In recent statements, Pope Francis encouraged people not to “be scared” of tattoos. He stated, “With young people one should never be scared. Never. Because always, even behind the things that are not so good, there is something that will bring us to some truth” (The Independent, March 21, 2018).

The world has been a violent place for thousands of years, but societies around the globe appear to be getting even more violent. Last Sunday in Toronto, Canada, a 25-year-old man drove a rented truck into pedestrians, killing ten and injuring 13 more (The Independent, April 24, 2018).

In the last 15 years, France’s bird population has fallen by over 30 percent (The Guardian, March 20, 2018). The numbers of some bird species have dropped by two-thirds! Researchers believe the primary reason for the die-off “is the intensive use of pesticides on vast tracts of monoculture crops, especially wheat and corn.” The birds are not being poisoned.

Tensions are rising with the accusation that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army again used chemical weapons in contravention of the Geneva Convention (U.S. News & World Report, April 10, 2018). The U.S., the U.K.