Let us remember what hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor but the silence of the bystander. (Elie Wiesel, late Romanian-born American Jewish Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor)
We live in a world of widespread violence and terror. Our hearts go out in sympathy to those who suffer at the hands of criminals and terrorists. People often think “It can’t happen here,” but when it does, too often the response from observers is limited. As Wiesel suggests, the pain of personal suffering is bad enough, but to be ignored and not helped hurts much more.
Praise be to . . . the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).