ON September 11 America was engulfed in an avalanche of sorrow as death and destruction rained down on Washington and New York. Why?

The history of mankind is littered with appalling acts of barbarism, cruelty and hatred. A classic example is the story of Christ. God sends down His only Son to save the world and, naturally, we nail Him to a cross. Why?

The senseless brutality visited upon America has prompted many to express their views as to the reasons for this shocking outrage. The usual suspects are paraded for our consideration: slavery, Nagasaki, Vietnam and beyond.

This will not do; the real answer is quite simple. Man has an infinite capacity for evil and, even if he lives in luxury or suffers all the banality of poverty, he will still indulge his fascination with Pandora's Box and release all the ills of human life - thus our despair is complete. That is, until you read about the priest who fearlessly went into the carnage of New York to administer the last rites to victims and was killed by falling masonry. Is this what the Man meant when He said: "I am the Light of the World"?

Robert Holmes,

Thorganby, near Selby.

Updated: 10:19 Thursday, September 27, 2001