Catholic Views on Suffering
How does the Catholic Church view the issue of suffering? How do they justify God’s ongoing love, if he supposedly allows suffering to exist? According to Beth Davies-Stofka (2012), a writer for the Catholic Patheos resource, “Christians have faith in a good and loving Creator who has a plan for creation that is also good and loving.” Catholics believe that all suffering is a necessary part of their spiritual and religious development (Davies-Stofka, 2012). The easiest way for Catholics to understand this part of their beliefs, is by splitting the idea of evil and suffering into two groups. David Bain (2010), a lecturer in the philosophy department of the University of Glasgow, states the two types can be distinguished by the awful things people do, such as murder, and the awful things that just happen, such as hurricanes. Clayton, J and Clayton, P. (2011), develop this Christian perspective further by narrowing down the cause of the suffering from human beings actions as a result of their own deliberate sin. Individuals, such as Adam and Eve in the Old Testament, suffered because of their transgressions against what God has said to do and what not to do (Clayton, J and Clayton, P. 2011). Modern examples of human transgressions are adultery, smoking, binge drinking, murder and violence, which evidently result in suffering. On the opposite side of the scale, tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes and physical illnesses are examples of natural suffering (Davies-Stofka, 2012). David Bane (2010), a reporter for the BBC, corroborated this idea by stating “God created a universe in which natural disasters occur… because goodness only develops in response to people's suffering.” Overall, it can be concluded that the Catholic point of view believes that suffering is a result of human beings transgressions against God and is something that results in a closer connection with God and spiritual well-being.
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“Christians have faith in a good and loving Creator who has a plan for creation that is also good and loving.” “God created a universe in which natural disasters occur… because goodness only develops in response to people's suffering.” |