The shootings in Newton, Connecticut, which left 20 children dead, defies simple answers, according to Archbishop Mäkinen.
“What kind of despair and anxiety give rise to something like this? What kind of reality and society, what kind of public life are we dealing with, where something like this can happen,” Mäkinen asked.
The Archbishop said that the shootings also touch people in Finland, as children were involved, and called for actions that would help to ensure something like this would not happen again.
Violence towards children and family violence have also made the headlines in Finland in the past year. Several incidents have shocked the nation and stirred public discussion on the matter.
Problems evident to church social workers
According to Archbishop Mäkinen, such acts of violence arise from individual despair as well as societal problems.
“Our society harbours many pressures. People's anxiety and pain sometimes only manifests in these kinds of situations,” Mäkinen said, adding that church social workers were all too familiar with such harsh realities.
The uncertainty and toughening values in today’s society should be taken extremely seriously, the Archbishop cautioned.
Mäkinen noted that Christmas gives an opportunity for slowing down and gaining deeper perspectives on life – a rare treat in today’s hectic, consumerist lifestyle.
