I do not want to draw conclusions that would almost risk superstition, but I confess that I was very struck in this sense: that is: Who was Benedict? Benedict is the patron saint of Europe, is the father of the European Christian civilization. It struck me very deeply this enormous loss of the destruction of the church, I’m thinking of Norcia, St. I tell you this, one of my very personal opinions. Sometimes we even cheer at the confluence of evil and misfortune, like the attribution of a tornado wiping out a KKK meeting hall–the same branch persecuting one of Katharine Drexel’s mixed-race schools.įather Cavalcoli shared an “opinion” next: Does God work that way? Is God immune from moral uncertainty? Sound familiar? The ends justify the means. All acts objectively sinful–violations of the Ten Commandments even. I’ve had the experience–as have many of you–of a Christian who has engaged in detraction, assault, theft, or the destruction of another’s property. I suspect that many believers confuse personal opinion with illumination from God. Oh, and then the last question you ask, could it be a divine punishment for acts committed in our society today? This is a very delicate discourse, one can have some opinions, but one cannot be certain … unless one has divine illumination. What is the difference between divine retribution and a natural calamity? What is the theological point of countless billions of plants and animals freezing out, suffocating, getting incinerated, or drowning? Are these life forms doomed because of human fault? Father Cavalcoli continued: On the other hand, life on our planet has long suffered under events that would kill today’s humans by the billions: the freezing over of the entire planet, the massive eruptions of volcanoes, and impacts from comets and asteroids, like this famous one. Maybe there’s a theological point about the uniqueness of humankind, and that we seem to be safely ensconced away from events like that. It would be impossible for nearby intelligent life to survive if caught up in such things. I think of black holes absorbing stars and the emergence of supernovae. Long before our sun was formed and its planets took shape in orbit, cataclysms rocked the universe. Natural cataclysms predate the emergence of human beings, Adam and Eve, and the accounts of Genesis. Of course you have to understand well what is meant by “punishment.” One thing is sure: that cataclysms, nature, the disorders of nature, all the actions of nature that endanger human life, of which there are many, floods, etc., have an explanation of a theological nature… From the theological point of view these disasters are a consequence of original sin, therefore they can truly be considered as a punishment for original sin – even if one does not like the word, I say it all the same as it is a biblical word, there is no problem. There they seem nuanced, long-winded even:Īs for the issue of earthquakes, what can we say? Even here I can answer with confidence as a (theologian). Father Cavalcoli’s remarks are a response to a specific question asked of him by a radio listener.

I noticed the news item of a Dominican priest, Father Giovanni Cavalcoli, who has come under fire, including Vatican criticism, for linking Italian earthquakes with divine punishment for moral lapses such the legalization of same-sex unions.Įdward Pentin at NCReg has a translation on his blog.

Avernum 6 divine retribution