Second, moral evil and much of human suffering come from man's abuse of his freedom in sin.
The answers, given by the same Catechism, are both comforting and enlightening:įirst, much evil in the world, especially physical evil, results from the kind of limited universe in which we live. The Catechism for Filipino Catholics poses a much-asked question “If God is ‘Father’ and ‘Almighty,’ why does He allow so much evil and suffering?” ( Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines 1997, n. In number fifteen it states:Īnd even though the victory over sin and death achieved by Christ in his Cross and Resurrection does not abolish temporal suffering from human life, nor free from suffering the whole historical dimension of human existence, it nevertheless throws a new light upon this dimension and upon every suffering: the light of salvation.
Pope Saint John Paul II wrote an apostolic letter called Salvifici doloris on the Christian meaning of human suffering.