Their blood cries out for justice

During the last few weeks of bad news we learned about so many tragedies involving children. The first and foremost that comes to mind was the bombing of the bus in Yemen that killed and injured so many young boys on their way to a school outing. Their little blue knapsacks were left in the street covered with their blood that cries out for justice. There is the never ending saga of wars in Syria and Afghanistan and the crowded refugee camps of Palestine, Jordan, and other places scattered throughout the war torn Middle East. Closer to home we have the children being separated from their parents at the U.S. Mexican border by the Trump administration. They will never convince me that this was necessary and justified. Today in the news I saw a newborn baby that was screaming and shaking uncontrollably as it suffered from chemical withdrawal symptoms from the opioids that its addicted mother had been taking during pregnancy and I learned that this is not uncommon.

Add to the above the tragedies of countless abortions, childhood poverty, slavery, malnutrition, and sexual abuse by pedophile priests, etc., and one wonders how we can call ourselves "civilized." I say "we" because there is no "they." We are all in this together, and those who look the other way and make excuses are guiltier than the rest. The very least that we can do is to raise our voices and bring light to the dark corners where these atrocities take place and the demons lay in wait for the innocent.

"If anyone causes one of these little ones--those who believe in me--to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes." (Matthew !8:7)

"Beware that you don't look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father." (Matthew 18:10)

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