Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan has issued the following statement concerning the Nov. 5 shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
For the past several years, our country has experienced a number of mass shootings. Each one similarly heinous, yet uniquely painful. The most recent, at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, is another example of someone taking out his pain on innocent and unsuspecting people.
Each of us reacts to these stories in his or her own way: our heart breaks, we get angry, we mourn the dead, we plead for answers as to why people commit these depraved acts.
The sad truth is, we may never know what can be done to stop every person who wants to do harm. Evil exists around us. Often lurking in the shadows until it appears and then attacks.
What gives me hope is that while evil exists and from time to time reveals its emptiness, there is much good that exists in our world.
Those desiring the good vastly outnumber those who would do us harm.
It is the trust I have in the goodness of most people and the knowledge of God’s unfailing love for us that makes it possible to endure the acts of hate committed by evil.
While we may never know when and how evil will express itself, we must always remember that there is more good in the world. That evil will never rule the Earth. That God’s love for us, even in the midst of tragedy, is present.
For our sisters and brothers in Texas, and before that in Las Vegas, and for all those who suffer from violent acts of malice, we pray that the injured will recover from their wounds and we take comfort that our deceased sisters and brothers have received God’s embrace in Heaven.
Sincerely in Christ,
Most Reverend Dennis J. Sullivan, D.D.
Bishop of Camden