A 78 year old
Catholic woman who volunteered for a Grass Valley Catholic church was brutally
beaten and left for dead July 5, 2015 in an attempted murder and car jacking.
Details that
were not in the news but shared through a facebook post on a Catholic group
page from a church source said that the woman weighed less than 100 pounds; she was beaten severely in the head and face;
then picked up and tossed in the bushes were she lay unconscious for three
hours until she was discovered.
Last June, two
Arizona priests were shot dead in a botched burglary attempt and their car was
stolen. The suspect was a former felon released two months earlier from prison
living in a half way house.
The night
before he was released from Humboldt County Correctional Facility, the same
night that minutes later, he went to St. Bernard’s Church and he brutally
murdered and tortured Fr. Eric, tried to set the rectory on fire and stole his
car, was not Gary Lee Bullock’s first encounter with the criminal justice
system. He too was released into
the community, again. Unlike, the Grass Valley suspect and the Arizona suspect, Bullock was not transient or living in a half
way house. He was the only one on cameras documented entering and exiting the
rectory. There is no doubt who killed Fr. Eric.
Gary Lee
Bullock violated the sacred space of my church and brutally murdered my priest
Fr. Eric January 1, 2014. Two months later, the rectory was broken into, again,
by a former drug addict who walked down three blocks from a halfway house. Later the same year, a church door vandalized, which would
have burned completely had the fire alarms not gone off.
During
Christmas last year, someone stole a Christmas ornament specially made for Fr.
Eric which was supposed to be given to his twin sister who has moved to
Humboldt.
We have never
had so many incidents in the Church in one year.
Mentally ill
and confrontational transients are outside and inside my church daily. We still
welcome everyone.
On a Sundays and many others days, like this
woman, I am alone opening up church. On the day, Fr. Eric’s body was later
discovered, I had walked up the pathway to the church, alone.
Many churches,
including ours, have volunteers and staff alone at times.
The police
cannot do much about someone mentally ill or even loitering unless there is
attack.
A place I felt
safe at has never been the same again.
I don't cower
in fear; lack of my personal safety does not consume my thoughts all the time. In fact
you could not tell because faith and joy has not been extinguished by Bullock.
But this
recent article and others have brought up the pain and devastation of January
1, 2014 again.
While
criminals and the insane roam the streets of Eureka and other places
terrorizing citizens, Bullock and others sit safe and warm and physically
protected by brave men
and women just doing their job. They are further shielded by legal rights and
excuse after excuse made for them even when they feel no remorse and accept no
responsibility. All this on tax payer dime after their decisions and weaknesses
cause devastating consequences.
These church
goers, our church, the congregation in South Carolina pray and forgive the very
people who violate and hurt us.
Forgiveness is
good. Faith is a great source of strength in coping with tragedy.
It should
never be an excuse for society to overlook the rights and feelings of the
innocent victims.
To come to a
point of forgiveness for someone heinous is not easy, even if we make it look
easy.
No, it's not easy! I would find it very, very difficult.
ReplyDeleteBut isn't that one of the great strengths of Christianity, not just Catholicism? Love and forgiveness. It's a beautiful thing.
In the Jewish tradition, I believe, every person has a duty to forgive those who have transgressed against them, if the transgressor displays honest repentance. In fact, to refuse forgiveness after it is requested is considered a sin. But there is no duty to forgive if the transgressor does not repent their transgression, or goes so far as to deny it took place.
ReplyDeleteYes, forgiveness is difficult. But I believe it is a theme of a great many traditions, not just Christianity.
Mitch, I have not seen forgiveness practiced in a great many traditions either in word or action.And I was not raised Christian. I appreciate your pointing out the Jewish tradition. I expressed my personal journey in the light of my personal experiences.
DeleteI am Catholic. No where in my post did I say forgiveness is exclusive to a Christian.