blame others is because they have been hurt, rejected, excluded, or wounded. They just keep passing it on. And the cycle repeats and spreads.” After reading the column by Mona Charen and The Dispatch’s editorial (both on 1/27); our blindness is so apparent, our vengeance is so rational, and our desire to be the righteous victim is so all consuming that all we are doing is spreading more and more fear throughout the world.
Richard Rohr”s answer to our downward spiral is the gospel and the cross. He states that “the gospel is not about winners over losers; the gospel really is about win/win. The cross is a way of winning that tries to bring along our opponents. The cross is refusing to hate or to humiliate the other because that would only continue the same pattern and reciprocate the violence. The human capacity to hate and kill is the sin of the world, but God absorbs the mystery of human sin rather than passing it on. And for Christians, Jesus does not use his suffering and death on the cross as power over others to punish them, but as power for others to transform them.”
I believe this is our hope for children and their future. Let us pray that we can apply forgiveness and the power of the cross in our world.
Mike Monroe, Gilroy
Submitted Monday, Jan. 27 to ed****@ga****.com
