CARITAS CORNER: Do Not Be Conquered by Evil

By Andy Barton

Dominating the skyline of 1200-year-old Hamburg, Germany, stands the towering ruins of St. Nikolai Church.  At the time of its reconstruction in 1874, it was the world’s tallest building. Today it is a blackened skeleton of its former glory and a haunting reminder of one of the most devastating bombing campaigns of World War II. In July 1943, the Allied Combined Bomber Offensive launched Operation Gomorrah, a multi-day campaign that culminated in some of the war’s most devastating firebombing.

Hamburg feels newer than other European cities.  It was effectively destroyed 82 years ago and had to be rebuilt from ashes.  The remains of St. Nikolai serve as a chilling reminder of war’s devastation. In its current incarnation, Hamburg has transformed this sobering spectacle into a memorial that calls attention to the destruction of past and present conflicts, including memorials to lives being lost in Ukraine and Palestine.

There is a profound sense of evil in the casualties of war — something especially pronounced in our understanding of World War II.  The atrocities committed by the Nazis are as clear an example of evil as the modern world has ever known. Yet standing at the base of St. Nikolai, contemplating the 37,000 German citizens who perished and the historic city that was destroyed, one wonders: why did it have to come to that end, and what could have been done to avoid it all?

This is the same anguished question so many are asking in the wake of the tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic School on August 27. It was an act of pure evil personified that should prompt a righteous rage in all of us. Yet the familiar responses grow more tiresome with each repetition. There are valid arguments around gun control, increased school security, mental health treatment, and other calls for change, but the fact that these discussions have become so politicized and polarized signal that they will continue to prove inadequate as standalone solutions. While this reality doesn’t preclude us from continuing to seek and work toward comprehensive reforms, it suggests we need to examine the deeper roots of the problem. One wonders: why did it have to come to that end, and what could have been done to avoid it all?

Edmund Burke, the philosopher and politician, has been credited with the oft-repeated declaration: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” While thought provoking, the sentiment misses the mark in its emphasis on what “good men” fail to do. The more appropriate statement would be that evil triumphs when people fail to pursue good.  Good as in love, caring, and kindness. Good as in smiling at, greeting, or consoling a stranger. Good as in volunteering, lending a hand and sharing. Good is deeds, outlooks, and belief systems. The opportunities to do good are omnipresent; sadly, our society’s tendency to act on them is far less consistent. All the while, the evil that leads people to shoot children in schools festers in our society, “seeking the ruin of souls”.

We know the Minneapolis shooter was a former student who expressed fascination with mass shootings as well as anti-Catholic and antisemitic sentiment—all of which can justly be characterized as evil. We do not, and probably cannot, know what caused that evil to enter his heart and mind; yet, if we could somehow look back at his life, I am convinced we would find a trail of missed opportunities when someone could have done good.   

I felt the same way standing in the shadow of a burned church in Hamburg.  So much could have been done to change the dark trajectory of Germany if more people had done good. Instead, we are left with the sobering reminder of what comes when evil is allowed to flourish unchecked.  The ruins of St. Nikolai Church will stand as a monument to destruction for generations to come. Still, around those ruins, Hamburg has rebuilt a vibrant city.  It is proof that in evil’s aftermath, good can triumph. That same hope must drive our response to every act of evil we encounter in our own communities and our own hearts.

As we pray for the victims of the Annunciation school shooting, let us not feel helpless. Instead, let us recall Paul’s instruction in his letter to the Romans: “Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good” (Rom 12:21).  We can do it — one deliberate act of kindness, one moment of compassion, one choice to love rather than hate — at a time.