Sister Mary Rose: Bombing Syria would be a “ghastly” mistake

Sister Mary Rose Reddy

“Let him is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone.”

For the United States to use military force in Syria in response to the Syrian government’s alleged poisoning of thousands of people would be a “ghastly” mistake. What possible good does it do to add violence to violence? Let me illustrate what I mean. In 1945 the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing more than 150,000 innocent people. Between the years of 1961 and 1971 the United States sprayed Vietnam with Agent Orange; this poison caused the deaths of many thousands of people, caused multitudes of birth defects and other health problems, caused deforestation of large areas in Vietnam, caused extinction of animal species, and continues to negatively impact the health of both the Vietnamese and Vietnam Veterans to this day. In 1973 the United States Supreme Court legalized abortion. Since this Roe v. Wade decision more than 55 million people, equaling approximately 17.5 percent of the current population of the United States, have died by their mothers’ “choice.”

What would be our reaction if, in response to these glaring U.S. atrocities, another country such as France or Germany decided to bomb us?
Certainly there must be some diplomatic or political action which the countries of the world can employ against the Syrian atrocities rather than bombing them. Violence does not stop violence; only love does. “Let him is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone.”

Sincerely,

Sister Mary Rose Reddy, DMML