Senseless slaughter

The killing of two children praying and the injuries inflicted on others while hearing mass at the Annunciation Church school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States ought to be a concern for many around the world. This is a fate that these children, and the 15 others injured in the mass shooting, did not deserve. It was a senseless slaughter of the vulnerable. I encourage all of you to pray the eternal repose of their souls, including the soul of the alleged perpetrator, and for the healing that will be needed by those who survived.

- #MINDANAO JOHN TRIA

The surreal reflections and questions on these children killed and the others left injured while praying are manifold.

For one, I cannot imagine the horror of the parents of the affected kids, who, like me, want the best for our children. These dead and injured youngsters were not combatants in any conflict, nor were they expressing anything that hurt anybody else. They are the vulnerable in any society, whose main task is to grow and thrive, just like the witty children in many viral online memes that recall the 1990s childhood lives of today’s millennials. The children repose in us adults the trust that their lives, growth, and wellbeing, encased inside their maturing minds and bodies, are protected and nurtured.