November 11th  “Should mistakes, sin and evil be punished?  Should there be a warning first?”   These were questions Bryan posed for debate. “Often punishment does come about naturally and a warning can be a preventative step.   ‘HIV/AIDS is a disease not a sin,’ was a slogan used in the early days of HIV/AIDS. At first its cause was not immediately clear. Soon it was discovered that sex was the primary form of transmission.  Can the fact be taken as a punishment that after 20 years of providing information the infection rate continues, and in some groups even rises?  Would repentance from immoral behaviour not be the best solution?  

Scripture: In the days of Lot, they ate, they drank they bought, they sold, they planted, they built but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from heaven and destroyed them all. Luke 17:26-37.   Pope Francis: If everything is connected it is hard to image that the global disasters are unrelated to our way of approaching reality, our claim to be absolute masters of our own lives and all that exists.  I do not want to speak of divine retribution, nor would it be sufficient to say that the harm we do to nature is itself the punishment for our offences. The world is itself crying out in rebellion.   FT 34.