[Before anyone goes and blows a gasket, this is only my opinion. It is the personal view of one Catholic, and it is (to the best of my knowledge) in full conformity with ordinary Catholic teaching; but you, dear readers, are of course free to hold to other opinions.]
As Christians, we believe that all suffering and hardship in this world is the result of the original sin of our first parents, and all the sin that followed in its wake. Everything that's "bad" is (ultimately) the result of sin. Even natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes. (Sin puts the whole earth--the whole universe, in fact--in a state of chaos, turmoil and upheaval (Gen. 3:16-19; Rom. 8:19-23). Frequently many good & innocent people suffer as a result, and many die.) God does not "create" or "decree" suffering on human beings (or even on animals), but He does permit suffering to fall on us as the natural consequence of our own acts and the acts of others (i.e., sin), and He always somehow draws greater good out of any evil that occurs. (I realize this is an extremely subtle and difficult distinction for some people, between causing suffering and permitting suffering, but it is essential to understanding Catholic teaching on this point). Fortunately for us, physical death is not the ultimate calamity, since death comes to everyone sooner or later (i.e., no one ever gets out of this world alive), and we believe it is only the “door” through which we enter into eternity. No, the ultimate calamity would be passing through that door and finding oneself in hell.
Hurricane Katrina is, by all reports, the absolute, hands-down WORST natural disaster to hit the United States, not just in memory, but in history. But, as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. Among the many possible good things that did happen (or bad things that didn’t happen) as a result of the storm and its aftermath:
- Meteorologists tell us that hurricanes and other tropical cyclones are part of the earth’s natural “air conditioning” system, helping to cool certain areas that apparently need it badly (from a meteorological standpoint)
- People (who might not have otherwise done so) were prodded into helping their neighbors (both near and far)
- Many people (who might not have otherwise done so) started to turn to God in their need (and many souls may have been saved as a result, even if some of them might also have died in the turmoil)
- The president of Red China, who was scheduled to visit the United States last week (to tour Boeing in the Seattle area, among other things I suppose), couldn’t because GWBush was all tied up dealing with the disaster and couldn’t be there to meet him (ah, the intricacies of diplomacy!)
- There was a huge casino (as I understand it) that was supposed to open in Baton Rouge that was severely damaged and might turn out to be a total loss (I’m not at all happy about the financial loss per se of the owners, but only point out that—as businesses go—casinos are arguably (either directly or indirectly) responsible for more broken people, broken families and general misery than perhaps any other)
- And last, but not least—the annual Labor Day weekend festival held in New Orleans known as Southern Decadence was cancelled. (No telling how many souls might have been steered from the path to perdition as a result.)
Now, I know there are many, especially among Evangelical Christians (and even some Catholics), who are tempted to say, “See? God is punishing the homosexuals for their perversion, just like Sodom & Gomorrah!” (Or at least that He was punishing Louisiana (& vicinity) for allowing the festival to go on for all these years.)
But the Church teaches that that’s not normally how God works. As I mentioned above, He’s not (at least since the time of Christ) in the habit of “throwing thunderbolts at the wayward" in order to punish them, but rather sits back (in sorrow) and permits them to create their own “punishment” (natural consequences again), hoping they will come to their senses and turn away from the sins that led to their own misery (& that of others) in the first place (cf. Lk. 15:11-32).
I'd heard that years ago, someone asked Pope John Paul II if AIDS was a punishment sent by God to punish the sin of homosexuality. He responded to the effect that God’s ways are absolutely inscrutable to us and that we can never know the answer to that question, but that regardless of whether it was or wasn’t, we still had the moral obligation to minister to everyone who had AIDS in every way possible.
Is AIDS a punishment sent by God? Was Katrina a punishment sent by God? No, neither one. But ALL suffering (from the Catholic perspective) is the result of sin, and since everyone is a sinner, EVERYONE has to help "pay" that price no matter what (at least by participating in death—Rom. 6:23). So everyone must suffer. And everyone must work to help their neighbors who are suffering, whoever they are and wherever they are found (cf. Lk. 10:29-37, James 2:14-18).
Did homosexuality cause Hurricane Katrina? Well, yes … and no. ALL sin, not just homosexuality, contributes to the sum total of human misery. If there were no sin, there would be no misery (not even from hurricanes). But in the real world in which we all live, sin abounds and we all share equally in the guilt for its effects. By itself, homosexuality did NOT create the storm and draw its fury to be spent over New Orleans. (Whew! That’s a relief!)
Homosexuality has gotten a lot of press coverage in the last 30 years or so (good or bad, depending on your perspective), but objectively speaking, it’s NOT the worst sin in the world! The absolute worst sin in the whole wide world is final impenitence because it is the one sin that cannot be forgiven.
